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Darren Makin from Gardiners Run has won the 2018 Victorian Men’s Par 3 Championship at Kyabram Parkland.
It was a beautiful sunny morning as players made their way out for the third and final round. With the top 4 players all playing together in the final group, the race was on to chase down the clubhouse leader.
Starting 4 shots back from 36-hole leader and fellow Gardiners Run member Jake Fullerton, Makin charged up the leaderboard with a final round 56 to go on to win by 1 shot. Runner-up Jake Fullerton tried his best to force a play-off with a birdie on the last hole but Makin held his nerve to make par for a 3-round total of 170 and announce himself as the 2018 champion.
2005 champion David Walker (The Heritage GC) finished in third on a countback but managed to claim the A-grade prize. The A-grade nett went to Cooper Gentle (Rich River GC) who played off a daily handicap of 3 and finished with a total of 170.
Local member Jamie Baker played steady golf all tournament and took out the B-grade competition with a total of 181 on a countback to Rich River’s Nathan Richards. Caleb Johnson (Churchill-Waverley GC) won the nett division with 165 off a handicap of 6.
In C-Grade, an excellent final round of 65 from Yering Meadow’s Adam Krezel saw him finish 1 shot clear of local member Jacob Parker. The nett section was extremely tight at the top and was ultimately won by Colin Wenman (Yarrawonga Mulwala GC) on a countback to GenYGolf member Michael Pfeiffer.
In a fantastic wrap up of the event, 10 players gathered on hole 18 for a nearest the pin shootout for a $200 Drummond Golf voucher. Austin Baker from Rich River was the lucky recipient after his superb tee shot finished closest to the hole.
A big thank you to Kyabram Parkland for their assistance in hosting the championship once again and to the Kyabram Club for their major sponsorship. The club is to be commended on the wonderful hospitality provided to all players and guests over the course of the week. The dedication from the committee members, volunteers and ground staff each day is greatly appreciated from all that attended.
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