Edward Carracher of Euroa has capitalized on his overnight lead and taken home the 2016 Victorian Men’s Sand Greens Championship title today at Bannockburn GC. Carracher struggled on the way out with a 5 over par 39, opening the doors to his nearest competitors. Not to be phased, the 2013 champion rallied with one under on the back nine to close with a 73 today and an eventual 4 shot victory over Craig Boucher of Midlands.
Boucher finished with the lowest round of the day (72), securing him the A-Grade runner-up trophy on a count-back from Kooringal’s Brian Spalding. Coming in with the best score in B-Grade was Parkland’s member Dale Grambau, carding a two-round total of 163 and winning on a count-back from Ross Murray of Hamilton. Local knowledge worked to the advantage of the C-Grade winners, with Bert Moritz and club captain Henk Kersten taking out the gross and nett winner and runner-up trophies respectively. Moritz finished on gross 176 and nett 140 bettering Kersten by a mere shot in both.
Local member Darren Armstrong came in with the best 36-hole nett score in A-Grade. Armstrong’s score of nett 69 today won him the count-back on nett 137 from Parklands member Rob Schwarz. In B-Grade it was Des Read from Birregurra with the lowest nett total of 138 finishing 2 shots ahead of runner-up Ron Oakley, another member from Parklands. Special mention goes to Robert Prince of Bannockburn, coming in with a nett 65 for the lowest round of the championship.
The sun intermittently broke through the clouds today, and given the forecast earlier this week players were all thankful that the predicted rain missed the area during the championship days.
Bannockburn Golf Club is to be highly commended on the manner in which they have hosted both championships this week. The club and its committee members and volunteers have spared no effort in welcoming players to their home, which was reflected in the positive atmosphere throughout the championship.
The 2017 championships will move up to Wedderburn Golf Club next year to be played on the 6 & 7 September (Women) and 9 & 10 September (Men).
Click here for full results and photos from the championship.