Old Hickory race tightens

Another mid-table finish saw our Old Hickory team slip closer to the bottom of the club of the year rankings on Thursday as Motueka's third win in a row kept them well in contention for the overall trophy.

Waahi Taakaro managed fourth equal on a well prepared Motueka course. Phil Sellers, with 37 stableford points which included a birdie two, led our scoring, with Richard Pearson (34) and Lloyd Moyle (33) providing solid support. Grnt Fergusson was the other counter with 29. Mick Leggett (29) and Graham Galt (26) failed to make an impression.

Our total of 133 was matched by Tasman but was well short of the home team which won with 147 points with top individual scorers Bernie Walsh and Richard Bullock (39 each) shining. Motueka pipped Totaradale (146) by a point who got strong contributions from John Cullen (39) and Dennis Hall and Ross Dalley (37 each).

Takaka finished a distant third on 135, just ahead of Waahi Taakaro and Tasman. Nelson was next on 130, while Greenacres got the popgun for the second consecutive month with a measly 117 points.

Twos were shared by Phil Sellers, John Cullen, Bill Rooney (Nelson) and Darren Quirk (Nelson) who got one each.

With two rounds remaining, Totaradale continues to lead the Club of the Year points table with 1674, just ahead of Takaka (1669) and Motueka (1656). There is a big gap back to Greenacres (1604) and Nelson (1603), with Waahi Taakaro (1569) and Tasman (1566) battling each other to avoid the wooden spoon.

The next round is at Waahi Taakaro on November 7.