Men's Mid Amateur Leaderboard
Upper Mid Amateur Leaderboard
Despite a final-round four over par 76, Redcliffe maintenance man Dean Dunleavy has held on to win the 2018 Queensland Men’s Mid-Amateur at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast.
Dunleavy, who runs a mowing and maintenance business on the Redcliffe Peninsular north of Brisbane when he is not honing his plus-four handicap, shot seven birdies, eight bogeys and two doubles in his 54-hole total of five-over 221, but was still able to mow down the opposition and win by four strokes.
He won from Hope Island’s Mark Burrell (225) with Burleigh Heads member Ben Ratcliffe a shot away in third. The Upper Mid-Amateur, played in conjunction, was won by Richard Cahill of The Commonwealth Golf Club (229) by a stroke from Robert Dowker (Burleigh) with Graham Hourn (Kingaroy), Nick Johnson (Windaroo Lakes) and Mark Boulton (Phillip island) one shot away.
Dunleavy, who won the Sunshine Coast Mid-Amateur at Caloundra in May, started superbly on Sunday with one-under on the front nine, but a double bogey on the 17th stalled his charge. His two-over 74 left him equal second, one shot behind first-round leader Nick Johnson (73).
But he stepped up to the plate on Monday, his one-under 71 – with four birdies – the best round of the tournament. And despite his final round 76 on the difficult course that is now home to the Australian PGA, he was never headed.
Dunleavy, who has been a member of Redcliffe since he was 12, said he was lucky to be on the right side of the draw.
“I was very fortunate to play in the morning field on Monday, because it blew a gale in the afternoon,” he said.
“That 71 put me in a strong position and proved to be a great springboard for the final round. But it’s a very tough course and the highlight of the three days was finally getting it done today.”
The 40-year-old has played the Queensland Mid-Amateur eight times, and this is his first win.
The Burleigh Golf Club Team of Ben Ratcliffe, Ryan Rodgers and Robert Dowker have narrowly edged out the Arundel Hills Team to claim victory by four shots in the Nett Aggregate Format.