From Tony Durkin
BEST FOR TEX: Antonio (Tex) Teixeira appreciates a satisfied customer, and no golfer was more satisfied after Wednesday’s Fourball Aggregate Stableford than the Mooloolaba restaurateur. On a day he will long remember, Tex, playing off seven, fired his first par round in his 12 years as a Headland member, won the competition with partner Matt Macaulay and also jagged the Pro Pin on the 12th hole. But it could have been so much better had his putter been a tad warmer. Tex had four birdies, 10 pars and four bogeys in his round of 72, but putted for 13 birdies. The impressive round came as no great surprise to the once-a-week golfer, who says his game has been steadily on the improve since his handicap had blown out to 11 just on 12 months ago. His 43 points, combined with Matt’s 38, gave the pair a superb total of 81 and was enough to beat Brian Kesby and Ross Kelly on a countback. Like Tex, Brian (handicap 4) also returned a splendid score – two-under par 70 for 42 points – the same score as Terry Lawlor (18). But the most productive round on Wednesday was from Aaron Duff (15), who broke 80 for the first time and signed for 44 individual points.
SENIOR SUCCESS: Helen Fraser has continued her outstanding record in Queensland Senior Women’s Amateur Championships by claiming her third title in five years. And, she capped off a Division Two victory in Queensland Women’s Country Week in May with her latest Senior win at Maroochy River last week, adding to her titles of 2014 and 2016. Helen was last week crowned in the 65-plus year Division Two, beating fellow Headland member Gwen Nancarrow 4&3 in the semi-final before accounting for Janis Bishop of Nudgee 1up in the final. In the neck-and-neck struggle over 18 holes, Helen won the par-five 17th to go one up and then halved the tough 18th with a bogey. In the 55-64 Division Two, Kate Wilkie beat fellow Headland member Robyn Boreham (6&4) in the quarter final before going down 3&2 to Kerrie Leary (Oxley) in the final. The other Headland member to qualify for the play-offs, Club Champion Josie Ryan, was beaten 5&3 by Claire Jackson (Redcliffe) in the quarter finals of the major Championship, which was won for the second successive year by Kim Burke of NSW.
BLOCKERS BEWARE: The issue of blockers on the Headland timesheet has again raised its unpleasant head. And while Men’s Director of Golf, James Kidd, concedes ‘we have all been a blocker at some stage’, he feels that lately the practice has become unacceptable. During the past two weeks for Saturday’s competition – the most popular competition day at Headland – 111 of the originally-nominated names have dropped off the time sheet within 48 hours of the event. And he said the number of names regularly exiting the timesheet prior to the day has been quite alarming. The match committee is closely monitoring the issue but is loath to implement hard and fast rules, but our Golf Director has made – once again – a simple plea. “Don’t be a ‘blocker’, and don’t be a ‘no show’. We don’t want members missing out on a game if the field is not full, and that exact situation has been occurring far too regularly recently.”
CODY IS BACK: Like a classy racehorse, popular Headland member Cody Laskey has returned from a spell in fine form, returning the winning score of 41 points in Saturday’s Single Stableford. His 22 points on the back nine gave Spina Bifida sufferer Cody the edge over fellow C graders Dave Butcher and James Simmons on what was generally a low-scoring day. Because of the wet weather and a recent trip back home to Margaret River, Cody had managed only a handful of games in the past three months and he attributed his good Saturday round to ‘playing safe’. His 41 points – without a wipe on his card – is his best round since March last year when a 67 nett wasn’t even good enough to win the Monthly Mug. A Grade winner on Saturday was the ever-consistent Peter Gablonksi with 39 points, while Headland’s CUB rep, Peter Dunn, won B Grade with 40 points, despite two wipes. And ladies’ winner, Joy Logan, capped off an enjoyable three golfing days with her second successive score of 39 points. She finished second to Pam Vincent on Thursday.
DIANE IS KEAN: Her email address is ‘keanas’, and that is exactly how Dianne Kean is about her golf after winning Sunday’s Medley Single Stableford. A SWING graduate from 2016, Dianne beat a strong field – and the Ladies Director of Golf – with her score of 39 points, despite three wipes. It is her second victory in the past six weeks and has fueled her enthusiasm after she struggled in the early stages of her new-found sport. Sunday’s competition was tagged Beat the Ladies Director of Golf, and Vicki Maynard could manage only 30 points and was beaten by 28 players in the field of 55, including her husband Ken. But Vicki, who finishes her term as Ladies Golf Director this week, did have one moment of glory – she won nearest the pin on the eighth.
JUNIOR CLASSIC: Entries for the 2019 Schweppes Headland Junior Classic, which will be held at Headland Golf Club on Sunday August 18, are currently open. This single stroke event is open to boys and girls under 18 years of age, with 18, nine and five-hole events to be contested. Nomination fees of $15 (18 holes), $12 (nine holes) and $10 (five holes) apply for the Classic, with a drink and a sausage sizzle included in the cost. Trophies worth $1000 will be up for grabs in the event, which is an Invincibles Tour qualifier. Entries close at 5pm on Wednesday August 14 at https://www.jotform.com/HeadlandGolfClub/2019juniorclassic
‘NED’ WINS AGAIN: Pam Vincent, who has been tagged ‘Ned’ by the Headland Pro Shop staff, has won her third successive event at the club with a Stableford score of more than 40 points. A former Buderim Mountain State School teacher who taught budding golf professionals David Grenfell, Richard Moir, Andrew Bonhomme and Marcus Cain, Pam recently returned to golf after an 18-month absence through illness and was given an extremely liberal handicap of 46.2, which has subsequently plummeted to 38.2. On Thursday she scored an amazing 44 points to win the C Grade Stableford event, following scores of 43 and 41 in the previous two weeks. And while the Pro Shop boys may be calling her ‘Ned’ – a reference to Australia’s most famous bushranger Ned Kelly – Pam is enjoying her golf and soon hopes to be back down to the 20-handicap from which she was playing before falling ill.
WEEKLY WINNERS:
Tuesday, Single Stableford, Ladies (56 players) – Christine Hall (38 points), Jenny Pirini (36), Pik Chong (35); Men (69 players) – Aaron Kenzler (42 points), Peter Ross (42), Bill Attneave (40).
Wednesday, Medley Fourball Aggregate Stableford (211 players) – Tex Teixeira and Matt Macaulay (81 points), Ross Kelly and Brian Kesby (81), Ian Farrington and Robert Rowan (79), Colin Thomas and Ian Michel (78), Don Follent and Burgess Stephenson (77).
Thursday, Ladies, Single Stableford (114 players) – A Grade, Heather Lum (38 points), Jenny Ingham (35), Lisa Ramen (35); B Grade, Del Whittaker (38), Julie Welsh (37), Barbara (Schultz (34) ; C Grade, Pam Vincent (44), Joy Logan (39), Ellen Bloxsome (37); Seniors, Pam Vincent (44), Joy Logan (39), Del Whittaker (38). Men, Fourball Best Ball Stableford (78 players) – Bob Snowball and Alf Gloster (48 points), Josh Poole and Stephen Woolcott (48), Len Dawson and Mark Garcia (46).
Saturday, Single Stableford, Ladies (20 players) – Joy Logan (39 points), Dom Paice (34), Kate Wilkie (34); Men (222 players) – A Grade, Peter Gablonksi (39 points), Dennis Roberts (37), Graham Smith (37); B Grade, Peter Dunn (40), Paul Garth (40), Gary Savil (39): C Grade, Cody Laskey (41), Dave Butcher (41), James Simmons (41) .
Sunday, Medley Single Stableford, Beat the Ladies Director of Golf (53 players) – Dianne Kean (39 points), Ben Brown (39), Trish Marsden (38).
