Club champs finals day 19/10/24

We have our club champs for 2024 on a day where experience held sway over (relative) youth.

On a glorious day for golf, the finalists for the senior, intermediate and junior A grades battled it out ofver36 holes off the back blue tees in a test of stamina as much as skill.

Senior top seed James Campion won his opening three holes against Pete Green but from then on was made to work hard before triumphing 3/2. Apart from Pete's opening holes, both men drove well and were tidy on the greens, with James proving slightly more accurate into the green. He also made a series of clutch putts for halves to preserve his lead. 

Two early doubles from Pete saw James streak to an early three-up lead before the No 2 seed settled his nerves with a fine birdie on the uphill No 4. The margin was just one when he parred No 6, but James responded with a birdie on No 7 and won No 9 with a par five for an outward 37 and a comfortable three-up lead. He grew it to four with a par at No 13 but Pete pegged him back by winning the downhill No 15 with a par. The shared the next two holes with pars and birdies before James finished the opening 18 with a flourish by parring the tricky last for a healthy four-up lead. His 73 off the stick to Pete's 79 underlined his edge.

Three halves followed before James went further ahead with a solid par at No 4 but Pete refused to roll over and won No 5 and 7 with pars only to again struggle on No 9 to allow James to start the final back nine with a four-up cushion. Pete won No 12 with a par but gave it back by bogeying the par-three No 14 to go dormie. James again made a mess of No 15 but closed it out at the next with a half.

The intermediate final between top qualifier Jonathan Tuheke and Peter Watson followed a similar pattern, with Peter jumping out to an early lead, withstanding a couple of fightbacks from Jono before finishing strongly for a 5/4 victory that was closer than it looked. In typical matchplay fashion, the golf wasn't often pretty, with both players making regular errors amidst moments of magic. In the end, Peter proved just a touch steadier down the home straight.

The 70-year-old leftie started well, chipping dead to win three and halving one of the first four holes with pars and bogies. Jono opened his account by taking No 6 with a bogey, lost No 7 to par but got it back when Peter doubled No 8. The veteran edged further ahead with a par five at No 10 but Jono then won three on the trot - including slotting a long downhill putt at No 13 for par - to be just one behind. However, Peter won No 15 with a good par and No 16 with a bogey. Jono took No 17 with a par but lost No 18 to a bogey to be three-down at the midway mark.

The margin grew to four when Peter won No  2 with a par but Jono got right back in it as Peter's game got loose by winning No 6 and 7 with pars and No 9 with a bogey to start the last nine just one back. However, Peter composed himself to par the next three holes as Jono's game fell away and he finished it with another winning par on No 14.

Graham Galt looked headed for a easy win over Gareth Edwards in the junior A final but then saw a six-up lead whittled away before a stroke of luck at No 17 saw him eventually eke out a 2-up win. While Graham - who started with an outward 42 - was very solid off the tee and into the green for much of the match, Gareth hung tough and improved as the match wore on before stumbling at the death.

Despite opening with a triple bogey eight, Graham parred the second to go all square and then turned it on to win four of five holes, including par at No 5 and an excellent birdie at the long No 6 to turn four-up. Another par at No 10 extended his lead. Gareth responded with a par five at No 12 to trim the deficit but it blew out to six when Graham took No 13 with a bogey and No 14 with a par. Then Gareth - playing in his first club champs - mounted a stirring comeback, winning the next four holes to end the first 18 holes just two behind.

The next five holes were halved in either par or bogey as both players refused to yield until Gareth won No 6 with a fine par only to make a hash of No 8 and 9 to hand Graham a three-up lead going into the last nine. It was game on again when Gareth won No 11 with a par and No 12 with a bogey and he drew even with a bogey at No 15. Graham escaped with a half at No 16 after chipping in for par. No 17 proved pivotal: Amid the tension, Gareth drove it into the creek on the left, while Graham somehow bounced his drive over it and ended up winning the hole with a double. One-up going down the last in front of a throng of club mates who had stayed to watch an enthralling tussle, Graham laid up and played a lovely pitch over the river to the heart of the green. Gareth went long with his third and left his putt well short to take the match to extra holes.  

In the match of the day for those not involved in the finals, Neil McLaren won the Irish stableford off the white tees with an impressive tally of 73 points. Steve Turnell almost caught him, finishing second with 72 points. Jason Lee pipped Andy Isle for third after both ended with 66 points.

The twos money was shared between Warren Carey and Garth Jameson with one each, with Garth going within a whisker of an ace on No 2.

Andrew Dean was the best of the 9-holers, who played a stableford off the back nine. He won on countback from Paul McCrae and Chris Louth after all three totalled 18 points.

Next Saturday (Oct 26) we play the final of the Barkman Trophy and Shootout which is a net round off the white tees, while the 9-holers play a net round off the front nine.