From Tony Durkin
LEFTIE AGAIN: For the second successive year a left hander has won the Walsh Consulting Engineers Men’s Sunshine Coast Open Amateur Championship, played at Headland over the Easter weekend. Brookwater-based Will Florimo, the nephew of former Australian rugby league rep Greg Florimo, was brilliant in the 36-hole event finishing eight under the card with rounds of 68, 68 for a total of 136. The 22-year-old lefthander, who was runner-up in the event last year to Joel Stahlhut, had only four bogeys on his impressive weekend card, three coming on Saturday, and one on Sunday. These, however, were supplemented by 10 birdies and an eagle in a superb display. Sunday’s round was near faultless – his second successive four under blemished by a lone bogey at the par-four 17th, his second last hole of the tournament. Caloundra’s Jared Whittal was runner-up (70, 70 – 140), but Thomas Sims of Royal Queensland threw out the greatest challenge on Sunday when he was six-under the card after 11 holes, but struggled coming home, finishing six over in the final seven holes. For Florimo, who hails from Atherton, it was his second Open win in the space of three months. In the rain-effected Tweed Coast Open in February he was declared the winner after his magnificent first-round 10-under 62. Florimo intends to turn professional, with his aim of attending Q School this year and, hopefully, be playing in the USA by the end of 2022.
LOCALS SALUTE: Headland’s 2020 Club Champion, Scott Walker, was among a host of club members to share in the generous prizemoney offered by fellow member Justin Walsh during the Easter weekend’s Walsh Consulting Engineers Men’s 2022 Sunshine Coast Open Amateur Championship. Following a splendid one under par 71 on Saturday, Scott faded somewhat with 77 on Sunday, but still managed to win the 36-hole nett with 142. Another former Club Champion, Dave Rattray, finished third (145). Les McClymont was crowned Division Three 36-hole Champion (gross) with Col Pledge finishing third, while Terry Grogan led in Burgess Stephenson and Peter Richardson to win the 36-hole nett; Barry Newton was runner-up in the Senior Championship; Shane Muller was runner-up in Division Two (gross) while Barry Newton finished third; and Chris Pace placed third in Division Two nett.
MASTERS MONDAY: Spencer Ives will always feel a deep connection to Headland Golf Club, and Masters Monday. A former member of Pelican Waters, businessman Spencer played his first Masters Monday event last year and enjoyed the competition and the course so much he immediately signed a membership form. Twelve months later – last Monday – he converted that enjoyment to one of his most memorable golfing moments when the seven handicapper beat par for the first time and his one-under 71 – from the Championship tees – resulted in an amazing 44 points, a win in the annual event and the prized Headland green jacket. And, courtesy of generous sponsor James Kidd of EKO Financial, a healthy booty of $110 was credited to his House Account. Describing his round as ‘one of those days’ when everything fell into place, Spencer had three birdies, 15 pars and just the one bogey, the result of a three-putt at the par-three 14th. Jan Langdon, one of only two women in the field, won B Grade with 38 points, returning the fifth best score of the day.
KATE’S TRIFECTA: ‘Changing things up’ by starting later than usual, riding in a buggy and ‘just relaxing’ was the secret to Kate Wilkie’s trifecta in Thursday’s Monthly Medal for women. Coming off a fruitful Club Championship in which she finished first and third respectively in the nett during rounds two and four, Kate won best A Grade gross (85), best nett (71) and snared nearest the pin at the 14th in Thursday’s Medal round. Despite some wayward drives and missed putts – by millimetres – Kate (handicap 14) still returned an impressively-consistent card of six pars and 12 bogeys. And to add to the ‘fun’ day, Kate and buggy driver Judy Farmer won the square in their side bet with Bev Kelly and Gwen Nancarrow. Mary Dowling (70) won the B Grade Medal with her best-ever score, Lesley Wilson (72) won C Grade and Jan Langdon followed her strong showing in Masters Monday by taking the C Grade gross (111), nett (74) double.
CHAMPION BACK: Reigning B Grade Club Champion, Rhett Charlton, had his equal best round of 76 when he teamed with Bruno Ciot to win Wednesday’s Fourball Aggregate Stableford. Rhett, who immediately left the course to drive to Brisbane where he caught a flight to Emerald to start his second shift as a fly-in, fly-out miner, tabled 40 of the team’s 74 points for a win on a countback from Paul Stephens and Jonny Clark. And while delighted with his form – and in particular his putting on greens that he described as ‘amazing’ – Rhett missed a birdie putt at the 18th which would have given him his best round since he joined Headland three years ago. Giving away almost four decades in age to the former Kawana Dolphins rugby league halfback and contributing 34 points to the winning score, octogenarian Bruno described his involvement in the win as ‘a most enjoyable ride’. The pairing had just the lone poor hole – a one-pointer at the par-five second.
MASTERCLASS: For more than two decades as a Headland member Rebecca Masters has been chipping away at reducing her handicap into the teens, and now that she is there – at 19.5 – she has found success. In the past three weeks Rebecca has returned Stableford scores of 39, 38 and 34, has beaten her goal of breaking 400 for the Club Championships and returned her two lowest gross scores, 91 and 93. And, finally, she has broken through for a win, with her 38 points claiming victory in Tuesday’s Single Stableford for women, notwithstanding ‘a couple of wobbly holes’. Despite two wipes – she putted out on both holes – and two one-pointers, Rebecca carded an impressive 36 points on the remaining 14 holes and snared an NTP at the par-three fifth. Conceding she is ‘loving golf’ at the moment, Rebecca revealed her Musculoskeletal GP husband Scott had been a ‘helpful coach, fine tuning my short game’, while the three men with whom she played on Tuesday were extremely encouraging.
BRUCE IS BACK: Back surgery and four months on the sideline was not the way Bruce Heseltine wanted to start his retirement, but recent form is giving the Broncos fan a ray of hope about the future. Bruce was consistently playing to his mid-teens handicap before surgery late last year, but since his return – and some adjustments to his swing because of the restrictions – his handicap stretched out by five shots. That, however, may be about to change following his win in Tuesday’s Single Stableford, playing two better than his handicap, for 38 points. And while he was forced to sit out his four-month recovery term, the recently-retired Communications Engineer reckons he learned the secret of good scoring – hit the fairway – which is what he did on Tuesday, not missing one on his way to 88 off the bat. Although his putter was not as hot as his driver and cost him a few shots, Bruce says his form is still not as good as 2½ years ago when he shot 80, his best round in six years as a Headland member.
LONE RANGER: Recovering from a two-year attack of the shanks, Steve McPherson has been delighted of late just to complete a round of golf minus one of the little critters. But on Wednesday not only was he shank free, he had his best round in recent memory, won the Medley Single Stableford event played in conjunction with the Fourball Aggregate with 44 points and had 80 off the bat, despite a triple-bogey eight at the par-five seventh. The retired schoolteacher, who now works as a Headland Course Ranger, had been a single-figure golfer for most of his adult years playing at courses including Grafton, Muree (Raymond Terrace), Coonamble, Narrabri and Rosebud. And when he moved to the Sunshine Coast to retire in 2019, his golf was in such a state he was on the verge of giving the game away. But a chance meeting with Headland GM, Matt Lang, changed Steve’s golf and his career when he was offered the role as one of three Course Rangers. Unfortunately for Steve, he was the lone ranger in the Fourball event, with his partner scoring just 26 points.
SPONSORS RULE: Two of Headland’s regular sponsors, Dave Mansley and Brenden Southey, scored bonus money in Wednesday’s Stableford event, sponsored by Mansley’s Mooneys Insurance Brokers. Dave snared $48 for his Pro Pin at the 12th while Brenden, whose real estate business – Prime Property Sunshine Coast – sponsors four events each year, won the Pro Pin at the sixth and followed that his first hole in one when he aced the par-three eighth.
WEEKLY RESULTS:
Monday, Masters Monday, Medley Single Stableford – sponsor EKO Financial – James Kidd (139 players) – A Grade, Spencer Ives (44 points), Jamie Holbrook (42), Jamie Duffy (39), Matt Hetherington (39), Simon Hughes (37); B Grade, Jan Langdon (38), Todd Murphy (37), Warren Selvage (36), Phillip Thistlewood (35), Steve McPherson (35).
Tuesday, Single Stableford, Women (48 players) – Rebecca Masters (38 points), Kirsten Kaergaard (37), Jane Boaler (37). Men (74 players) – Bruce Heseltine (38), Harrison King (37), Dave Sims (37).
Wednesday, Medley Fourball Aggregate Stableford – sponsor Mooneys Insurance Brokers – Dave Mansley (206 players) – Rhett Charlton and Bruno Ciot (74 points), Paul Stephens and Jonny Clarke (74), Peter Ruscoe and Ian Michel (73), Gabi and Chris Bailey (73). Single Stableford (206 players) – Steve McPherson (44 points), Joe Stotschek (43), Rhett Charlton (40).
Thursday, Women, Monthly Medal – sponsors B BY HALCYON BUDERIM and Medal – Ken and Vicki Maynard (78 players) – A Grade, Kate Wilkie (71 nett), Helen Fraser (74), Sharon Thomas (76), gross – Kate Wilkie (85); B Grade, Mary Dowling (70), Monica Antony (72), Chris Parkinson (73), gross – Chris Parkinson (92); C Grade, Lesley Wilson (72), Sue Hadenham (77), Diane Keen (77), gross – Lesley Wilson (108); D Grade, Jan Langdon (74), Cathy Haines (77), Barb Marrington (77), gross – Jan Langdon (111). Men, Single Stableford (86 players) – Rick Popik (38), Jamie Duffy (37), Martyn Dix (37).
Saturday, Men’s Sunshine Coast Amateur Open, round one – sponsor Walsh Consulting Engineers – Justin Walsh (202 players) – gross, Will Florimo (Brookwater) 68, Jared Whittal (Caloundra) 70, Scott Walker (Headland) 71; nett, Scott Walker 68, Dave Rattray (Headland) 69, Jared Whittal 71. Division Two – gross, Shane Muller (Headland) 78, Chris Mouldy (Caboolture) 78, Shane Dunning (Noosa) 79; nett, Chris Mouldy 72, Blair Green (Maroochy River) 72, Nathan Adriaans (Maroochy River (72). Division Three – gross, Col Pledge (Headland) 83, Mike McQuarrie (Headland) 84, Les McClymont (Headland) 84; nett, Col Pledge 69, Chris Klazema (Headland) 70, Burgess Stephenson (Headland) 70. Junior – gross, Manato Nakatani (Surfers Paradise) 73, Justin McCormack (Gailes) 76, Shae Coghlan (Headland) 78. Senior – gross, Keith Horne (Maroochy River) 76, Chris Mouldey 78, Wayne Stephens (Maroochy River) 82.
Sunday, Men’s Sunshine Coast Amateur Open, round two – sponsor Walsh Consulting Engineers – Justin Walsh (201 players) – gross, Will Florimo (Brookwater) 68, Matty Kirk (Gainsborough) 69, Darren Kapusi (Pacific) 72; nett, Matty Kirk 69, Brendan Duncan (Headland) 71, James Barnes (Pelican Waters) 71; Division Two – gross, Liam Dawson (Caloundra) 76, Barry Newton (Headland) 77, Spencer Ives) 77; nett, Barry Newton 70, Liam Dawson 71, Benedict Rumble (Caloundra) 71. Division Three – gross, Terry Grogan (Headland) 82, Peter Richardson (Headland) 84, Les McClymont (Headland) 84; nett, Terry Grogan 68, Peter Richardson 71, Peter O’Brien (Headland) 71. Junior, gross; Senior, Barry Newton 77, Allard Bernhofen (Virginia) 77, Darren MacLeod (Headland) 78.
Championship results – Sunshine Coast Amateur Championship – gross, Will Florimo (68, 68 – 136), Jared Whittal (70, 72 – 142), Darren Kapusi (72, 72 – 144); nett, Scott Walker (68, 74 – 142), Thomas Sims (72,73 – 145), Dave Rattray (69, 76 – 145). Division Two – gross, Shane Dunning (79, 76 – 157), Shane Muller (78, 81 – 159), Barry Newton (83, 77 – 160); nett, Nathan Adriaans (72, 74 -146), David Cassidy (73,75 – 148), Chris Pace (72, 76 – 148). Division Three – gross, Les Mcclymont (84, 84 – 168), Blair Green (83, 86 – 169), Col Pledge (83, 87 – 170); nett, Terry Grogan (75, 68 – 143), Burgess Stephenson (70, 74 – 144), Peter Richardson (74, 71 -145). Junior – Manato Nakatani (73, 73 – 146), Justin McCormack (76, 76 – 152), Shane Dunning (79, 78 – 157). Senior – Keith Horne (76, 79 -155), Barry Newton (83, 77 – 160), Allard Bernhofen (84, 77 -161).
