By Ron Hottes
Wednesday 12 April, Stableford:
Under rainy, but clearing skies, a smallish field took on the challenge that is the Warburton course. Paul Kennedy met that challenge head-on and matched his handicap with a solid 36 points. Although that was enough to win the day, P.K. only just snuck in because Barry-Maltman was the runner-up, losing on a countback. Clearly, Barry’s back nine was not as good as P.K’s. Balls extended to 33. NTP winners on the day were Ross Machar (3rd), P.K. (9th), Deb Hamment (12th) and Alan McDonald (15th).
The Ladies’ B and C-Grade championships commenced on this day. Played over 3 rounds, a full report will be included after they have concluded.
Saturday 15 April, Stroke and 1st Round of the 2023 Club Championships:
In the Men’s A-Grade, Michael Batten won the voucher with a stunning Nett 66. James Campion grabbed the runner-up prize with a Nett 69. The B-Grade Nett went to Peter Whitehead, posting an even more stunning Nett 65. Paul Osbourne was just edged out of the top voucher, by Peter, scoring a Nett 66. ‘Young Ossie’ recorded a superb 79 off-the-stick. The C-Grade Nett winner on the day was ‘Big’ Chris Leighton, resulting in a none-too-shabby 68. The C-Grade runner-up was Jack Sheehan, posting a Nett 70. The Open Ladies’ event sees Club President, Meredith Nursey posting a solid 85. Jacqui Hall is chasing hard recording a 93. But Jacqui’s Nett 72 also saw her score a ball, as the ball rundown ended there for all players! NTPs were distributed between Paul Osbourne (3rd), Paul Mason (5th), Sam Dennis (9th), Geoff Fall (12th) and Roger Mataele (15th).
Finally, after Round 1, here are the top 2 standings in the Men’s Open, B-Grade and C-Grade events. Michael “Mitzi” Batten’s superb 68 sees him with a 5-shot buffer over 10-time champion, Paul Mason and 8-time champion, Andrew “Willo” Williams just one shot further back. B-Grade is being led by Paul Osbourne, posting a great 79 and perhaps the lowest opening B-Grade score we have seen in some time. Young Ossie also has a 5-shot buffer over Lee Creedy. Finally, the C-Grade leader is Chris Leighton, who recorded a fine 90, to have a massive 6-shot lead over Andrew-McMath. More updates to be included in next week’s edition.
