From Tony Durkin
MEN’S PENNANT: Headland has finished atop the 2024 Sunshine Coast/Glasshouse A Grade Pennant ladder, and will play Caboolture in next Sunday’s semi-final. After smashing Caloundra 5½-1½ at Maroochy River in the final round yesterday (Sunday), Headland has now finished top in A Grade in three of the past four years. Club Champion Ben Duncombe was in sensational form on Sunday, humiliating his Caloundra opponent 8&6. But he was not the only comprehensive winner. Glenn Walker won 8&6, Shane Muller 7&5, Adam Richards 4&2, and Sean McGill 2&1. Steve Hudson, playing against Caloundra’s No.1 player, was beaten 2&1, while Brendan Duncan, making his A Grade debut, squared his match. Next Sunday’s semi-final against Caboolture, will be played at Mt Coolum, with the first groups teeing off at 9.30am. Headland won eight of its nine matches to finish on 16 points, two ahead of Bribie Island, with Mt Coolum (11) and Caboolture (10) the other finalists.
OPEN CHAMP: Despite being ambivalent about her form following a long break from golf, Fiona Munro has prevailed to win the Headland 2024 Women’s Open Day on Monday. “I’m never certain which Fiona will come out, so I was amazed I actually prevailed,” said Fiona, who scored 83 to win the best gross. But she added she was ‘very chuffed’ with her form on a Headland course where she has been a member for a dozen years, but has played little golf of late. “I retired in February and my partner and I have since been travelling extensively in a caravan,” said the former Pharmaceutical HR Manager. “And because my partner is a member at Nudgee Golf Club (where Fiona was once B Grade Champion), I have been playing there quite often.” An ‘impossible’ lie in the thick grass adjacent to a bunker on the par-five 13th led to a double bogey, and her only real blemish of the day, with a birdie, six pars and nine bogeys on a tough layout, from the Championship tees. Players from Noosa, Cooroy, Mt Coolum, Maroochy River, Twin Waters, Maleny, Woodford, Caboolture, Bribie Island and Nudgee contested the annual event, which was sponsored by club member, Narelle Hollowood of Sport Skirts, whom Fiona thanked profusely. “Headland is very fortunate to have such a vibrant and generous member as Narelle. Her sponsorship of our Open was amazing,” Fiona said.
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO: His ‘romantic’ mum named him Zhivago, but the winner of Saturday’s Single Stableford for Men simply wants to be called ‘Doc’. And ‘Doc’ Fleming certainly delivered, scoring five-over 76 for a return of 43 Stableford points, and an impressive win in B Grade. “It is not just my best round, but also my most consistent since I joined Headland,” revealed the plumber/gasfitter, who is contracted to Pizza legends, Dominos. Doc, playing off his lowest career handicap of 12, had 13 pars and five bogeys on his card, which was highlighted by nine three-point holes. “From tee to green, everything clicked, but my putting did not prevail. I had 10 birdie looks, and landed none,” said the former coach of Sunshine Coast University Rugby Club. He last won in January 2023, also with 43 points, but that day his card revealed a triple and two doubles. Damian Moelands (38 points) won A Grade and Mark Gersbach (39) returned to the winning list with victory in C Grade.
YOUNG SENIOR: Gail Young has captured a Headland Open Day double, returning her second-best score as a 2013 SWING graduate. The ex-Victorian, who moved to the Sunshine Coast almost two decades ago, won the B Grade Stableford in Monday’s Open, and her score of 44 points also collected the Seniors’ prize. “I haven’t been playing all that well, so my score was quite a surprise,” said the 2015 C Grade Champion. “We have recently spent a month overseas and that was just my fifth round since returning.” And what a round it was, on a day that Gail described as ‘perfect for golf’. She penned nine three-pointers and a four-pointer, and had no wipes. “And there wasn’t one duffed shot,” she revealed. While 44 points on an Open Day course is outstanding, it wasn’t the best on Monday. Noosa visitor Tracey Skeppstrom annihilated the course, scoring 46 points to win C Grade. And 44 points is not Gail’s best either. “I had 45 points on the first day of an eclectic event a few years ago, then bombed out the next day,” she lamented.
MOORE GOLF: He has just emerged from his longest non-winning run in 28 years as a Headland member, and Ian Moore hopes the drought is finally over. “I have felt for a while my game was coming back, and finally it happened,” said the former Men’s Club Captain following his 42 points to win A Grade in Wednesday’s Medley Single Stableford. Recent health issues have hindered the septuagenarian, who once played from a handicap off two but scored a birdie, 10 pars and seven bogeys from 14 on Wednesday (which is now down to 12.5). “Not only can I not remember my last win, but I can’t even recall my last decent round,” said Ian, who has played Pennants for Headland every year since he arrived from Canberra in 1996, except this past season. And despite his lack of recent success, the veteran says he ‘really likes’ the improvements to the course. “I can honestly say the course has improved every year I have been here,” he observed. Ross Itzstein (40 points) won B Grade and Douwe Hoeksema (42) also emerged from the golfing doldrums to win C Grade.
BACK HOME: When Janette Ritchie won her last individual victory at Headland in November 2023, she had just returned from a two-month overseas trip. So, on that basis, it was no surprise that Janette won again on Thursday, three (3) weeks after visiting Scotland, the country of her birth. “Before I left, I had been playing dreadful golf, so I obviously needed a break,” said Janette who joined Headland as a total rookie in 2020. “Even though Scotland is the home of golf, it is an expensive sport, and my brother was the family member who received membership.” But in the interim, Janette’s twin sister Elaine has also started playing, and is down to a handicap of 19, a goal the 33.5 marker has set herself. And if Thursday’s very consistent round – in which she beat all women and men – she is on the way. In scoring plus five in the Single Par event, Janette registered nine squares, seven plusses and just two minuses, with a fabulous front nine of plus four, to win Division Three. Jan Langdon (+4) won Division One and Marg White (+3) won Division Two.
DRINKS, PLEASE: After wiping his first two holes in Thursday’s Single Par for Men, Col Pledge decided to concentrate on winning the side bet of two beers. And not only did he and partner Garth Seymour win the bet, but Col also won the event as well as the Follies competition, and collected a hefty booty of $195. “After the first two holes I thought ‘well that’s it for the competition, but don’t give up,” said the retired Police Officer, who is steadily adapting to his new set of Callaway Paradym Smoke clubs. Col parred nine of his final 11 holes to finish with plus three, his second big win within 10 days. And while he is gaining more distance and better control with the clubs, a new reverse-tapered grip on his putter has also improved his scoring. Col and his wife Suzanne have had notable success since returning recently from a six-week overseas trip. They achieved a rare first during Headland’s 2024 Seniors Eclectic two weeks ago, with Col winning Men’s Division One, while Suzanne collected her first major result with victory in Women’s Division Two. Suzanne then backed that up last Monday with a second, in C Grade, during Headland’s 2024 Women’s Open Day. “Yes, we are both enjoying our golf of late,” quipped Col.
BUSY KATE: After three successive days of golf, Kate Wilkie coined a line from John Lennon’s ‘Beautiful Boy’ to clarify her recent good form. “(Good golf and) life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans,” quipped Kate, after winning Tuesday’s Single Stableford for Women. The 14-marker scored 40 points, won the comp by three points and returned the best score of the day, also beating the best of the 70 players in the men’s field by four points. “Tuesday’s effort started the previous day in the Women’s Open following a snap invite to play, from Vicky Sheridan,” Kate revealed. “I played in the same group as gross winner Fiona Munro, and with increased run on the course I even managed to pass a couple of her monster drives.” Kate finished fourth in the 18-hole A Grade nett on Monday, then followed up with six three-pointers and a four-pointer on Tuesday. Then, to relax, Kate headed to Woodford on Wednesday for a Par-Three Gala Day, which she described as ‘just a waltz in the park’. Malcolm Woods (36 points) won the Men’s event on Tuesday.
RUGBY PREVAILS: Last year’s winners of the 4BBB Handicap Match Play Championship, Alex Dwyer and Lachie Moffat, will not be defending their title when the 2024 competition tees off on Saturday, August 10. “We are both rugby fans, and have corporate tickets to the Wallabies-Springbok Test at Suncorp that day,” said a disappointed Alex. Entries for the Honour Board event, yet again sponsored by Michael Thomas of ZenFind Accounting, are now open, with the top 16 qualifiers to play elimination rounds over the following four Sundays. The final will be played on Sunday, September 15. Entries close next Thursday (August 1).
EX-CHAMP WINS: Headland’s 2014 Women’s Champion, Sue Jones, hopes her win in Saturday’s Single Stableford might be the start of a long-awaited purple patch. “My golf of late has been terrible,” said Sue, who had a stint in hospital last year with a severe back complaint and missed more than three months of golf. “But I’m back out there playing, and competing, so I can’t complain too much.” Sue, who is Women’s Director of Golf at Headland, said it was her competitive spirit and the urge to win the side bet that inspired her victory on Saturday. “Roz Brandt and I were four down at the turn, and won six-up,” she beamed. The win was her first in at least 12 months, but Sue laments the fact her playing handicap – 17 – is the highest from which she has played in her 16 years as a Headland member. “My lowest handicap has been eight, but my left leg femoral issues have resulted in my losing a lot of my former power, and my handicap has ballooned accordingly,” Sue lamented.
FAMILY AFFAIR: The scores were not brilliant, but three families were rapt to join the celebrations after Sunday’s Medley Fourball Best Ball Stableford. And leading those revelries were father-and-son combination, Trevor and Jay Gourlay, with 44 points. “We shared the honours,” said nine-marker Jay, who is a member of Headland’s ground staff. On an ‘interesting’ card, both Trevor (handicap 26) and Jay carded four-point birdies, but also penned four one-pointers on their winning card. Runners-up were husband-and-wife Andy and Nicola Whitmore (43 points), while Don Caldwell teamed with his father-in-law, Peter Wood, to also score 43 points, and finish third.
WEEKLY RESULTS:
Monday, Headland Women’s Open – sponsor, Narelle Hollowood, Skirt Sports (104 players) – A Grade Stroke, Paula Anderson (73 nett), Fiona Munro (73), Samantha Brown (75), gross – Fiona Munro (83).
Open Single Stableford, B Grade, Gail Young (44 points), Will Sprake (42), Juli Hoven (39); C Grade, Tracey Skeppstrom (46), Suzanne Pledge (39), Di Stark (38).
Seniors Stableford, Gaily Young (44), Will Sprake (42).
Tuesday, Single Stableford, Women (38 players) – Kate Wilkie (40 points), Mouna Humzy (37), Marion Dennis (37).
Men (70 players) – Malcolm Woods (36 points), Chris Risby (35), Sam Dangerfield (35).
Wednesday, Medley Single Stableford – sponsor, Mal Galletly, AJ Steel – (220 players) – A Grade, Ian Moore (42 points), Peter Perrett (40), John Langdon (39); B Grade, Ross Itzstein (40), Peter Leggo (39), Michael Fenton (38); C Grade, Douwe Hoeksema (42), Peter Barbour (39), Max Maundrell (39).
Thursday, Single Par, Women – sponsors, Jane Boaler, Lyn Forbes, Rhonda Parry, Brenda Smith-Gittings (84 players) – Division One, Jan Langdon (plus 4), Leeanne Ptak (+2), Christine Peterson (+1); Division Two, Marg White (+3), Wendy Mosley (+1), Lyn Forbes (square); Division Three, Janette Ritchie (+5), Pam Andrews (square), Dianne Schulze (-2).
Men (84 players) – Col Pledge (+3), Tony Dunford (+2), Dennis Taylor (+1).
Saturday, Single Stableford – sponsor, Chris Pace, McGrath Estate Agents Buderim – Women (30 players) – Sue Jones (38 points), Natalie Pace (38), Liz Dunford (36).
Men (212 players) A Grade, Damian Moelands (38 points), Peter Perrett (38), Rhett Charlton (37); B Grade, Doc Fleming (43), Russell Harris (41), Justin Walsh (41); C Grade, Mark Gersbach (39), Ian Harper (38), Wyndham Tibbits (38).
Juniors, Parent-Child, Six-hole Two-Ball Ambrose – Finn and Chris Darlison (22 strokes), Max and Leon Faulkner (23), Keaton and Jason Fox (24), Alex and Nick Duncan (24), Freddy and Mike Lambert (24), Jett and Daniel Stevenson (24), Matthew and Clinton Bothma (25), Emme and Josh Coburn (27), Blake and Emily Rydwanski (28), Noah and Scott Sergeant (29).
Sunday, Medley Fourball Best Ball Stableford (62 players) – Trevor Gourlay and Jay Gourlay (44 points), Nicola Whitmore and Sandy Whitmore (43), Don Caldwell and Peter Wood (43).
