From Tony Durkin
ADAM LEADS: Despite being two shots in front at the halfway mark of the 2025 Headland Men’s Championship, two-time Champion Adam Rydwanksi says the race to the finish post is wide open. And he believes the quality of the players contending may be one of the reasons scores in the first two rounds – on Saturday and Sunday – have been above average. “I’m not really sure, but there are so many good players in contention that nerves may be playing a part,” assessed the Champion of 2016 and 2023 when asked why scores had been higher than expected. Adam shot rounds of 74,76 for his six-over total of 150, and sits two clear of defending Champion Ben Duncombe (77,75), and the ever-consistent, but often underrated Dan Diachkoff (75,77). And with two rounds still to play, five-time Champion, Adam Richards (77,79) sits six shots from the lead. “The greens are in fantastic condition, but are really fast, and hard,” said the 36-hole leader. And while he is quietly confident his experience from having won twice could be a bonus, he said a ‘couple of poor swings’ could bring anyone in contention undone. “Honestly, with the quality of the guys in the running, anyone within six-to-eight shots could win it from here,” he predicted. In B Grade, Gary Marr (167) leads from Terry Grogan (169), while Casey Kennedy (181) is in front in C Grade, from the trio of John Cleary (183), Don Caldwell (183), Jack Lambalk (183). The final 36 holes of the Championships, sponsored Tim Reed of the NeuBau Group, by will be played next Saturday and Sunday.
JOSIE WINS: Despite being Headland’s most decorated golfer, Josie Ryan cannot recall the last time she won an individual club Stableford event. But she turned an almost three-year struggle – both on and off the course – into success on Thursday with a 40-point haul, and a rare victory. “It has been a long, long time since I won an event like today,” she quipped, reflecting on three years of treatment for Multiple Myeloma cancer. Despite winning the 2024 Women’s Championship and Senior Championship, Josie’s handicap has gradually crept out to her highest mark as a 32-year Headland member. But Thursday’s great score – to win Division One – brought her GA back to 11.8. And that means she automatically qualifies for the Australian Senior Amateur titles at Sydney’s Monash Country Club next month, despite the fact she had already been granted a special exemption from Golf Australia. “Because of my past success, I was offered the exemption, which was really nice of GA. But now that I have officially qualified handicap-wise, I feel much better,” said the winner of the two national titles, in 2003 and 2013. On Thursday the holder of 55 Headland Honour Board championships carded two birdies, seven pars, five bogeys and four doubles of her card, for a gross score of 84, a far cry from her ‘golden days’. “I am hoping this is a sign I am on the way back,” she said, with fingers tightly crossed. Nicola Whitmore (39 points) win Division Two, while Carol Sinclair (38) was first in Division Three.
‘NOWHERE’ ROUND: “That round came from nowhere,” beamed Jarred Roker after penning his lowest-ever score at Headland to win Wednesday’s Mid-Week Medal. “Some of my golf lately has been horrendous, with scores in the mid-20s and low 30s.” But that form flew out the window as the GM for a rail contracting infrastructure company shot one-over 73 for nett 64, with an impressive four birdies and 10 pars on his card. “And my six-foot putt for birdie at my final hole, the ninth, lipped out for what would have been a par round,” bemoaned the former Headland junior, who moved back to the Sunshine Coast two years ago after almost two decades living in Sydney. With two young children and a busy work schedule, the former five-marker has not been playing as much golf as he would like, but Wednesday’s score has sharpened his competitive nature. “I am over the moon after that round,” quipped Jarred. And, the spectacular round has reduced his GA handicap from 8.7 – from which he played on Wednesday – to 6.8. While Jarred’s nett score was the talking point of Medal day, the most impressive round came from two-time Club Champion, Adam Rydwanski. On the eve of the 2025 Championships, Adam shot four birdies and two bogeys in his round of two-under 70 from the black tees, to return the best gross. Armed with a new shaft in his driver – courtesy of advice from the Pro Shop – Terry Grogan (69 nett) won the B Grade Medal, while the consistent Steve Walters (71) won C Grade.
CORRECT, DAD: When former junior Steve Notley won his first event as a ‘returned’ Headland member back in June, he conceded his 17-year-old son Ryan was a better golfer. And Steve certain justified that assessment on Wednesday when Ryan scored an eye-catching 47 points to win the Medley Single Stableford, played in conjunction with September’s Mid-Week Medal. A two-year member, who lives with his folks adjacent to the seventh fairway and practises as much as his busy Year 11 commitments at nearby Mountain Creek State High permit, said the game of golf excites him. “I play with my dad mostly, and I realise that round today was something special,” was the understated assessment of his winning score, which included one five-point hole, two fours and nine three-pointers. His only blemish was a wipe at the tough par-four 15th. Ryan played from a handicap of 31 from the white tees, but never again. His new GA is 26.5, and his gaol is to continue reducing that mark. Ryan easily won C Grade, by eight points, with Justin Walsh (37) winning A Grade and Brett Beaumont scoring 40 points to win B Grade.
RACE OVER: While Chrissy Eggins starred in Monday’s final match of the 2025 Sunshine Coast and Burnett District Women’s Race to the Coast competition, Kirsten Kaergaard was Headland’s standout competitor. Like Chrissy, Kirsten won the final match of 2024, also played at Headland, and was runner-up in the overall race this year. And fellow Headland members, Narelle Hollowood and Robyn Boreham, finished third and fourth, respectively. Robyn was the winner of the overall race last year, following in the shoes of Tracey O’Connor who was victorious in 2023. But it was Chrissy who celebrated at Headland on Monday when a selected qualifying group of 39 players contested what was called the ‘final’, despite the fact the 2025 winners had already been decided. Chrissy scored an excellent 41 points, with 15 points in her final six holes, despite wiping 15 and 16. Her back nine of 23 points included three four-point holes and three threes. The annual Race to the Coast event is designed to encourage women to play in lead-up competitions at small clubs in the SCB district, and Headland women again threw their combined support behind the ‘race’ in 2025. To qualify for the ‘final’, members must have played at least two events in each of the three designated groups in the district. The clubs in the respective groups are Caboolture, Beerwah and Woodford in group A, Nambour, Cooroy and Gympie in group B, and Nanango, Murgon and Kingaroy (group C).
SAME SCORE: Victors Sue Harris and Alan Deller have returned the same score – 39 points – to win their respective individual Single Stableford events at Headland on Tuesday. Sue, runner-up in the C Grade Club Championship earlier in the year, won Division One, penning 28 points in her first 10 holes before faltering on the way home. Starting on the back nine – as all golfers do on Tuesdays – she scored a four-pointer, six three-pointers and three twos to kick start her round. Christine Hall (38 points) won Division Two. For Alan, in his 20th year as a member, his 39 points was his third win in three months. “I had two victories in 12 days back in June, but prior to that it had been a long, dry run,” he revealed. “This round came out of the blue.” The most recent breakthrough has come because of a determination to ‘turn the hips and shoulders, and hit through the ball’. “It worked really well on Tuesday, but not so well on Wednesday when I scored 32 points,” he conceded. Disappointingly, Alan had two wipes scar his card on Tuesday after one four-pointer, six threes and eight two pointers.
TOUGH BATTLE: In jest, Alan Reed reckons fighting bowel cancer for the past three years is on a par with his struggles on the golf course. “It has been really tough, on both fronts,” said the 11-year Headland member, who has missed almost 12 months of golf since first diagnosed in 2022. But two good scores in the past few weeks have given Alan new hope, on both fronts. “I recently had what will hopefully be my final surgery, and am back playing regularly again. And I have also been playing much better,” he revealed. Alan scored 39 points to win Thursday’s Single Stableford for Men, which followed a Sunday score of 41 points two weeks earlier when he was beaten on a countback. His impressive back nine on Thursday, which reaped 22 of his winning points, featured two four-point holes, three threes, two twos, a single and a wipe. “That kind of score pretty much sums up my golf of late,” he quipped, disclosing that his GA over the past three years has slipped from 22 to 31.
KATE SHINES: Despite no Women’s competition at Headland over the weekend because of the Men’s Club Championships, Kate Wilkie and Janelle Heaney were still able to keep the female flag flying. As one of just nine women in the Medley field of 80 on Saturday, Janelle fired one of her most consistent recent rounds for 42 points, and victory on a countback from Graham Miller. And her card was superb – seven three-point holes, ten twos and just the lone one-pointer. Then on Sunday, Kate continued her recent run of outstanding results when she saluted, also in the Medley Single Stableford. Her current winning spree, including the identical event seven days earlier, have been the Women’s Foursomes, alongside Narelle Hollowood, and the Saturday September Monthly Medal. Kate scored 37 points on Sunday to win from Laura Mason-Baierl (34), and credited her putting – a meagre 23 – for her win. She was superb on the back nine, scoring 23 points with six pars and three bogeys on her card, and penned 89 from the white tees.
WEEKLY RESULTS:
Monday, SCBDWA Race to the Coast, final (39 players) – Chrissy Eggins (41 points), Tracey O’Connor (39), Odette Day (38), Di Gilmour (37).
Tuesday, Single Stableford, Women (53 players) – Division One, Sue Harris (39 points), Jenny Pirini (36), Jill Nixey (34); Division Two, Christine Hall (38), Kay Campbell (33), Marion Dennis (33).
Men (68 players) – Allan Deller (39 points), John Jamieson (38), Geoff Sawyer (38).
Wednesday, Men, Mid-Week Medal – sponsor Ryan Tomlinson, Century 21 on Duporth – (119 players) – A Grade, Jarred Roker (64 nett), Adam Rydwanski (69), Ian Farrington (71); B Grade, Terry Grogan (69), Scott Ingham (70), Paul Clarke (70); C Grade, Steve Walters (71), Graham Miller (73), Dave Walker (73); best gross – Adam Rydwanski (70).
Single Stableford (103 players) – A Grade, Justin Walsh (37 points), Gary Clarke (36), Tony Waddington (35); B Grade, Brett Beaumont (40), Patrick Walsh (37), Gordon Russell (35); C Grade, Ryan Notley (47), Quentin Mungomery (39), Trevor Beall (38).
Thursday, Single Stableford, Women – sponsors, Claire Watson and family, Lesley Johnston, Del Whittaker, Marie Flegler and Mary Gibberd – (102 players) – Division One, Josie Ryan (40 points), Dora Habgood (38), Sue Briffa (37); Division Two, Nicola Whitmore (39), Julie Lewis (37), Pam Vincent (37); Division Three, Carol Sinclair (38), Coralie Snowball (37), Denise Lawson (35).
Men (87 players) – Alan Reed (39 points), John Craven (38), Mark Beswick (36).
Saturday, Men’s Club Championship – sponsor Tim Reed, NeuBau Group – Round one (130 players) – A Grade, gross, Adam Rydwanski (74), Dan Diachkoff (75); nett, Glenn Walker (70), Darryl Kong (71); B Grade, gross, Gary Marr (83), Druce Fielding (83); nett, Terry Grogan (70), Brad Downes (70); C Grade, gross, Jack Lambalk (85), Peter O’Brien (88); nett, Don Caldwell (71), John Halbert (71).
Overflow, Medley Single Stableford (80 players) – Janelle Heaney (42 points), Graham Miller (42), Gary Clarke (40).
Sunday, Men’s Club Championship – sponsor Tim Reed, NeuBau Group – Round one (130 players) – A Grade, gross, Wayne West (74), Jack Hourn (75); nett, Scott Bromfield (72), Sam Fichera (72); B Grade, gross, Paul Clarke (81), Rhett Charlton (84); nett, Sam Schefe (70), Matt Macauley (71); C Grade, gross, Casey Kennedy (90), Josh Poole (90); nett, Mark Priest (70), Gary Jamieson (70).
Top 10 Championship contenders: Adam Rydwanski (150), Ben Duncombe (152), Dan Diachkoff (152), Jack Hourn (153), Wayne West (154), Brendan Duncan (155), Adam Richards (156), Glenn Walker (159), Scott Bromfield (161), Damian Moelands (161).
B Grade, Gary Marr (167), Terry Grogan (169), Paul Clarke (171), Terry Ward (173), Andrew Fisher (174), Matt Hetherington (174), Chris Klazema (174).
C Grade, Casey Kennedy (181), John Cleary (183), Don Caldwell (183), Jack Lambalk (183).
Medley Single Stableford (36 players) – Kate Wilkie (37 points), Laura Mason-Baierl (34), Jay Gourlay 34).
