CANBERRA GOLFERS PREVAIL IN 2008 ACT MONARO DGA SAND GREEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Twenty six golfers contested the 2008 Sand Green Championships at Bombala over the w/e 13th -14th September 2008. Canberra Senior Golfer and ACT DGA Captain Tony Gover took the major prize of the Open Championship with steady rounds of 78 and 76 (total 154) on two contrasting days.  Saturday was warm and sunny and conditions were good for golf, Sunday blew a gale and the squally rain made golfing conditions quite testing.  Canberra Junior golfer Cameron Haines took 2nd place overall and also won the Junior Trophy, with scores of 84 and 75 (total of 159).  His prodigious driving was the main key to his success; when he masters the running-chip approach shot that is essential to play sand green courses he will be hard to beat. Three locals – T Gronow, Pepper Thompson and Korie Elton shared third place on 161. 

Local Junior golfer Vince Moore (18h/c) decimated the competition in the handicap B Grade Division with startling nett scores of 67 and 63 (on the par 71 course); he beat the runner up J Ward by a hefty 11 strokes.  The Bombala handicapper is likely to be busy before next week’s Club Championships.

ACT GOLFERS PERFORM WELL AT COBRAM-BAROOGA, August 2008

Fourteen of the best golfers from the ACT-Monaro DGA travelled to the Murray Valley to take part in the Annual Cobram-Barooga Men’s Open on the weekend of 2/3rd August 2008. This group comprised eight seniors and six colts and between them they recorded some very impressive results.  This 2 day (72-hole) event, played on both the Open and Old Courses, has been held for many years and attracts the best amateur golfers from the Murray Valley Region and Metropolitan and Country Victoria.  Over 90 golfers took part, most of them playing off a handicap of 4 or less.  The event was won by Leighton Lyle (the brother of current USA touring Pro Jarrod Lyle) from Shepparton Golf Club, with a four-round score of 287 strokes (1 under par).  Second place, just two strokes behind Lyle, was shared by three golfers including the long-time Cobram-Barooga Club Champion (and green keeper) Terrence Vogel. 

Royal Canberra (and Boonie Doon) golfer Chris Hartas (h/c +1) and Goulburn’s Mick Gerstenberg (h/c +2) recorded fantastic results for the ACT; neither of them had played on either of these courses before and the variably cold, blustery and showery weather made playing golf a challenge.  Both players finished on 293 in equal 6th place.  The next best ACT-Monaro players were Kane Orr and Richard Eves from Belconnen Magpies Golf Club in equal 18th place with scores of 302.  Full results for ACT players are given in the following Table:

On the day before the Men’s Open the ACT-Monaro Team also played a match-play challenge against a team of eight Seniors and six Colts from Victoria.  The Victorian Manger was using this event as a means of picking the last few players for their Representative Sides to play in the National Interstate Series.  Although it was essentially a friendly match between the two “States” with Foursomes in the morning (on the West Course) and Individual Match-Play in the afternoon (on the Old Course), few of the Victorian players eased off as spots in Representative Sides are keenly fought for. 

The full results are shown below, but the highlights include the Colts Squaring their challenge 3 – 3 in the individual match-play event; and the wins by Orr and Eves (Number 2 Senior pairing) and Stuckey and Haughie (Number 2 Colts Pairing) in the morning foursomes.

This event is likely to become a permanent feature of the ACT-Monaro’s representative Program; it will replace the Rich River Classic (formerly held at the Rich River Golf Club near Echuca at about this time of the year) which has been discontinued.  The Challenge against Victoria and the four rounds of the Men’s Open offers fairly intense golf competition at a very high level for the cream of ACT-Monaro Golfers.   

From left to right:
Tony Gresham, Maryanne Gore and Jim Hourigan (DGA President). Click on picture to view larger image

2008 Senior Champion Brad Doolan receives the trophy.
Click on picture to view larger image