By Ron Hottes
Andy McMath won the Warburton Golf Club Wednesday 28 November Stroke and M. McGrann playoff with a stunning nett 65.
Paul Kennedy was the runner-up on nett 68 and balls went down to 72.
PK grabbed a nearest the pin on the ninth and Paul Mason on the 15th.
Paul also won the ‘bag’ with a steady nett 75, which meant he shot a 74 off-the-stick.
In the twilight content, Steve Patrick made sure his sons and nephews didn’t hog all the accolades as he accumulated 21 impressive points to win the night.
That win was via a count-back from Steve Wyatt, a regular twilight performer.
Players who scored 18+ can collect a ball.
Nearest the pins went to Leigh Creedy on the 10th, Kim Kennedy on the 12th and to Ash Hall on the 15th.
On Saturday 1 December was the stroke and final round of the club’s C/Championships.
A-grade of the daily comp was won by Junior Cross with a superb nett 63.
This meant Jon fired a 66 gross, which is impressive in anyone’s language.
Another impressive performance was created by new member, Tim McKail, who shot an incredible nett 56, off a handicap of 25 which won’t be with him anymore.
This was Tim’s first competitive game as a Warburton member, which is a feat in itself.
The runner-up on the day was Leigh Creedy with a nett 67.
Balls got down to 71.
Nearest the pins were won by Leigh Creedy on the third, David Murch on the fifth, Garsy on the ninth, Hatty on the 12th and to Mike Plant on the 15th.
Steve Wyatt had a super eagle on the 14th, with a great third shot to the green.
Although his lead was cut into, Paul Mason played steadily enough to hold out a white-hot Jonathon Cross by three shots to win his ninth open title.
Paul shot 289 over the four rounds to Junior’s 292.
As mentioned before, Jon had a fantastic 66 in the last round, but Paul’s lead was just too great.
Seven-time winner Andrew Williams was third.
In B-grade, a play-off was needed to separate Danny Fox and Ray ‘Happy’ Gilmore.
Both finished on 337, but Danny won on the first play-off hole.
This was a rewarding win for Danny as he is thereabouts in most of the club’s daily competitions.
It was a gutsy effort from Happy, too, as he was playing on one leg in the final round.
In C-grade, another close finished resulted in a win for perennial performer, Ossie McClay.
A large crowd of members and supporters were assembled at the back of the 18th green to watch all the seeded players come in.
Ossie’s win was really tense as he had to sink a five-footer on the last to grab a very popular victory.
The unlucky runner-up was Tex Van Der Kooi, who can consider himself stiff to miss out on his first C/Championship title.
The Ladies’ Open title went to Kim Kennedy with a score of 223 over their three-round championship.
The club’s might not see Kimbas competing in future years as she has bigger fish to fry at more elite events in Melbourne.
It is great that she has supported her family club for this long, as she is destined to go on to bigger and better triumphs.
The nett winner, of the Elva-Eddy trophy, is well-known local teacher Meredith Nursey with a nett 236.
Meredith’s win was a popular one, too, as she is admired by all at the club for her continued support of ALL aspects of club activities.
The ancillary events connected with the championships saw wins to the following:
Liam Kay won the junior title, shooting 371, but young Seth Spencely won the East-hills Cup for best nett result over the first three rounds.
Seth also grabbed the runner-up prize in the junior section.
And, finally, the Seniors Open Champion was Ms Nursey again with a gross 154 over the last two rounds.
The Nett Seniors title went to Paul Kennedy, which was fitting as he was one of the sponsors of this new event, along with Andy McMath.
The club is now looking forward to its Christmas break-up and Presentation Day on Saturday 22 December.
