Club results for 21/9/24

All but two of the semifinalists have been found for the club champs.

Just one of the quarterfinals on a mild spring Saturday off the blue tees went the full distance, with Mike Williams sinking two long putts to finally get the better of Matt Tomczyk on the 20th hole in a gripping junior A match.

Mike was two up after three holes after starting on the uphill No 4 but Matt then won four of five holes from No 7 through to No 11 to surge ahead. Mike got it back to even by winning No 12 and 13 with bogies only for Matt to reclaim the lead with a par at No 14. Mike again drew even with a bogey at No 17 but Matt countered with an excellent par at No 18. Two halves followed before Mike buried a must-make 30 foot putt at No 3 to take the match to extra holes. He repeated the dose from 15 feet on the 19th to stay in the match before finding the green on their par three 20th to nab a memorable victory. Both men shot 95 off the stick for their first 18 holes which showed how close the match was.

The other quarterfinals were tame affairs by comparison.

Keri Kotua was far too steady for Dean Goodman in their senior clash in cruising to a 6/5 win. After halving the opening three holes, Keri won No 4,7 and 9 with pars to turn three up. A bogey was good enough at No 10 for a win and when he birdied the par-three No 11 the writing was well and truly on the wall. Another good par on the long uphill No 13th sealed the deal. Keri finished with a very tidy 78 off the stick.

Intermediate top seed Jonathan Tuheke accounted for Matthew Watkins 5/4, although both struggled at times. All square after four, Jonathan won four of the next five holes which included three pars to go to the turn three up. He extended that at No 10 but Matthew cut the deficit with a par at No 11. However, a double bogey on the difficult No 13 saw Jonathan restore his four-hole cushion before a fine birdie at the par-three No 14 ended the match.

Neither Peter Watson or Geoff Halkett were at their best  in their encounter but Peter's short game sharpness saw him prevail 6/5 against a rusty Geoff who hadn't played for three weeks. Four up after the front nine, Peter ended it early after an up and down par on No 12 and a bogey at No 13.

No 3 seed Bryce Vincent came from behind to subdue Aaron Kotua  3/2. Out of sorts early, Bryce found himself two down after seven holes but he won No 9 and 10 with a bogey and a par to get back on level terms. Aaron edged ahead after Bryce made a mess of No 11 but it was even again when Bryce won No 13 with a bogey as Aaron began to miss some short putts.. He then seized control by parring the next two holes and finished it off with another precise chip for a par at No 16 for the win.

The other intermediate quarterfinal between Jason Lee and Richard Pearson will be played later next week.

The leading junior A qualifier Graham Galt made no race of it in downing Phil Sellers 6/4.Starting on No 4, Graham dominated from the get-go by winning No 6 and & with pars, No 9 with a bogey saw him go three up before Phil pulled it back by winning No 10 with a bogey. But Graham shut the door with a par at No 11, a bogey at No 13 and another par at the next hole to march to five ahead. A par five at No 1 delivered the knockout blow.

No 2 junior A seed Brendan Doyle comfortably saw off Craig Barron 5/4 in the battle of the big hitters. Brendan got off to the better start by winning No 4 and 5 with pars before Craig responded with a par on No 7 to trim the lead to one. However, Brendan won the next four on the trot as Craig self destructed. He got one back on No 13 with a bogey, but Brendan's par three on No 14 restored his five-up lead. Craig won No 15 to stay in the match but a par on No 16 and bogey half on the next hole saw Brendan close it out.

The remaining junior A quarterfinal between Gareth Edwards and Maurice Woodhouse will be played at a later date.

So the semifinal lineups on October 5 pit James Campion against Andy Isle and Pete Green against Keri Kotua in the senior grade, while Jonathan Tuheke will play Bryce Vincent and Peter Watson will take on the winner of the Lee v Pearson match in the intermediates. Graham Galt will battle Mike Williams and Brendan Doyle will play the winner of the Edwards v Woodhouse match in the junior A division. Jim McMullan will be up against Barry Rhodes in the junior Bs to see who plays Lewis Wilson in the final.

In the match of the day - a par round off the white tees - for those not involved in the quarterfinals, Paul Tunnicliff ended up top after posting an excellent +3. He was followed by Andy Isle (-1) and Mick Leggett (-2).

Lloyd Moyle was again the best of the nine-holers with a +3 off the back nine. Jim McMullan (+1) finished second.

Six players shared an inflated twos kitty which carried over from last week, with Keri, Pete G, Neil McLaren, Jonathan, Steve Turnell and Paul slotting one each.

Next week (Sept 28) we play the 12th round of the Barkman Trophy and Shootout which is a net round off the white tees, while the nine-holers play a stableford round off the front nine.