Club results for 3/10/26

The NBS club champ finalists have been found on a day when much of the golf mirrored the miserable conditions.

A cold snap bought rain then a gusty wind which made good scoring difficult, but Nick Riddell was one of the few to shrug it off as the No 1 seed in the senior grade eased to a 5/3 win over Andy Isle. Nick started spectacularly by eagling No 1 from the blue tees but found himself behind when Andy won No 2 with a bogey and then the uphill No 4 with a fine par. However, Nick took No 6 and No 8 with pars to go to the turn one-up. He then seized control by winning three of the next four with pars before closing it out with another winning par at the 15th.

James Campion got the early jump on Keri Kotua by winning No 2 and 3 with pars and never let his grip slip despite a string of bogeys. Two up after nine, James claimed three of four holes early in the back nine before winning No 14 with a par to cruise to a 5/4 victory which was built on better accuracy into the greens and superior chipping and putting.

In the intermediate grade, Peter Watson won ugly 4/3 over Graham Galt. Neither played well with Peter's short game making the difference. Peter was just one-up after 10 but capitalized on Graham's errors to coast to an early finish.

Fresh from beating top qualifier Gabriel Tijsen in the quarterfinals, No 8 seed Andrew Bosselmann pulled off another surprise by dispatching No 4 seed Bryce Vincent 3/2. While neither were at their best over the front nine which ended with Andrew 1-up, the underdog really lifted his game early in the back nine with three consecutive pars to surge four ahead on the back of some good chipping and putting. Bryce rallied briefly to cut the deficit to three  with three to play but his resistance ended at the 16th which they halved in bogeys.

Junior A grade top seed Harry Ambrose was given a big fright by Richard Pearson before winning their last hole for a 1-up victory. It was all square after a scrappy first nine that saw Richard win the opening two holes before conceding four to his much younger opponent who was longer but more wayward off the tee. Harry went three in front at their 10th but a dogged Richard won four of the next five to draw even with three to play. After two halves, it came down to the last, the tough No 3. Harry chipped his third two feet away, meaning that Richard had to hole his chip for a half. Much to Harry's relief, he missed by a smidgeon.

Gareth Edwards was made to work hard by Paul Tunnicliff before prevailing 3/2. While Gareth used his greater length and accuracy off the tee and was steady around the greens, Paul hung in there with some great up and downs to stay close. Starting on No 4, Gareth was just one in front at the halfway mark, but made the decisive break when he won three holes on the trot from No 13. Paul got one back on No 18 but it was too little too late.

Jack Denton dealt to Junior B top seed Dave Huntley 4/3 with a typically steady performance. Two up after nine after starting on No 4, Jack lost the tough No 13 to a great par from Dave, but then proceeded to rattle off three in a row from No 16 before finishing the job with a half at No 18.

The other semi was an epic affair between Andrew Craig and Andrew Dodson which went to the 21st hole before Andrew C won it. There was never more than a hole between the two, with the lead changing several times. They were all square at the turn after winning four holes each before Andrew D edged ahead with a par at No 11. Andrew C got it back at No 15, only for his rival to par the next to go back in front. However, Andrew won the 17th to square it up again before both one-putted No 18 to force extra holes. After two halves, Andrew C finally nailed the win at the long No 4 with double bogey.

In the par match of the day for all other 18-holers, Micayla Lowden made no race of it, storming home with a wonderful back nine 39 for a +3 score to win comfortably. Craig Barron finished second on 0, while the quartet of Chris Louth, Aaron Kotua, Mick Leggett and Graham Eggers were next on -1.

Craig and Aaron shared the twos money, with one each at No 11 and 14 respectively, with Aaron claiming closest to the pin on No 14.

There was great excitement among the 9-holers as the twos jackpot of over $80 was finally struck. Steve Turnell - who chipped in on No 11 - thought he had won it all before Mike De Veer claimed a share of the spoils with one at No 14.

Mike - who has been in good form lately - also won the match of the day, a net round off the back nine, with a solid 36. Blair Joliffe took second on countback from Ian Hanford and Warren Green after all posted 38. Donna Dawson (40) grabbed the final competition point of the day.

Next Saturday (Oct 10) the 18-holers play another round of the Barkman Trophy and Shootout off the white tees, while the 9-holers play a stableford off the back nine.