From Tony Durkin
WOMEN’S FOURSOMES: Having not contested an Honour Board event for just on a decade, Lisa Ramen has added a second 2024 Championship to her already impressive list of Headland successes. Women’s Club Champion in 2006 and 2007, Lisa joined 2023 Club Champion Sharon Thomas to win Thursday’s 27-hole Women’s Foursomes Championship – the first time the pair has teamed together. “Neither of us played particularly well, but we had no blowouts,” revealed Sharon, the defending Foursomes Champion. “We just seemed to ‘get it around’, and we felt no pressure, or stress.” Lisa agreed. “We have been meaning to play this event for years, and it was just a fun day – as Foursomes should be,” she offered. The pair returned 127 for the 72-hole event, beating Championship sponsor Narelle Hollowood (FlipBelt) and her partner Kate Wilkie, by two strokes. Laura Mason-Baierl and Nicola Whitmore (107.75) returned the best nett score. Although she was unaware at the time, for Lisa it was a special victory – 30 years to since she won her first title at Headland, with her mother Geraldine. “I didn’t realise it was that long ago until I read it on the Headland App the next morning. Thankfully it was not mentioned during the presentations, otherwise I might have been an emotional mess,” she said. After being beaten by Josie Ryan by one shot for the Club Championship back in May, Lisa struck back by convincingly winning the Women’s Match Play Championship a month later. The Foursomes’ win was her sixth, and the seventh for Sharon in the past eight years. NOTE: Back in 1994 when Lisa and her mum won the Foursomes, the event was played over 36 holes, with players not permitted to use carts. After 36 holes, they were square with Kathy Atkins and Karen Wilson, and played a further sudden-death five holes before eventually snaring the title.
GROOVY ED: After winning his first event on Saturday since early in the year, Ed Hoey quipped that he was ‘in the groove’. And so he was, with 42 points to win the Men’s Single Stableford in C Grade, compiling the equal best score in the field of 226, beating event sponsor Rob Chaplin on a countback. “It was a consistent round, which is unlike my golf of late. Normally I am consistently bad, with 12 or 13 good holes and the rest very ordinary,” he said. Ed, a retired Government HR Manager who is currently a member of Headland’s Governance Committee, scored two four-pointers, five threes, eight twos and three singles, with 21 points on both nines. A Headland member for 18 years, he took up golf for ‘something to do’ when he retired, had three years at Nambour before joining Headland. And although his handicap has ‘blown out’ a little this year despite the two wins, his other highlight was his first eagle, at the par-four 11th hole, three months ago. Scott Bromfield (38 points) won A Grade and Graham Myers scored 40 points to win C Grade.
BOOM, BOOM: Carrying a nickname she had while a member at Brisbane’s Oxley Golf Club, Linda Cannon won Division One in Tuesday’s Single Par for Women. “Before he moved here, Adam Norlander was the Head Pro at Oxley, and because of my surname, he called me Boom Boom,” revealed Linda, who joined Headland three years ago. Sporting her ‘flash’ new TaylorMade golf bag she won as her prize for victory in Headland’s 2024 Seniors Eclectic last month, Linda scored plus two to win by three strokes. “And I don’t even like playing par events very much,” she quipped after penning five plusses and 10 squares on her card. “I usually find it hard to score in these events.” Linda said her form had been ‘up-and-down’ since her standout win in the two-day Seniors Eclectic, and Tuesday’s better round had been somewhat of a surprise. “I putted well, and that saved me a few times,” she said. With the same score of plus two, Denise Carmichael won Division Two.
MANY THANKS: Jonny Clarke accepts no kudos for his winning round, and the best score, in Wednesday’s Medley Mid-Week Medal. “My mate Chris Risby and a new LAB putter can take all the credit,” said the Northern Ireland native, who has been in Australia, on the Sunshine Coast, for just five years. “I play regularly with Chris, and a month ago he said ‘we need to do something about that slice of yours’,” Jonny divulged. “And his advice has helped, as has my new putter.” Jonny said he had rarely broken 90 this year, his game has been so poor. “I have previously played off 14, and have twice shot 84 around Headland as well as my best-ever 76 last November, but today I played off 21,” he said. His 85 for 64 nett, which won the C Grade Medal, featured a birdie and eight pars, but the highlight was two over 37 on the back nine. “I had just 11 putts on the back, so hopefully there is something in my game to stop me playing like a flog, as I have been for the past eight months or so,” he enthused. Jamie Holbrook (65 nett) won the A Grade Medal, Ross Itzstein (69) topped the B Grade leaderboard and Ben Duncombe (two under 69) returned the best gross, and on the way eagled the par-five tenth.
ABSURD WIN: Bocca Italian Pizza Chef Alnon Paggabao remains in disbelief after scoring 44 points to win Sunday’s Medley Single Stableford event. “I honestly can’t believe how well I played,” said the Filipino-born 21 handicapper, who joined Headland at the end of 2022. “I recently bought a new set of irons and they helped me perform – by my standard – some miracles out there today.” The ‘miracles’ included a back nine of three over 39 for 26 points, despite a double bogey at the par-four 17th. And his outstanding round started without a hint of what was to come – a wipe at the first, followed by a double bogey. Not only was the win his fifth as a Headland member, it came following a last-minute decision to play after he spotted a vacancy in the draw on Sunday morning. Alnon dabbled in golf in the US as a youngster but has only played the game seriously since he joined Headland, where his list of victories has included a Monthly Medal.
WINNING WEEKEND: “I just hope I can keep it going,” said Leeanne Ptak after victories on successive days over the weekend. Fully recovered from hip surgery last year, Leeanne won Saturday’s Single Stableford for Women with 40 points, then teamed with Vicky Sheridan on Sunday to breeze through the first round of the Fourball Best Ball Match Play Championship. “I’m getting through the ball much better since my surgery, and the results are showing,” she commented after having lost two strokes from her handicap in 10 days. But Saturday’s winning round had its ups and downs. “I started on the back nine, had doubles on my first two holes and drowned two balls before turning things around at the 16th with a four-pointer. From that point on, I scored 27 points.” And when quizzed on the Match Play victory, Leeanne described herself as a ‘very different player’. “I love Match Play. I have a very different mindset, and enjoy playing aggressively,” she divulged.
LUCKY TONY: “To be truthful, I don’t know how it happened,” was Tony Waddington’s explanation for his excellent round of six-under his handicap in Tuesday’s Single Par for Men. “I just had a good day out, and there was a fair slice of luck involved.” A member for more than two decades who played little golf in that period and took leave of absence several times, scored plus six, and won the event by five strokes. Playing from a handicap of 14, Tony ‘picked up’ three times when he could not add to his score, but otherwise recorded 10 plusses, four squares and a minus for his second win since November last year. “That was my best round in ages. I won the C Grade Monthly Medal and also aced the fifth hole,” he revealed. Since retiring as a Phys Ed teacher at Nambour High last year, Tony has revived his golf career in a big way and now plays at least twice a week – Wednesday and Saturday – and frequently on Thursday. “But with the Women’s Foursomes Championships on Thursday this week, we decided to play on Tuesday, and I’m really glad we did,” he quipped.
BOB IS BACK: It has taken Bob Trevor just four hours and 43 minutes on the par 72 Headland course to record his 26th round of either beating or equalling his age at his home course. The 79-year-old, who turns 80 in November, shot 79 in Saturday’s Single Stableford for 36 points from his handicap of seven. With the ‘opening’ of the 17th hole on Saturday, it was the first time Headland had returned to its official par 72 rating since course/bunker reconstruction work started in May last year. And during the fluctuating ‘new’ par on a shorter course, Bob added another 42 ‘unofficial’ rounds to his overall record, which stands at a phenomenal 68. A retired Telecom Technician who has been a member for 37 years, Bob first beat his age in November 2015 when, at 71, he shot three-under 69 for 45 Stableford points.
NEAREST MISS: From the tee, Wayne Cassidy knew his ball had finished close to the hole at the par-three 18th on Saturday. “It landed about two metres short of the hole, bounced forward, hit the pin and stopped dead,” explained the former FIFO oil rig worker. When Wayne and his group arrived at the green, they could not believe his bad luck. The ball had stopped one millimetre from the hole, robbing the decade-long Headland member of his first ace. But he confirmed he dropped the putt, and won $37 for the pin shot plus $50 for finishing third in B Grade, on a countback.
WEEKLY RESULTS:
Tuesday, Single Par, Women (52 players) – Division One, Linda Cannon (plus 2), Pik Chong (-1), Carolyn Schwarz (-1); Division Two, Denise Carmichael (+2), Kym Mason (square), Roz Brandt (-1).
Men (61 players) – Tony Waddingham (+6), Colin Cross (+1), Josh Poole (square).
Wednesday, Medley Mid-Week Medal – sponsor Ryan Tomlinson, Century 21 on Duporth – (226 players) – A Grade, Jamie Holbrook (65 nett), Joel Cooney (68), Alan Brooker (69); B Grade, Ross Itzstein (69), Rory Hanley (70), Richard Senior (70); C Grade, Jonny Clarke (64), Ashleigh Matheson (66), Graham Pitt (67); Best gross – Ben Duncombe (69).
Thursday, 2024 Women’s Foursomes Championship, 27 holes – sponsor, Narelle Hollowood, FlipBelt – (78 players) – Champions, Lisa Ramen and Sharon Thomas (127); runners-up, Narelle Hollowood and Kate Wilkie (129);
27 hole nett, Laura Mason-Baierl and Nicola Whitmore (107.75); runners-up, Gay David and Mary Young (112); 18 hole gross, Colleen Berger and Julie Halliday (89); 18 hole nett, Wil Sprake and Monica Antony (72.5); nine hole gross, Annabel Harris and Josie Ryan (44); nine hole nett, Penny Cooper and Trish Arden (35.5).
Overflow, Single Stableford (22 players) – Roz Brandt (34 points), Marie Flegler (34), Lesley Johnston (32).
Saturday, Single Stableford – sponsor, Rob Chaplin, Chaplin Cranes and Excavators – Women (18 players) – Leeanne Ptak (40 points), Anne Callanan (38), Janelle Heaney (38).
Men (226 players) – A Grade, Scott Bromfield (38), Doc Fleming (38), Darcy Brown (37); B Grade, Graham Myers (40), Ross Roberts (39), Wayne Cassidy (38); C Grade, Ed Hoey (42), Rob Chaplin (42), Brett Beaumont (40).
Juniors, Nine-hole Stroke – Finn Darlison (39), Matthew Bothma (42), Max Faulkner (43), Benjamin Cox (43), Dominic Manning (43), Cooper Hulsman (45).
Sunday, Medley Single Stableford (59 players) – Alnon Paggabao (44 points), Craig Firns (41), David Groom (40).
Fourball Best Ball Matchplay Championship, round of 16 – Brendan Duncan and Bernie Duncan beat Neil Oxley and Graeme Warne (walkover), Barry Newton and Gary Martin beat Peter Richardson and Simon Richardson (6&5), Coralie Walsh and Don Follent beat Jamie Holbrook and Ciaran Fenton (7&6), Leeanne Ptak and Vicky Sheridan beat Daniel Brooks and Chris Schultz (5&4), Cathy Roberts and Robyn Muir beat Gary Marr and Andy Whitmore (2-up), Ben Pearson and Rob Van Delft beat Mick Kelsey and Mick Kinnear (2&1), Bob Lane and Terry Grogan beat Mick Morris and Glen Grimish (1-up).
