From Tony Durkin
WEDDED BLISS: Kathy (handicap 12) and John Atkins (19) can lay claims to a near-perfect relationship, both on and off the golf course, after winning Saturday’s annual Headland Patron’s Day. Married for almost 47 years, the couple combined magnificently in the Mixed American Foursomes event to score a five-over par 77, for a nett 65.375 to win by a whisker from Di Gilmour and Dean Smareglia (66.125). And it was birdie putt from the back of the 12th green by John – on their final hole of the day – that sealed the deal after he had earlier put his second shot – Kathy’s drive – in the water. Kathy, who started playing golf just on four decades ago when the couple lived in Seattle where John was based with the RNZAF, said the only previous time she could recall a similar score as a team was 50 Stableford points in a Vets’ event many years ago. The Atkins signed for six bogeys, 12 pars and a birdie in their superb round which won them both $125, thanks to the generosity of Patron Simon Whittle. “Now John can use his own House Account instead of robbing mine,” joked Kathy.
REAL PARS: Prue Wettenhall produced her best round of golf for as long as she can remember in Tuesday’s Single Stableford event, and suddenly feels she may have ‘found something’. But, more importantly, Prue says her three pars in four holes on the front nine were ‘real’ pars, and not flukes. “The ball did exactly as it was told,” joked the septuagenarian who did not start playing golf until she and her husband John retired to the Sunshine Coast two decades ago. Prue’s 42 points – 21 on both nines – streeted the competition by three points and reminded her that ‘this is what playing golf is really like’. Her impressive round included three four-point holes and five three-pointers.
WOOD DUCKS: Four members – Gavin Terry, Warren Selvage, Matt Hetherington and Chris Pace – shared in the attractive monthly Wood Duck purse of $360 on Sunday. Each pocketed $82.50 for breaking their handicap in the demanding black marker event, with Gavin’s 69 nett the best of the day on a countback from Warren and Matt. Playing off nine, Gavin had 79 off the bat with a double bogey on the second hole his only major blemish on a card that had five bogeys and a birdie mixed in with 11 pars. Back in July, after just 10 months as a Headland member, Gavin won the B Grade Matchplay Championship and the good form of the Englishman has continued. Trainee Headland professional Mackenzie Wright, making a rare appearance on the course, returned the best gross score of 75, with three birdies on his card. An impressive field of 63 played in the competition, giving Headland a total of 299 competitors for the weekend.
KEN’S CASH: Ken Scanlan was pleased to have won Tuesday’s Single Stableford with his score of 42 points, but he was more excited about the $65 worth of drinking silver that jumped into this House Account as a result. A Headland member and nearby resident for 21 years, Ken plays golf primarily to enjoy the company and the camaraderie of a great club, and says any success on the course is merely a bonus. But his 42 points – a rare good round as his age edges towards 80 – contained a couple of thrilling moments, including a five-point eagle on the 11th and three four-point pars on the front nine.
MATES RATE: Good mates Brett Stephenson and Warren Sorby, who have been regular fourball partners for almost a decade, again took their friendship to the fairways in Saturday’s annual Headland Patron’s Day and won the Overflow event. And ironically, their score was identical to the winning Mixed card – a nett 65.375. The pair signed for a two-over par 74, with the ugly scar on their card a double bogey on the 15th hole. Both sliced their drive onto the 16th fairway, tried to be ‘too fancy’ with their second shots – according to Brett – and paid the penalty. Otherwise their card was notable – four birdies, four bogeys and nine pars. In perfect weather conditions, a total of 236 Headland members played in Patron’s Day, which was once again hailed an outstanding success. And while delighted with the added number of players in the Mixed event – thanks chiefly to the efforts of respective Captains Jane Boaler and James Kidd – Patron Simon Whittle is hoping for even more ladies and men to team in the field next year.
TWO FOR JOSIE: Josie Ryan scored two impressive wins last week, and is $660 to the better for her efforts. Her first victory came on Tuesday in the Queensland Senior Order of Merit annual day at Gailes Golf Club in Brisbane, where she won the Super Senior Division. Her $600 Drummond Golf voucher is the biggest cash prize she has received in the 35 years she has been playing golf. And while the $60 prize for winning the Annual Headland Ladies Open on Thursday may have paled in comparison, the victory was certainly as enjoyable and rewarding. Josie and 82-year-old Caloundra champion Fay Payne went head-to-head for 18 holes, with the Headland champion finally winning by a single stroke – 82 to 83. A capacity field of 131 contested the annual event with Headland’s Robyn Boreham returning the best nett score of 70, two better than the quartet of Liz Dunford, Rose Sztama, Kathy Atkins and Tracey O’Connor. And Robyn (92) capped off her successful day with the best gross score in Division Two, while Rose (Mt Coolum) was best in Division Three with 104.
FOURSOMES LOOM: Nominations are now open for Headland’s annual men’s and ladies’ Foursomes Championships – Saturday September 14 (men) and Thursday September 19 for ladies. Sponsored by Zero Termite and Pest (Mick Kinnear), the men’s event will be played over 36 holes and the ladies – sponsored by Guide Financial (Marc Venter and Brad Wall) – is a 27-hole event. The respective reigning champions are David Rattray and Ryley Martin and Sharon Thomas and Dom Paice, with both pairs having won in 2017 and 2018. Entries are now being taken at https://www.jotform.com/HeadlandGolfClub/2019ladiesfoursomes and https://www.jotform.com/HeadlandGolfClub/2019mensfoursomes respectively.
WHOOPS: Susie Fenton may well rue her late decision to join husband Michael in the field for Saturday’s annual Headland Patron’s Day. Not only did the couple finish near the rear of the big field (81.625 nett) but Susie had the unfortunate experience of seeing her clubs take a swim in the dam on the 12th hole. Parked adjacent to the green while she was putting, the runaway buggy – courtesy of a faulty brake – became almost submerged, with the group frantically using their clubs to retrieve the equipment from the murky depths. Although all clubs were recovered, Susie lost her GPS and a bag of Allen’s snakes. She did, however, courageously carry on – with wet grips – for the remainder of the round.
WEEKLY WINNERS:
Tuesday, Single Stableford, Ladies (63 players) – Prue Wettenhall (42 points), Jan Miles (39), Jackie Thinee (38); Men (64 players) – Ken Scanlan (42), Alan Stratford (41), Hamish Urquhart (40).
Wednesday, Medley Fourball Best Ball Stableford (192 players) – Denis Clifford and Dennis Farmer (49 points), James Kolbe and Peter Richardson (49), Dennis Roberts and Alan Reed (48), Chris Byrnes and Max McLaughlin (47), Phil Martin and Haenga Pirini (47).
Thursday, Ladies, Headland Open (131 players), Division One – gross, Josie Ryan (82), Fay Payne (83), Kathy Atkins (85); nett, Kate Wilkie (73), Maria Schlotterbach (73), Pik Chong (74); Division Two – gross, Robyn Boreham (92), Liz Dunford (94), Barbra Schultz (97); nett, Monica Antony (71), Julie Welsh (73), Chris Parkinson (74); Division Three – gross, Rose Sztama (104), Tracey O’Connor (106), Sue Keays (107); nett, Christine Hall (75), Tove Larsen (76), Carmel Visser (76).
Men, Single Stableford (80 players) – Ray Norman (42 points), Ross Halyday (40), Peter Colton (40).
Saturday, Patron’s Day, American Foursomes, Mixed (96 players) – Kathy and John Atkins (65.375 nett), Di Gilmour and Dean Smareglia (66.125), Mandy and Bill Oster (68), Fiona Munro and Jon Welch (69.75), Tove and Erik Larsen (70.25); Overflow (140 players) – Warren Sorby and Brett Stephenson (65.375 nett), Ian Farrington and William Heggarty (66.25), Scott Bromfield and Jay Gourlay (67), Adam Richards and Justin Nicholson (68.125), Jamie Duffy and Josh Vearing (69.25).
Sunday, Medley Wood Duck Challenge (63 players) – Gavin Terry (69 nett), Warren Selvage (69), Matt Hetherington (69), Chris Pace (71).
