From Tony Durkin 

DENNIS DOMINATES: The recent domination of Headland black-tee competitions by Dennis Mikolic continued on Saturday when he won his sixth major event in just four years as a member. Dennis (70 nett) beat Scott Bromfield on a countback to win the A Grade Monthly Mug for the third time. He has also added two Mid-Week Medals and the 2019 Gold Mug to his tally since joining the club in 2016. Teeing off early and avoiding the rain until his last hole, Dennis scored 81 from his 11 handicap in a round highlighted by a one-over par 37 on the back nine. And it was a change of fortune for the Air Force Engineer whose swing since late last year has been adversely affected by a hip injury. But he managed to turn the corner on Saturday and now has the chance to go back-to-back in Gold Mug victories. Ross Itzstein (71) won the B Grade Mug, Brett Stephenson (70) won C Grade and Rosalie Brandt (76) led the field in the Ladies Monthly Medal. 

LESLEY’S SECOND: Despite the golf heritage passed on by her parents, Lesley Wilson has never been a great devotee of the sport and did not take it even semi-seriously until she joined the Headland SWING program four years ago. And even though she says she plays mainly to enjoy herself and appreciate the company of her fellow players, on Thursday she won her second Headland Monthly Medal in two years. Lesley scored a nett 68 – five shots better than any player in the four grades – to easily win the D Grade Medal. But she is under no delusion about her round, or the quality of her golf – a gross score of 113 from her handicap of 45. She was in fact felt a tad embarrassed by the result and said her winning score had ‘crept up’ on her. Lesley’s mum and dad – Peter and Isobel Wilson – were foundation members of Caloundra Golf Club but despite their encouragement, until recently she never shared their enthusiasm for golf. Thursday’s A Grade Medal was won by Sue Jones (nett 75), B Grade went to Jenny Ingham (73) and C Grade to Jackie Thinee (73). NOTE: Lesley is named after her grandfather, Sir Leslie Wilson, who was Governor of Queensland for a record 14 year-term from 1932. 

LADIES MATCH PLAY: The 16 qualifiers for the 2020 Headland Ladies Match Play were decided on Thursday following the March Monthly Medal. The first round must be completed by March 20, the quarter finals by April 3, April 24 for the semi-finals and the final must be played by May 14. Reigning Champion, Monica Antony, was unable to play on Thursday because of a prior commitment and as a result will not be defending her title. The draw for the first round is: Jenny Ingham V Leeanne Ptak, Mary Dowling V Trish Murphy, Trish Marsden V Gail Young, Robyn Boreham V Ellen Bloxsome, Rose Sztama V Many Oster, Vicky Maynard V Leigh Derigo, Katrina Watts V Wil Sprake, Carmel Visser V Bev Barnes. 

BRIAN IS BACK: Four-time Club Champion Brian Kesby turned back the clock to those golden days with a two-under par 70 in Wednesday’s Medley Monthly Medal to return the best score, and easily win A Grade with his nett 65. The 67-year-old, who says his scores during 2020 have mostly been in the 80s, played superlative golf with four birdies and two bogeys from the black tees. He started on the back nine and turned three-under the card with birdies at 12, 13 and 18. His only blemishes came at the first, where he overshot the green, and the sixth, where he found the bunker and failed to get up and down. A Headland member for 25 years, Brian’s best round on the course has been 68 – three times – while his lowest nett was 63, in November of 2015. Gary Marr (nett 68) won the B Grade Medal while Geoff Montgomery (also 68) prevailed in C Grade. 

WAYNE’S WORLD: He was one of 64 players in Saturday’s Monthly Mug field who failed to finish their round because of the persistent rain, but no-one could have blamed Wayne Bridgeman had he pulled the pin after playing just one hole. The five-marker took an uncharacteristic 10 on the par-four first after having to retreat to the tee block when unable to locate his drive. From there it was a combination of some surprisingly-poor shots and bad luck before Wayne tapped in for his first double-figure score in a competition that the 72-year-old can recall. But despite the disappointment, Wayne continued on to play 10 more holes before he and his group decided to withdraw. To add to the intrigue of his first-hole disaster, on Tuesday Wayne shot 72 in a round that included five birdies on the back nine, and romped away with the Medley Single Stableford competition by four points.

LEISH LAGER: Persistent rain may have reduced the size of the field for Saturday’s Monthly Mug/Medal round, but that did not hinder bar sales of Leishman Lager, the brew recently released by champion golfer Marc Leishman. Headland Golf Club has been granted exclusive Queensland rights to the drop for the month of March, and Saturday’s patrons have given the beer a rousing thumbs up. Headland staff have been working diligently in the first few months of 2020 to secure the Queensland launch of the product and the fact that recently-appointed Assistant Pro, Leigh Stephenson, was best man at Leishman’s 2010 wedding, certainly helped. However, we can reveal that the uncanny resemblance of Headland GM Ben Dobson, to Leishman, played no part in our club’s coup in getting the mid-strength beer as a state first for the members.

BUILDING A BODY: Headland member and pest exterminator, Mark Gersbach, has been somewhat of a stranger on the golf course of late for a good reason – he has been preparing for the 2020 Australasian Championships of the International Federation of Body Builders. The Championships will be held on March 29 at South Sydney Junior Leagues, but as a lead-in Mark will also compete in the Sunshine Coast Classic at Caloundra RSL on Sunday week, March 22. Mark, who last competed in body building 17 years ago, turns 60 in June and has set this comeback as a personal challenge to ‘see what six months of dieting and dedicated training can achieve’. His training regimen – 18 specific hours a week – has resulted in a loss of 10kg and drop in body fat from 19 percent to 6.9 percent, with the goal of 5.0 percent by competition day. He will be competing in the Masters Division, for males 40-plus in age.

MEN’S PENNANTS: Teenager Josh Holbrook, making his debut for Headland’s A Grade Pennant team, chipped in for birdie on the 18th hole at Mt Coolum on Sunday for a win to enable Headland to remain unbeaten in the 2020 Sunshine Coast Golf Zone Pennant competition. In a fighting display from the 16-year-old Sienna College student, Josh came back from two-down on both nines to tee off on the last hole square with his opponent. His 1-up win at the 18th was the only time he was in front in the match. Without No.1 player Jake Crowther, Headland beat heavyweights Caloundra 4&3 in a nail biter, with veteran Dave Rattray coming out of retirement to clinch victory in the final match of the day, also winning 1-up. Adam Rydwanski (3&2) continued his unbeaten run and was joined in the winner’s circle by Scott Walker (5&3). Adam Richards (3&2), Sean McGill (4&3) and Brad Butler (3&2) were beaten. Burgess Stephenson sustained his excellent Pennant form to score a smashing 5&4 win in the Masters division for Headland, and help pave the way for a 5&2 result against Gympie at home. Scott Bromfield (1-up) brought his form from Saturday’s Monthly Mug in which he posted the best gross score, Neil Oxley won 2-up, captain Warren Selvage prevailed 3&2, while good mates Warren Sorby and Brett Stephenson both squared their matches. And completing the treble for Headland teams on Sunday was the B Grade side, which thrashed Tin Can Bay 6½-½. Proud team captain Matt Hetherington won the first seven holes of his match and thrashed his opponent 9&8 to take Headland in to second place on the table. Other winners in the clash played at Maroochy River were Tom Burnett (7&6), Will Millroy (7&5), Rhett Charlton (6&4), Matt Macaulay (5&4) and Tim O’Keeffe (2&1). No.1 player James Kidd was held to a draw. Next Sunday Headland A Grade plays Maroochy River at Noosa, B Grade hosts Twin Waters at Headland, the Masters team clashes with Maroochy River at Gympie and Headland Juniors play Caloundra 2, also at Noosa.

LADIES PENNANTS: Headland teams have made a solid start to the 2020 Sunshine Coast-Burnett District Women’s Golf Match Play Pennant competition, with three wins recorded in the first two rounds. The Division One Weekday team was off to a flyer, thrashing Pelican Waters 5-1 in the opening round with wins to Susie Fenton (3&1), Julie Halliday (3&2), Sharon Thomas (3&2) and Kate Wilkie (1-up). However, Monday’s scheduled clash with Caloundra at Noosa Springs was washed out, and will be replayed on March 30. The Division One Weekend team has scored a win and a loss – 4-2 against Pacific Harbour and 2-4 against Beerwah. Winners have been Cathy Roberts (6&4), Christina Claxton (3&2), Kirsten Kaergaard (3&2) and Wil Sprake (3&2), while Wil Sprake and Jenny Ingham have both recorded squared results. Division Two will be keen to find some form following a bye and a 6-0 loss, while Division Three has scored a 4½-1½ win over Caboolture and a 4-2 loss to Maroochy River. Captain Leigh Derigo has been the star, winning both her matches – 3&2 and 1-up – while Joy Bullock (4&3), Di Stark (7&6) and Kerrie Tibbitts (5&4) have scored victories and Ellen Bloxsome has had a squared result. On Sunday Headland meets Mt Coolum at Beerwah in the Division One Weekend competition, Division Two plays Pelican Waters on Monday, also at Beerwah, and Division Three plays Pelican Waters at Mt Coolum. Division One Weekday has the bye.

WEEKLY WINNERS:

Tuesday, Medley Single Stableford (116 players) – A Grade, Wayne Bridgeman (41 points), Andrew Beck (37), Lisa Ramen (37); B Grade, Elizabeth Hallyday (36), William Attneave (36), Leeanne Ptak (35).

Wednesday, Medley Monthly Medal (198 players) – A Grade, Brian Kesby (65 nett), Dean Smareglia (67), Tony Pattinson (68), gross – Brian Kesby (70); B Grade, Gary Marr (68), Donald Caldwell (70), Scott Masters (70), gross – Garry Marr (83); C Grade, Geoff Montgomery (68), John Siddons (69), Ian Russell (69), gross – Phil Humzy (94).

Thursday, Ladies, Monthly Medal (93 players) – A Grade, Sue Jones (75 nett), Helen Venter (78), Christina Claxton (78), gross – Lisa Ramen (87); B Grade, Jenny Ingham (73), Julie Welsh (73), Marg Howard (73), gross – Jenny Ingham (92); C Grade, Jackie Thinee (73), Rose Sztama (75), Brenda Smith-Gittings (75), gross – Rose Sztama (106); D Grade, Lesley Wilson ((68), Vicki Oxley (73), Dianne Schultz (76), gross – Vicki Oxley (110). Men, Single Stableford (87 players) – Dave Smith (41 points), Peter Raymond (41), Steve Nash (40).

Saturday, Ladies, Monthly Medal (15 players) – Rosalie Brandt (76 nett), Del Whittaker (78), gross – Robyn Boreham (96). Men (187 players) – A Grade, Dennis Mikolic (70 nett), Scott Bromfield (70), Peter Richardson (71), Aaron Shaw (71), gross – Scott Bromfield (70); B Grade, Ross Itzstein (71), Ross Roberts (71), Gary Savill (71), Ivan Fortmann (72), gross – Ross Roberts (86); C Grade, Brett Stephenson ((70), Scott Larson (71), Jon Welch (71), Graeme Denovan (72), gross – Brett Stephenson (90).

Sunday, Medley Monthly Medal (32 players) – Steven Bell (68 nett), Barry Matl (72), Matt Fisher (72); Junior Medal, Jack Fisher (74).