From Tony Durkin
ANNABEL LEADS: In her own words, Annabel Harris is a shock leader after the first round of the 2025 Headland Women’s Championships. After winning B Grade in the Medley Single Stableford three days earlier, the former Advertising Executive mocked suggestions from HH that she was favourite to win her first Headland Championship. And even after her opening round of 90 and a two-shot lead over Lisa Ramen with three rounds remaining, she was far from impressed. “We started on the par-five 10th hole, and I had an eight,” she bemoaned. “Then I scored a double at the 13th, and at the 18th lost a ball in the Zoysia grass in front of the bunker, and took a triple. I honestly cannot believe I am leading.” But Annabel was not the only one struggling in what she said were ‘extremely tough’ conditions. Defending Champion and 20-time title holder Josie Ryan scored 101 and the club’s lowest handicapped female, Lisa Ramen, returned 92, to be two shots off the lead. “That is the worst round of golf I have ever had at Headland,” revealed a bitterly disappointed Josie. “I have never cracked the ton before. At the moment, there is a complete lack of co-ordination between my brain and my body.” But her good friend Annabel expects a comeback from the Champion. “Josie is never beaten,” the first-round leader warned. Vicky Sheridan, who finished equal with Lisa Ramen on 92, leads the A Grade nett on 76, while Kathy Atkins (97) and Gail Young (74) are B Grade gross and nett leaders, respectively, with Debbie Bennetts (105) and Ellen Bloxsome (78) sharing those honours in C Grade. Round Two of the Championships, which are again being sponsored by Jodie McDonell of Century 21 on Duporth, will be played on Thursday, followed by the third round on Saturday.
LUCKY GOLFER: “I must be the luckiest golfer in Buderim,” teased Terry Ward after winning Wednesday’s Medley Single Stableford. Despite three wipes on his card, and a missed ‘tiddler’ par putt at the 17th, the recently-retired Building and Engineering Manager still scored 38 points and a Medley victory, by a single point. “I wiped the fifth and seventh, then took four more shots on the 18th after hitting the green,” he lamented. “But I must admit the conditions were difficult. The course still doesn’t have much run, and it was very windy out there today.” The win was Terry’s third in recent months, but he knows he can play better, and is not getting carried away. “But, if this is retirement, I’m loving it,” he beamed. Apart from the three wipes, his card showed revealed two birdies, nine pars and four bogeys in his A Grade victory. Annabel Harris (37 points) warmed up for the Women’s Championships with a win in B Grade – and also collected the NTP at the 18th – for a handy dividend of $111. And Trevor Beall won C Grade, with 36 points.
HAPPY CAPTAIN: ‘Absolutely loving’ her first term as Women’s Director of Golf, Valerie O’Brien added to the joy on Thursday with her first victory in ‘a fair while’. “I was in a team which won a Foursomes event recently, but it has been a long time since I had an individual win,” revealed Valerie, who scored 35 points to return the best score from 102 starters in the Women’s Single Stableford. Her score won Division Two, with Linda Cannon (33) and Marion Dennis (30) claiming victory in Divisions One and Three respectively, in what was another tough day at the office for the Headland Women. “There was a little more run today, which suits my game, but the course is still difficult for those of us who don’t hit a long ball,” she said. But Valerie conceded she ‘played okay’, with her highlights extracting herself from every bunker in one shot, and finishing in a blaze of glory with a long putt to par her final hole. And when asked if she was enjoying her first year as Women’s Captain, she replied ‘absolutely’. “We have great camaraderie and spirit among our women, which makes my role a delight,” she said.
DIAMOND BEN: Two-year member Ben Faith described his golf of late rocks and diamonds, but he found something glinting on the course on Saturday. With the equal-best score of the day, Ben scored an impressive plus six, to win the C Grade section of the Medley Par Plus event. “It was nothing spectacular, but there was a little more consistency,” said the 25-marker who penned five pars, seven bogeys and six doubles on his card. “Because of the weather and family commitments, I had not played for a few weeks, and had no idea what to expect. I scored in the low 20s in my previous round before the break, a Stableford event.” A Buderim local, Ben’s sport had been cricket for most of his life but recently the Project Manager for a Civil Engineering company decided to turn his sporting attention to golf – something he does not regret. “My driver worked for me on Saturday, which is pleasing. But I struggled on the par threes,” he added, emphasising his recent rocks and diamonds results. Adrian Goyne, also with plus six, won B Grade and Gary Marr continued his recent run of good form with plus five, and victory in A Grade.
SHOW-OFF GOLF: Business Coach Rod Hurst partnered three women in his winning round at Headland on Tuesday, and reckoned he may have been ‘showing off’ in front of the ladies. “This was the first time I have played in the same group as women, and it is my best round of golf that I can recall in recent times. So maybe the company helped,” quipped the former Brisbane Brothers rugby league player from the 80s, who was coached by luminaries Wayne Bennett and Tom Raudonikis. After heading north, Rod joined Nambour, and then Headland a decade ago, but injuries – including carpal tunnel – have restricted his golf outings for the past 2½ years. He has strung together half a dozen successive Tuesday appearances, and after his 38 points on Tuesday, with six pars and seven three-pointers on his card, Rod is feeling more confident, and keen, particularly now that his business is in the ‘wind-down stage’. Leeanne Ptak, with 34 points, won the Women’s Tuesday event.
‘HACKER’ WINS: A self-confessed golfing battler, Sergio Nogarotto, ended almost 12 months of ‘rubbish’ golf to win Thursday’s Single Stableford for Men. “I’m a bit of a hacker, who plays golf for the overall pleasure it brings,” admitted the ex- financial controller for a large American food ingredient company, and former Headland Director of Finance. “I try to play twice a week, and sometimes with the Vets as well, and results really are not all that important.” However, he was more than happy to score a win after a long drought, and pleased his swing ‘might have returned’. “Over a period of time I recognised I had become lazy with my swing, and I think I may have adjusted to some normality,” he reported. While 40 points – and eight three-point holes on his card – was pleasing, Sergio was despondent with his four one-pointers. “I three putted each one, and went well past the hole each time,” he lamented. “I found the greens a little unpredictable.”
GREEN CHANGE: An apprentice greenkeeper at another Sunshine Coast club, who joined Headland for a change of scenery, has won his first-ever golf competition. Jarvis Wellington, who is in the second year of his apprenticeship at Caloundra, scored 40 points and beat two others on a countback to win Sunday’s Medley Single Stableford. “I work at Caloundra six days a week, so it is nice to have a change for scenery,” said the 17-year-old, who had scant interest in golf until he started his apprenticeship. “My main reason for taking on the job was my interest in machinery.” But Jarvis has progressed well since becoming a member in December, reducing his handicap to 32, from which he played in Sunday when he penned six three-pointers, 10 two-pointers and two singles in his round of 100. And he was in esteemed company, playing in the same group as two-time Headland Champion Adam Rydwanski, and Adam’s nine-year-old son Blake. Adam, playing off plus one, finished with 33 points and was upstaged by both juniors. Blake scored 38 points from his 31 handicap, finished fourth in the field of 62, and scored his second win against his highly-credentialled dad.
JUNIOR PENNANT: Despite being under the weather with the ‘flu, Max Faulkner has dropped a 2½ -metre putt on his final hole to maintain favouritism for Headland’s No.2 team to win the 2025 Sunshine Coast Junior Pennant Division Two competition. Playing against Peregian at Woodford yesterday (Sunday), Headland needed Max to halve his match to win, and Max needed to sink the putt to kept their Championship hopes alive. Earlier Matthew Bothma won 7&5, Finn Darlison won 5&3 and Dom Manning was narrowly beaten, 2-down. Headland (2) remain unbeaten in the competition following their 2½-1½ victory, and will play Headland (1) in next Sunday’s final round after the No.1 team tied against Noosa, 2-all. Sam Fichera won 7&6 and Mitch McFarland won 4&3, while Seth Riley (8&7) and David Groom (3&1), lost their matches. Only a major upset next Sunday will prevent Headland (2) from winning the Division Two Pennant, with Caloundra and Gunabul to clash in the other final-round match. The Pennant will be decided on a first past-the-post basis, and the much-anticipated Headland-Headland clash will be played at home.
WEEKLY RESULTS:
Tuesday, Single Stableford, Women (30 players) – Leeanne Ptak (34 points), Kathy Petrie (29), Narelle Hollowood (29).
Men (61 players) – Rod Hurst (38 points), Garry Holmes (37), Brad Williams (34).
Wednesday, Medley Single Stableford – sponsor, Mark Postle, Coastal Chiropractic Kawana – (186 players) A Grade, Terry Ward (38 points), Jay Gourlay (37), Darcy Brown (37); B Grade, Annabel Harris (37), Dave Mansley (36), Peter Raymond (35); C Grade, Trevor Beall (36), Peter McMillan (33), Nick Page (32).
Thursday, Single Stableford, Women – sponsor, Sunlife Skin Cancer Care Centre – (102 players) – Division One, Linda Cannon (33 points), Bev Barnes (33), Wil Sprake (32 points); Division Two, Valerie O’Brien (35), Laura Mason-Baierl (33), Kaye Simmons (31); Division Three, Marion Dennis (30), Jackie Thinee (26), Lynn Mansfield (26).
Men (70 players) – Sergio Nogarotto (40 points), Peter Raymond (36), Garry Holmes (36).
Saturday, Women, 2025 Club Championships – sponsor, Jodie McDonell, Century 21 on Duporth, first round (43 players) – A Grade, gross – Annabel Harris (90), Lisa Ramen (92), Vicky Sheridan (92), nett – Vicky Sheridan (76), Pik Chong (77); B Grade, gross – Kathy Atkins (97), Sandy Whittle (99), Kirsten Kaergaard (101), nett – Gail Young (77), Kerry Longworth (78); C Grade, gross – Debbie Bennetts (105), Sue Briffa (109), Ellen Bloxsome (111), nett – Ellen Bloxsome (78), Trish Arden (78).
Medley Par Plus (187 players) – A Grade, Garry Marr (plus 5), Peter Perrett (+3), Chris Weir (+3); B Grade, Adrian Goyne (+6), Deon Breytenbach (+4), Graeme Warne (+3); C Grade, Ben Faith (+6), Errol Greiner (+4), Mark Johnson (+4).
Juniors, Six-hole Stroke – Matthew Bothma (31), Finn Darlison (31), Noah Sergeant (38), Emme Coburn (46).
Sunday, Medley Single Stableford (62 players) – Jarvis Wellington (40 points), Will Millroy (40), Chris McArdle (40).
