From Tony Durkin
CHAMPION SCOTT: Scott Walker started playing golf at Headland when he was 14, and despite some outstanding achievements in the two decades since he has just had his most successful, and most satisfying year. His win in Saturday’s Headland Match Play Championship – a 5&4 result against Adam Richards in the 36-hole final – capped off a 12-month period in which he won his first Club Championship, his first Match Play Championship, the Mixed Foursomes nett (with prolific winner Coralie Walsh) and Patron’s Day with his mum Kathy. Scott was also a member of Headland’s A Grade Pennant Team, which was beaten in the final of the Sunshine Coast Golf Zone Pennant. But Saturday’s final put the icing on the cake in what Scott described as a high-quality golfing contest. Adam was off to an outstanding start, leading 3-up after five holes. Scott, however, fought back to grab the lead after 11 holes and was never headed. He led 4-up after the first 18 holes and the match finished after he birdied the par-three 14th, with the quality of the contest exemplified by the fact Scott was three under the card and Adam one under when the match ended at their 32nd hole. Tom Burnett (7&5) played exceptional golf to won the B Grade final against Brett Adamson, while Tony Vickers beat Geoff Bland 2-up to be crowned C Grade Champion after a match that went to entire 36 holes.
SAM AND DAD: Ten-year-old Sam Fichera is believed to be the youngest Headland Honour Board inductee following the win by him and his dad Anthony in Sunday’s final of the Fourball Match Play Championship. The final was an absolute nailbiter, with the match going to the 19th hole all square before Anthony sank a long birdie putt for the father-and-son combination to clinch the second staging of the event. They beat the combination of Fred Muller and Chris McArdle, who were four-up after 11 holes before the Fichera family fightback. Sam, who has had his 36 handicap for just two months, won the 14th and 16th holes before Anthony parred the tough 17th to square the match. In an ironic twist, the winners of the Championship last year were father-and son Matt and Jack Fisher, with Jack a student at the same school as Sam, Sienna Catholic College. The Honour Board event is sponsored by Michael Thomas of Zenfind Accounting. NOTE: Another Headland youngster, 11-year-old, Charlotte Ridley, scored 33 points in Sunday’s Medley Single Stableford to score $8 in the rundown. She scored her first competition birdie, with a tap-in putt at the par-five seventh.
LADIES’ DAY: Only three ladies contested the Medley Single Stableford event at Headland on Wednesday, and two of them beat home the male-dominated field of 215. In an outstanding round of golf Coralie Walsh (handicap 32) scored 46 points while Meegan Walker (35) finished with 42 points. Both are relative rookies – Coralie started playing competition golf just on three years ago and Meegan only joined the club last November, with both kicking off on the maximum handicap of 45. After Wednesday’s superb rounds, Coralie is now on 25.6 and Meegan 29.2. And while Coralie had two four-point holes and seven three-pointers in her round, the highlight was breaking 100 for the very first time – even better than her first hole-in-hole earlier this month. Meanwhile for University Lecturer Meegan, who joined Headland when Medley events were introduced on Wednesdays so she could play with her husband Drew, her highlight was a birdie at the difficult par-four fourth when she holed a ‘long, curving putt’.
SIX BIRDIES: Wayne West (handicap two) had six birdies on his card in his excellent two-under par round of 70 for 40 Stableford points on Saturday, but was more disappointed in the accompanying four bogeys than excited by the string of birdies. The electrician sparked his round with a birdie at the third then reeled off five more from holes seven to 15 before an unlucky break on 16 led to a bogey. It is the second time in two weeks that Wayne has been on a birdie frenzy – he scored five in another round of 70 in the Wood Duck Challenge on November 15. His 40 points won him A Grade on Saturday, while Terry Grogan (40) won B Grade and Mark Priest (39) returned the best score in C Grade. And Louise Harriott (37 points) had her second win within three months in the Ladies Single Stableford, despite just two games in between. Louise beat the ‘on-fire’ Coralie Walsh on a countback.
SPONSOR MONEY: Justin Walsh, of Walsh Consulting Engineers, is one of Headland’s most generous benefactors, sponsoring the annual Sunshine Men’s Coast Open Amateur Championship and three separate club competitions each year, including this Sunday’s Super Golf. But, of late, Justin and his invited guests have been winning a fair slice of the prizemoney, and that was the case again on Wednesday in the Medley Single Stableford event. Justin won A Grade with 41 points, beating playing partner Burgess Stephenson on a countback, while Justin’s wife Coralie – also playing in the sponsor group – led in the C Grade field with her incredible score of 46. And the fourth member of the group, Coralie’s dad Don Follent (34 points), collected $5 in the run down. Between them, the sponsor group put $215 on their respective House Accounts. Back in July, when Walsh Consulting Engineers sponsored a similar event, Justin (38 points) was placed fourth in A Grade, his father-in-law Don Follent (37) was third in B Grade and Coralie (35) figured in the rundown. Their collective cash grab that day was just $65. Justin, an 11-marker, shot 78 on Wednesday with a birdie, 10 pars and seven bogeys in his very steady round.
WHITE WASH: Margie White may be an octogenarian, but she proved to the ladies of Headland on Thursday that age is no barrier when she won the Single Stableford event with 42 points – a clear victory by six. And, she almost holed out at the par three 14th for what would have been for second eagle in seven days. The tee shot finished a mere 15 centimetres behind the hole. A golfer for more than four decades who regularly plays Thursdays and Saturdays, Margie has had scores of 41, 40 and 38 recently without a win, but certainly nailed it on Thursday to take the B Grade prizemoney. And while she was ‘over the moon’ with her win and ecstatic her scorecard revealed three four-point holes, Margie was impressed there were no pick-ups. As a result, her AGU handicap is down to 22.7, not all that far from the 16 she played from ‘as a youngster’.
NOT WAYWARD: Bob Hayward could never be accused of being a wayward golfer – not on the par threes anyway. Bob aced the 14th at Headland on Tuesday for his second hole-in-one in 14 years as a member, and the fifth during his golfing life. And the five resultant Stableford points from the shot helped the 20-handicapper to one of his best rounds of the year with his 40 points claiming runner-up status in the Men’s event. The retired electrical contractor, who moved north from Sydney with his wife Anne in 2006 and built a house at Mountain Creek, said it was his playing partner Anne who convinced him from the tee that the ball had rolled in the hole, despite the fact it was partly obscured by the pin. “Anne has never scored a hole-in-one, and I think she was more excited than me,” he said. Bob’s previous aces have been on the 18th at Headland and at Robina and The Colonial on the Gold Coast, and during a social round at the par-three course at Palmview.
CHRISSY’S COMEBACK: Had Chrissy Eggins not recently paid her membership fees, she may have given the game away. “My golf over the past few months has been absolutely dreadful,” lamented the 2016 SWING Graduate following her win in Tuesday’s Single Stableford for ladies – with an impressive tally of 41 points. And while the overall score made her ‘very, very happy’, Chrissy’s front nine of 47 shots for a remarkable score of 25 points left her in total disbelief. She scored three points on five holes, and topped that off with a four-pointer on the eighth. Chrissy and husband Steve moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2001 and while Steve joined Headland six years later, Chrissy was a little more reticent about taking up golf. But once she started in SWING, she became hooked and now loves the game and its challenges – despite her recent inclination to ‘retire’. Andrew Beck, with 42 points, won the Men’s event and followed that with 40 on Saturday.
FORTY WINS VETS: Both Monday Vets’ victors, Judy Farmer and Bob Lane, scored 40 Stableford points to return to the winner’s list after a lengthy absence. Following a frustrating 2019 when back and hip injuries allowed her very little golf, Judy is just happy to be back playing again and her 20 points on each nine came out of the blue. A Headland member for 15 years, Judy had two brilliant blocks of five holes on the front and back nines, scoring 13 and 15 points respectively. Bob, who was runner-up the previous Saturday with nett 68, said he could not recall his last win and, like Judy, is pleased he can play golf despite a troublesome shoulder. Bob had seven three-point holes on his card and, as was also the case with Judy, no wipes.
THANKS JACK: Former Headland junior Jack Kelly is better known for his feats on the cricket field, but ‘coaching’ his dad Barry at golf is his most recent success. Barry Kelly won Thursday’s Single Stableford for men with 41 points – his first score in the 30s for as long as he can remember – and the recently-turned 70-year-old heaped all the praise on his son. “Jack and I have been playing together on Thursdays lately and he bluntly told me to realise how old I was, and stop trying to play like I’m still 30,” Barry confided. As a result, he stopped ‘over-swinging’ and the result was a much more consistent round – apart from three holes in the middle where some old habits snuck back into his game. Barry finished with 15 points on the final five holes to give him 21 points on the back nine, and victory on a countback.
EAGLE UPDATE: Five-time Headland Club Champion Dave Rattray had a one-under par round 71 on Thursday, yet could only finish 15th in the field. However, he did have some justice – an eagle at the difficult par-four 16th. Another eagle on Thursday was scored by Dom Geeves, who went eagle, birdie, bogey, birdie from holes 10 to 13. Brendan Southey scored his first-ever eagle three weeks ago and chipped in from 40 metres out at the tenth on Wednesday for another, while Dave Sims scored his second eagle this year when he dunked a lob wedge at the sixth from 65 metres out. And, as reported above, Bob Hayward eagled the 14th on Tuesday.
WEEKLY WINNERS:
Monday, Vets, Single Stableford, Ladies (41 players) – A Grade, Sue Jones (37 points), Carmel Visser (34), Vicki Maynard (33); B Grade, Judy Farmer (40), Trudi Russell (36), Christine Hall (36). Men (66 players) – A Grade, Huki Matenga (40), Graham Newlove (37), Brian Richards (35); B Grade, Bob Lane (40), Alan Dellar (37), Bruno Ciot (36).
Tuesday, Single Stableford, Ladies (56 players) – Chrissy Eggins (41 points), Patrice Jenkins (40), Trish Murphy (38), Dianne Kean (38); Men (60 players) – Andrew Beck (42), Bob Hayward (40), Darryl Pettingill (40), Bob Hunter (39).
Wednesday, Medley Single Stableford (215 players) – A Grade, Justin Walsh (41 points), Burgess Stephenson (41), Will Millroy (39); B Grade, Martyn Dix (41), John Langdon (39), Doug Bannam (38); C Grade, Coralie Walsh (46), Meegan Walker (42), Tim Nunan (41).
Thursday, Single Stableford, Ladies (110 players) – A Grade, Pik Chong (36 points), Colleen Berger (35), Marg Smith (35); B Grade, Marg White (42), Jill Nixey (36), Trudi Russell (36); C Grade, Susie Meade (35), Donna Rose (35), Coralie Snowball (33). Men (93 players) – Barry Kelly (41 points), Ian Dundas (41), Ray Morrison (40).
Saturday, Single Stableford, Ladies (35 players) – Louise Harriott (37 points), Coralie Walsh (37), Colleen Berger (36). Men (208 players) – A Grade, Wayne West (40), Andrew Beck (40), Mark Wittholz (38); B Grade, Terry Grogan (40), Dennis Farmer (38), Doug Hancock (37); C Grade, Mark Priest (39), Brendan Williams (37), Bernie Duncan (36).
Match play final, A Grade – Scott Walker beat Adam Richards (5&4); B Grade – Tom Burnett beat Brett Adamson (7&5); C Grade – Tony Vickers beat Geoff Bland (2-up).
Sunday – Medley Single Stableford (76 players) – Brian Ellem (37 points), Clint Adams (37), Max Pasterfield (37). Fourball Best Ball Match Play Championship final, Anthony and Sam Fichera beat Chris McArdle and Fred Muller (2-up).
