From Tony Durkin 

WALKER WINS: Following a number of near misses, the talented Scott Walker has finally saluted in the event that has meant so much to him – the prestigious Headland Men’s Championship sponsored by Tim Reed of Stilhaus.  In a tense battle on Sunday in the final round of the COVID-19 delayed 2020 event, the 34-year-old electrician held on to win by a stroke from 2016 Champion, Adam Rydwanski. Scott went in to the final round three shots in front of Adam, with A Grade Pennant Captain Sean McGill a shot away in third. And the Championship went down to the wire with a see-sawing final three holes. Teeing off 16, Scott held a two-stroke lead following an eagle, three birdies, five pars and a double bogey over the previous action-packed nine holes to Adam’s two birdies and seven pars. Scott then double-bogeyed 16, bogeyed 17 and parred 18, while Adam went par, double-bogey, par, to finish one shot shy of securing his second Championship. Runner-up last year to Jake Crowther and in 2008 to Ben Wedmaeir, Scott described his Championship victory at a club he joined as a junior in 1998 as ‘pretty special’. Aaron Duff (334) won the B Grade Championship from Will Millroy (338) while Geoff Bland (360) had to survive a two-hole play-off against Greg Stray to claim the C Grade Championship.

 JOSIE, AGAIN: The adage ‘cream rises to the top’ was never more fitting than in Sunday’s final round of the Ladies’ Championship – sponsored by Halcyon – when veteran Josie Ryan added yet another title to her incredible Headland record. Teeing off in the final round equal with Kate Wilkie on 169, Josie showed all her class, skill and guile to run away with her 18th Ladies Championship, eventually winning by 15 strokes. Saving her best till last, the prolific winner had two birdies on her back-nine card of 39 and broke 80 for the first time in the four-round Championship. And the difference was her putting. With a new grip for the final round, Josie had just 33 putts compared to 42, 39 and 38 in the first three rounds. In 34 years as a Headland member, Josie’s record in Championships and other Honour Board events now stands at 18 Club Championships, 14 Ladies Foursomes Championships and seven Mixed Foursomes Championships – a mark that is never likely to be matched.

 BROTHER DOUBLE: Brothers Scott and Glenn Walker have quinellered the Headland Men’s Championship, winning the gross/nett double for 2020. Scott (handicap 1) finished off a nail-biting final round with a tap-in putt for par on the last hole to win his first Club Championship, while his elder brother snared the A Grade nett. A four-handicapper, Glenn (306) also finished equal third in the gross event, alongside teenager and Junior Champion Josh Holbrook, behind his brother (298) and Adam Rydwanski (299). The brothers played in the final group on Sunday together with Adam and Sean McGill, and Scott credited Glenn with being a calming influence. “While there has always been fierce competition between us, we are good mates and winning the two major events in A Grade was very special for us both,” he said.

 NOTHING BLAND: In his three years as a member of Headland, Geoff Bland has never broken 40 on either nine in a social round or in a competition. But the former Goondiwindi rep cricketer extricated that noose from around his neck under the toughest possible conditions on Saturday – the third round of the Club Championships – when he scorched around the front nine in one-over 37. And the 18-marker, who had not played golf for a decade before he joined Headland in 2017, also scored his best-ever round as a member when he shot 83 for a nett 65, the best score of the day four shots. And, he reckons he could have been two or three better had he not left a couple of putts agonisingly short. For Geoff, a Retention Specialist at Youi, the round came totally from out of the blue following scores of 94 and 93 in the first two rounds of the Championships. Note: Geoff survived a two-hole play-off late on Sunday to win the C Grade Championship following a final round of 90, which included his first-ever birdie at the tough 15th hole. 

A FAIR FIGHT: Annabel Harris doesn’t want – or expect – any special kudos for being one of the few women at Headland to have won a Wednesday A Grade Medley event, but does hope other ladies realise it can in fact be done. Annabel, handicap 13, returned her best gross score in the two years she has been a member to score 40 Stableford points on Wednesday and beat the three male placegetters by a point. And while she was delighted with her score, and even more thrilled to have won, she stressed that Medley events were always a ‘fair fight’. “We all have a handicap, the ladies play from the ladies’ tees and the playing conditions are exactly the same for everyone. There is no reason whatsoever for the girls to be intimidated,” she said in urging more ladies to nominate. Most in the male-dominated field of 223 may have in fact been intimated by Annabel’s impressive card – 82 off the bat with 10 pars, seven bogeys and a double at the ninth. Annabel joined Headland in October of 2018 after two decades as a member of Peregian, Horton Park and Maroochy River, and says it has taken her quite a while to become accustomed to the nuances of Headland, a course she now loves. 

HOMING IN: John Visser plays off 28 and still regards himself as a novice golfer even after six years as a Headland member. And that is why he was not only thrilled to win Tuesday’s Medley Single Stableford with 40 points, but perform so well ‘close to home’. John and his wife Carmel reside in adjacent Mace Drive and despite a meagre return on the difficult 17th, between them they accumulated 13 points on holes 16, 17 and 18, both parring the last for a total of six points. John who plays only on Tuesdays and occasionally with the Vets, recalls once scoring a personal-best 42 points ‘a long, long time ago’, but doubts he has putted better than he did on Tuesday when he had 19 points on the front nine and 21 coming home. Unlike their son Mark, a world-renowned big-wave surfer who suddenly took up the sport after initially excelling at basketball and AFL, John and Carmel were a little slower embracing golf. They lived on the course for 14 years before joining Headland.

DON’T KNOW: Asked why, in just her sixth round of competition golf, she had suddenly played so well, Prue Byrnes could only offer ‘I don’t know’. “I don’t know what happened, and I don’t know how it happened,” said Prue after scoring a competition-high 42 points to win Thursday’s Single Stableford event in C Grade. Having never previously picked up a golf club, Prue graduated from Headland’s successful SWING program in 2016 but until this year had never had the courage to play in competitions. And although she only competes on Thursdays but has nine social holes regularly on Tuesdays and Fridays, her seven three-point holes and two four pointers from her first-ever win has somewhat boosted that confidence. Of particular note in her round was the back nine, where she scored an incredible 20 points from holes 13 to 18. Robyn Boreham (38 points) won A Grade and Diane Gilmour topped the B Grade list. 

PUTTING WOES: David O’Mahoney may have won Thursday’s Single Stableford for men with 41 points, but his endearing memory of the round is of his horrendous putting. So distraught was he, that when the 35-year paramedic four-putted the 12th for one of his two double bogeys in the round, David ‘took a breather’ under a tree to cool down. In what could aptly be described as a ‘fruit salad’ round, David had more birdies than pars – three to two – and mixed that with 11 bogeys and two doubles. And, he revealed that two of the successful birdie putts may have finished two metres past the hole had the ball not struck the pin. Playing off 12 before COVID-19 struck early in the year, David is now out to 17 and such is the dilemma with his putting that he confesses to ‘lagging’ most putts under a metre. However, with his $90 prizemoney from Thursday David has finally decided to have putting lessons. 

CLOSENESS: The renowned camaraderie of Headland’s Pro Shop obviously extends to the golf course, with Jordan McDonald and McKenzie Wright finishing 11th and 13th respectively in the recently-played Queensland PGA Trainee Championship. Played over four days at Windaroo Lakes from Monday to Thursday last week, the event was won by Maroochy River trainee Luke Parker, who shot a one-under par 287. Jordan (302) was 14 over while McKenzie finished two shots further back. With a two-under par 70, Jordan fired the best round in the field of 49 on the final day, while McKenzie’s one-under 71 was equal best on Wednesday. Trainees from NSW, Victoria, Northern Territory and Queensland contested the annual event, which carried a purse of $32,500.

WHOOPS: Geoff Bland feels somewhat embarrassed following his ‘controversial’ C Grade Championship victory. Geoff and Greg Stray, who shared a cart throughout the final round on Sunday, finished equal on 360 after 72 holes and were called to the 18th hole for a play-off. They squared the first play-off hole with bogeys, then returned with Greg hitting his tee shot short and Geoff finishing in the hazard below the left of the green. Geoff took a penalty drop and hit his chip to just off the back of the green, while Greg – who had chipped to the back fringe – putted to within a metre. Geoff’s fourth shot, a putt from eight metres, smashed in to the pin and dropped in the hole, causing a triumphant celebration. Unaware Geoff had taken a penalty and thinking the putt was for par, Greg picked up his ball marker, conceding defeat, despite the fact he actually did have a putt to again square the match.

WHOOPS II: After his first shot of the 2020 Headland Championship, Scott Walker had every reason to believe the odds may be stacked against him. He savagely hooked his tee shot from the first, finishing in the middle of the third fairway about 120 metres from the third green. Taking on the trees between the third and second fairway, he clipped one yet still managed to find the edge of the first fairway. Scott then hit the green with his third and two-putted for a somewhat remarkable bogey. In his 22 years as a Headland member, Scott says he has only once previously hit his opening tee shot onto the third fairway.   

WEEKLY WINNERS:

Tuesday, Medley Single Stableford, (123 players) – A Grade, Patrick Carmody (39 points), Graham Myers (38), Robert Pixley (37); B Grade, John Visser (40), Terry Murphy (40), Deb Thomas (38).

Wednesday, Medley Single Stableford (223 players) – A Grade, Annabel Harris (40 points), Chris Duhig (39), Steven Hennessy (39), Darcy Brown (39); B Grade, Terry Lawlor (41), Dennis Clifford (39), Rob Ingham (39), Harvey Nicholl (39); C Grade, Michael Fortune (38), Paul Stephens (38), Doug Morgan (37).

Thursday, Single Stableford, Ladies (126 players) – A Grade, Robyn Boreham (38 points), Mandy Oster (37), Monica Knowles (36), Jenny Ingham (36); B Grade, Diane Gilmour (40), Pam Vincent (38), Bev Barnes (37), Brenda Smith-Gittings (37); C Grade, Prue Byrnes (42), Bec Francis (40), Ree Condon (38), Rhonda Parry (38). Men (94 players) – David O’Mahoney (41 points), Will Norman (41), Graham Myers (40), Mick Kelsey (40).

Saturday, 2020 Club Championship, round three, Ladies (41 players) – A Grade, gross – Dominique Paice (83), Josie Ryan (84), Karen Wilson (84); nett – Karen Wilson (69), Kate Wilkie (71), Dominique Paice (75); B Grade, gross – Gwen Nancarrow (90), Susie Fenton (96), Carol Quinn (97); nett – Gwen Nancarrow (70), Carol Quinn (72), Anne Callanan (72); C Grade, gross – Brenda Smith-Gittings (108), Veronica Bassingthwaighte (108), Penny Cooper (110); nett – Ree Condon (77), Penny Cooper (77), Kerrie Tibbits (78). Men (178 players) – A Grade, gross –  Adam Rydwanski (74), Scott Walker (75), Glenn Walker (75); nett – Darren Walters (69), Jaidyn Dalziel (71), Daniel Diachkoff (71); B Grade, gross – Michael Thomas (81), Wayne Cassidy (83), Rhett Charlton (84); nett – Wayne Cassidy (69), Brett Hardner (70), Michael Thomas (71); C Grade, gross – Geoff Bland (83), Tony Vickers (88), Thomas Adcock (93); nett – Geoff Bland (65), Tony Vickers 969), Trevor Gourlay (69).

Sunday – Club Championship, final round, Ladies (40) – A Grade, gross – Josie Ryan (79), Annabel Harris (87), Dominique Paice (93); nett – Josie Ryan (73), Annabel Harris (75), Helen Fraser (79); B Grade, gross – Anne Callanan (66), Carol Dwyer (94), Mandy Oster (97); nett –  Anne Callanan (66), Carol Dwyer (75), Mandy Oster (76); C Grade, gross – Di Stark (103), Veronica Bassingthwaighte (104), Susan Briffa (108); nett – Susan Hadenham (71), Di Stark (71), Veronica Bassingthwaighte (74). Men (171 players) – A Grade, gross – Josh Holbrook (72), Adam Rydwanski (72), Brad Butler (74); nett – Daniel Diachkoff (70), Josh Holbrook (70), Adam Rydwanski (71); B Grade, gross – Will Millroy (82), Ian Farrington (82), Reily Moffat (83); nett – Brett Hardner (70), Reily Moffat (70), Huki Matenga (70); C Grade, gross –  Peter Street (91), Mick Prince 992), Kevin George (93); nett – Peter Street (70), Lindsay Parchert (73), Mick Prince (73).

Champions – Ladies, A Grade – gross, Josie Ryan (83,86,84,79 – 332), Kate Wilkie (347); nett, Karen Wilson (303), Annabel Harris (305); B Grade – gross, Carol Dwyer (378), Gwen Nancarrow (382); nett, Anne Callanan (293), Mandy Oster (303); C Grade – gross, Di Stark (430), Susan Briffa (451); nett, Susan Hadenham (312), Rhonda Parry (320); Senior Champion, Josie Ryan. Men, A Grade – gross, Scott Walker (74,75,75,74 – 298), Adam Rydwanski (299); nett, Glenn Walker (290), Dean Smareglia (291); B Grade – gross, Aaron Duff (334), Will Millroy (338); nett, Brett Hardner (291), Peter Raymond (291); C Grade, gross – Geoff Bland (360), Greg Stray (360); nett, Trevor Gourlay (285), Chris Klazema (290); Senior Champion, Warren Sorby (318); Junior Champion, Josh Holbrook (306).