From Tony Durkin

DAVE’S CONQUEST: Dave Rattray has capped off three months of stunning golf with a slashing victory in the Headland Matchplay Championship final. Contested over 36-holes on Saturday, the final was over on the 12th hole of the second nine with Rattray in an unassailable 8&6 position against his opponent, Scott Bromfield. It is his fifth matchplay victory since he joined the club from his beloved Christchurch 11 years ago. Bromfield was off to the worst possible start when he hit his drive on the first out of bounds, and from that point the defending champion was never headed. It has been a memorable three months for Dave who was a member of the Headland A Grade team that won the Sunshine Coast Golf Zone Pennant on the last day of April when, with the scores locked at 3-all, he birdied the final hole to clinch the flag. Then a month later he came from two shots back going into the final round of the Club Championships to shoot a three-under par round to finish five shots clear with a three-under par 72-hole total of 285. It was his fifth Headland Club Championship. Last weekend he prevailed in the knockout stages of the Matchplay to beat Senior Club Champion Brian Kesby and A Grade Pennant captain Sean McGill, before seamlessly adding another title to his impressive Headland resume.

POP WINS: Graham Cartledge may not have reached the lofty heights of his 12-year-old grandson Sam Marshall, but his win in Saturday’s C Grade Matchplay Championship is the fourth sporting achievement for the family within the past two months. Graham beat Tony Kelleher 10&9 in the 36-hole final on Saturday, backing up his win in the C Grade Club Championships. And, adding to the family triumphs, his wife Maureen was C Grade Ladies champion. But it was AFL player Sam who stole the limelight, captaining the Sunshine Coast under 12 team in the recent Queensland regional titles, being named player of the carnival and winning selection in the Queensland team to contest the national tiles in Canberra in August. In the B Grade matchplay final, father-of-six, policeman Joel Cooney, came from behind to beat Justin Walsh 4&3. Joel was four down at one stage but stayed patient and the fanatical Hawthorn fan snared his first major victory as a Headland member.

SCHOOLBOY DOUBLE: Grade 12 Sienna College student Patrick Walsh scored the Sunday Monthly Medal double at the weekend with an excellent score of 69 nett in heavy conditions. Patrick won the Medley Medal as well as the Junior Medal, and in doing so relegated his mother, Coralie, to third place. Patrick’s win is his second double for the year – he won both the Medley Medal and Junior medal in May. And, ironically, back then he beat his father, Justin, who finished second in the Medley event.

TINKERER WINS: Former Taxman Greg Jellis, a self-confessed tinkerer of his swing, stopped the fiddling on Tuesday and returned one of his best rounds in his decade-long membership of Headland. His 79 off the stick, which reaped him 41 points, won the hotly-contested Single Stableford event that attracted only 38 players but returned some particularly good scores in the wet conditions. But apart from a double bogey on 16, Greg’s round of 12 pars and five bogeys gave him hope that a reasonably long stint in the doldrums may have passed. Originally from Perth, Greg spent much of his adult life in Townsville working for the Taxation Department before retiring to the Sunshine Coast 10 years ago. He once played off five, with his best score a par round 72 at Rowes Bay in Townsville, while his lowest at Headland has been 75.

PIN POWER: John Kamm hadn’t won a pin shot this year until three weeks ago, then on Tuesday he snared two in a single round with one almost earning him his first hole-in-one. The retired postman – or, professional motorbike rider as he prefers to describe his former profession – concedes he has been playing well of late but says winning NTP shots in Tuesday’s smaller fields in much easier than on Wednesdays or Saturdays. John, who had 39 points in the Men’s Single Stableford event, won the pin shots on holes five and eight with his ball on the fifth finishing a mere 23cm from the hole. Another NTP monopoliser on Tuesday was February and June Ladies’ C Grade Monthly Medal winner Kerrie Tibbits, who was closest on the eighth and 18th holes, and also won the Ladies Single Stableford event with 37 points.

RULES WORKSHOP: Next Monday, July 9, in the Headland clubhouse, former Australian Open and PGA rules official Ian Hepburn will conduct a workshop on the rules of golf for members of the SWING program. Subjects such as present and impending rules, the language of the rules and particular sections of the rule book will be dissected, and explained. Rules pertaining to a lost ball, out of bounds, obstructions on the course, casual water, water hazards and lateral water hazards will be other issues discussed. As well, Ian will explain the correct procedure when dropping a ball. The workshop will be held from 11am to 1pm following the SWING session, and morning tea will be provided. Another rules session for ladies’ members will be held the following Thursday, July 12, from 2.30pm to 4.30pm.

BUGGY RAGE: As the author of an item under this heading in Headland Headlines three issues ago, I unreservedly apologise to the Headland member mentioned in the article and agree that I should have sought her version of the incident before publishing. The primary purpose of Headland Headlines is publicising our events, the success and sometimes even the failures of our members, and at times poking good-natured fun at ourselves. However, demeaning individuals – as this reference did – is not part of the agenda.

 WEEKLY WINNERS:

Tuesday, Single Stableford, Ladies (18 players) – Kerrie Tibbits (37 points), Joy Logan (35); Men (38 players) – Greg Jellis (41), Andrew Hempsall (40), Bruce Horton (40).

Wednesday, Men, Fourball Aggregate Stableford (abandoned because of inclement weather).

Thursday, Ladies, Irish Team Stableford (abandoned because of inclement weather). Men, Single Stableford (20 players) – Jim Saunderson (36 points), Darryl Pettingill (36).

Saturday, Single Stableford, Ladies (29 players) – Sharon Purnell (34 points), Kirsten Kaergaard (34), Louise Harriot (32); Men (203 players) – A Grade, Ciaran Fenton (40 points), Barry Newton (39), Bryan Haggarty (39); B Grade, William Hegarty (38), Mark Dolan (37), Tony Coad (36); C Grade, Tiago Ventura (37), Terry Murphy 37), Ken Maguire (36).

Men’s Matchplay Championship – A Grade final, Dave Rattray beat Scott Bromfield (8&6); B Grade final, Joel Cooney beat Justin Walsh (4&3); C Grade, Graham Cartledge beat Tony Kelleher (10&9).

 Sunday, Medley Monthly Medal (48 players) – Patrick Walsh (69 nett), Kevin Clarke (70), Coralie Walsh (71); Junior Medal – Patrick Walsh (69).