From Tony Durkin
WELCOME MATT: Headland Golf Club’s newly-appointed General Manager, Matt Lang, hopes to join the club on December 15, but is unlikely to be physically at work until the week before Christmas. Matt, who is 38 and married to Kylie with young sons Blake (11) and Chad (8), joins Headland from Victoria’s Rosebud Country Club where he has spent the past three years as Operations Manager/Assistant GM. He was among the staggering 82 applicants for the position which became vacant when Ben Dobson resigned in August after 16½ years as General Manager. Matt, who has worked in the golf industry at celebrated Victorian golf clubs Yarra Yarra, Sandhurst, The National and Rosebud since he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Sports Management, in 2002, describes himself as a ‘keen but not great golfer’ with an AGU handicap of 18. And although he has never played Headland, the family has holidayed at Mooloolaba several times in recent years and all are excited about the move north. Matt plans to arrive on the Sunshine Coast on December 8, but his appearance at his new office depends on COVID-19 isolation restrictions which are in place at the time.
WEST WINS: Electrician Wayne West sparked memories of his time as a Trainee Professional at Headland when he shot a two-under par 70 to head the list of six players to better their handicap in Sunday’s monthly Wood Duck Challenge. The two handicapper, who had a brief stint as a mature-age trainee at Headland three years ago, shot six better than his four handicap from the Championship tees in an impressive round. His card revealed five birdies, 10 pars and three bogeys to be the lowest scorer by two shots from Ben Brown (-4). Any player who shoots better than their handicap shares in the prizemoney donated by co-sponsors EKO Financial (James) Kidd and MOD Bathrooms (Chris Klazema), and those to snare $73 each with Wayne and Ben were Simon Mitchell (-3), James Daniel (-1), Richard Whittaker (-1) and Ash Reck (-1).
FORTY WINS: Rarely is 40 points good enough to win a Single Stableford event at Headland on Saturdays, but on a hot and windy day at the weekend both men and lady winners saluted with that score. Despite dropping five shots to par on nine and 10, Kirsten Kaergaard prevailed with yet another consistent round, highlighted by just 25 putts. Kirsten revealed her golf since the Covid-19 course closure has been ‘steady and consistent, which has not won anything’. But 21 points on the front despite the wipe on nine and a four-point birdie on 15 enabled her to win by a point from the consistent Robyn Boreham. Nine-marker Andrew Fisher shot 77 for his 40 points – which won A Grade – but seven missed birdie putts indicated how well he played from tee to green. His lone birdie was at six, with 11 pars and six bogeys featuring on his impressive card. Fred Muller (38) won B Grade while Steve Browne won C Grade with 37 points.
THANKS ADAM: Headland’s Medal of Medal winner for 2020, Sue Briffa, believes she has Head Professional Adam Norlander and his staff to thank for her victory on Thursday. Sue (70 nett) beat perennial Headland champion Josie Ryan by a shot to win the handicap event which was contested by each of the Monthly Medal winners for the year, and she did it accompanied by a new MGI motorised buggy which she had purchased from the Pro Shop just three days earlier. And, as fate would have it, when she won her Monthly Medal in February to qualify for Thursday’s play-off, she did so with a new putter she had also bought from Adam the previous day. Sue, who had a knee replacement in April of 2019 and has since used an electric golf cart, says she concentrates better and consequently plays better when walking, as evidenced by her round on Thursday which was made more enjoyable by the encouragement of her playing partners, Bev Kelly and Pik Chong. Sue beat 24 other qualifiers to win her first Medal of Medals.
GOLF SALUTE: Former Army Colonel Rod O’Leary waved away a 20-year golfing conundrum on Thursday when he scored plus five to win the Men’s Single Par event. While victory on the golf course is not a regular occurrence for Rod, he still loves his golf and enjoys the relaxation element of the game, but he has held a long-held dread of the par event. “For some unknown reason I usually have minus six in a par event, and I live with that expectation every time I play,” he revealed after his two-shot win. While totally unaware of the reason for his inexplicable turnaround, Rod said he was very happy with his reversal of fortune and particularly his par, par finish. Rod and his wife Lesley, who live in Crest Apartments adjacent to the club, play at least twice a week and appreciate the camaraderie their membership offers.
GOLF HEAVEN: Precise putting and a new ‘Heaven’ wood have aided Jodie McDonell to her Headland’s Rabbits Cup win, for the second time. Jodie also won Thursday’s individual stroke event with her round of 89, for a nett 67. It was the second-best score returned by the popular real estate agent and long-time Headland sponsor in her three decades as a club member – her best an 86 ‘many years ago’. And while three of her five bogeys were the result of three-putt greens, Jodie said her putting was generally spot-on, while a newly-purchased Callaway Heaven wood has helped her reach more greens in regulation, as evidenced by the eight pars in her special round. NOTE: The Rabbits Cup is contested annually by those ladies who have not qualified for the Medal of Medals. The fittingly-inscribed trophy was introduced by club member Bev Kelly 15 years ago and carries with it a cash prize of $50, also donated by Bev. She first played for a Rabbits Cup when a member at Butterworth Golf Club in Malaysia – a specific trophy for those ‘rabbits who dig around each year and don’t win a Monthly Medal’.
JOHN’S COMEBACK: With hand on heart, John Atkins says it has been so long since he was on the winner’s podium at Headland that he can seriously not recall the occasion. And even though that changed on Wednesday when he scored 43 points to win the Medley Stableford event, the ex-New Zealand Air Force supply officer reckons he ‘left a couple out there’. Two three putts – at 16 and 17 – gave him his only double bogeys of the round and he missed a couple of ‘very gettable’ birdie putts on his way to 11 pars and five bogeys in a round of 81. It was a far cry from his recent form where scores in the 30s have been the norm for the 33-year Headland member who bought a house and joined the club even before he and wife Kathy had moved from their native New Zealand. John’s 43 points easily won B Grade, while Brian Richards (41) had four birdies during his round to win A Grade, and Mark Beswick (39) topped the C Grade count.
TRIPLE TREAT: Catherine Janiszewski has no idea why her outstanding golf scores of late are coming in monthly instalments, but she is not complaining. Her 43 Stableford points in Tuesday’s Medley event not only won her the B Grade Division, but was also the best score returned from the 116 competitors of the day. And to add to the lustre of her outstanding round, Catherine combined with Gay David to score 52 points and salute in the Fourball Best Ball Stableford, played in conjunction. A Headland member since 2000, Catherine has logged three exceptional scores in the past three months and, as a result, her handicap is now down to 22.5. Alongside her 43 points on Tuesday is 50 points back in September – admittedly while holes one, two and four were played as par threes because of work on the cart paths – and plus five in a par event during October.
HEAT IS ON: Former outstanding Headland junior, James Bazley, is the latest addition to the Brisbane Heat squad for the upcoming Big Bash season. James, now 25 and returning from a serious groin injury, was B Grade Headland Club Champion as a 13-year-old in 2008 – the same year he captained Queensland’s Primary School cricket team. He won that championship by eight shots but later made a decision to follow a career in cricket and first joined the Heat as a rookie six years ago. The all-rounder has previously played for a Cricket Australia X1 on a T20 tour of South Africa and last season starred for the Queensland Second X1.
MATCH PLAY: Reigning Champion Scott Walker will play three-time former Champion Adam Richards for the title of Headland 2020 Men’s Match Play Champion. The one-markers qualified for the final – to be played on Saturday week, November 28 – by winning both their quarter-final and semi-final matches on Saturday. Scott beat Scott Bromfield (5&3) and Brad Butler (5&4) while Adam disposed of Adam Rydwanski and Josh Holbrook, both wins coming with 2&1 victories. In B Grade Tom Burnett will play Brett Adamson for the title while Geoff Bland meets Tony Vickers in C Grade. In the Fourball Best Ball Match play quarter-finals, played on Sunday, winners were father-and-son combination Anthony and Sam Fichera, Fred Muller and Chris McArdle, Jason Meehan and Michael Rutledge and Jay Gourlay and Dane Partridge. All scores from both events are below in Weekly Winners.
EAGLE UPDATE: Regular club sponsor Brendan Southey of Prime Property has scored his first eagle and – as a result – has had his first five-Stableford point hole. Brendan, a Cowboys tragic, ‘monstered’ his drive at the par-four sixth hole in Wednesday’s Single Stable event and was so close to the green he considered putting from about 40 metres out. However, he elected to chip, and that was obviously the correct decision. The other eagle on Wednesday was scored by Simon Richardson, at the par-five 13th. It was Simon’s fourth eagle. Two more eagles were scored on Saturday, by Matt Hetherington – who drove the green at six and rolled in a five-metre putt – while Paul Garth hit an eight-iron into the 11th and knew it had disappeared when the group on the adjacent 12th tee celebrated for him. Matt’s eagle was his fifth at Headland, and Paul’s his first.
WEEKLY WINNERS:
Monday, Vets, Single Stableford, Ladies (46 players) – A Grade, Heather Lum (39 points), Sue Jones (38), Robyn Boreham (37); B Grade, Kath Barford (37), Helen Mulholland (37), Louise Armstrong (37); Men (65 players) – A Grade, David Sims (38), John Sims (37), David W Smith (37); B Grade, Des McNee (38), Phil Martin (38), Bill Barford (36).
Tuesday, Medley Single Stableford (116 players) – A Grade, Brendan Richardson (42 points), Darryl Pettingill (38), Tony McDonough (37); B Grade, Catherine Janiszewski (43), Jackie Walkington (40), Leeanne Ptak (38); Medley Fourball Best Ball Stableford – Catherine Janiszewski and Gay David (52 points), Brendan and Carolyn Richardson (51).
Wednesday, Medley Single Stableford (229 players) – A Grade, Brian Richards (41 points), Ross Kelly (40), Rob Cunningham (39); B Grade, John Atkins (43), Greg Smith (40), Dick Ryan (38); C Grade, Mark Beswick (39), Barry Euston (38), Rod Berger (38).
Thursday, Ladies, Single Stroke (100 players) – A Grade, Jodie McDonell (67 nett), Josie Ryan (71), Kristin Griffiths (72); B Grade, Bev Barnes (68), Rhonda Biggs (69), Susan Briffa (70); C Grade, Joy Logan (72), Kath Kingston (73), Trish Arden (73); Rabbits Cup, Jodie McDonell (67); Medal of Medals Sue Briffa (70). Men, Single Par (86 players) – Rod O’Leary (plus 5), Will Norman (+3), John Edwards (+2).
Saturday, Single Stableford, Ladies (29 players) – Kirsten Kaergaard (40 points),Robyn Boreham (39), Kerry Longworth (36); Men (182 players) – A Grade, Andrew Fisher (40 points), Dennis Mikolic (38), Daniel Diachkoff (38); B Grade, Fred Muller (38), Michael Moore (37), Mike Hardy (37); C Grade, Steve Browne (37), Russell Dowling (35), Graeme Nicholas (34). Men’s Match Play Championships, quarter-finals – A Grade, Scott Walker beat Scott Bromfield (5&3), Brad Butler beat Glenn Walker (3&2), Adam Richards beat Adam Rydwanski (2&1), Josh Holbrook beat Sean McGill (20th hole); B grade, Tom Burnett beat Aaron Duff (1-up), Ian Farrington beat Rhett Charlton (2&1), Brett Adamson beat Will Millroy (3&2), Alex Sue See beat Michael Thomas (1-up); C Grade, Geoff Bland beat Greg Patrick (2&1), Josh Poole beat Mick Prince (19th), Tony Vickers beat Ross Carvell (1-up), Chris Klazema beat David Munns (5&3); quarter-finals – A Grade, Scott Walker beat Brad Butler (5&4), Adam Richards beat Josh Holbrook (2&1); B Grade, Tom Burnett beat Ian Farrington (19th), Brett Adamson beat Alex sue See (20th); C Grade, Geoff Bland beat Josh Poole (19th), Tony Vickers beat Chris Klazema (4&3).
Sunday – Medley Wood Duck Challenge (80 players) – Wayne West (-60, Ben Brown (-4), Simon Mitchell (-3), James Daniel (-1), Richard Whittaker (-1) and Ash Reck (-1). Fourball Best Ball Match Play Championships, quarter-final – Chris McArdle and Fred Muller beat Lang Pryor and Tom Burnett (2&1), Anthony and Sam Fichera beat Warren Sorby and Warren Selvage (1-up), Jason Meehan and Michael Rutledge beat Matt and Jack Fisher (2&1), Jay Gourlay and Dane Partridge beat Mal and Jo McDougall (4&2).
