Victorian Men’s Senior Amateur – Final Story
A member at the Forster-Tuncurry Golf Club, located three hours north of Sydney, Greg Ellis fired a one-over 73 for a 54-hole total of 220 (five-over-par) to take the Men’s Championship by three strokes. Overnight leader, John Banting from Royal Perth closed with 78 to finish second.
The final day of the 21st Victorian Men’s Senior Amateur was played at the Bright Country Golf Club in overcast conditions but without a hint of breeze. After steady play during the first two rounds, Ellis surged into contention with an outward half of 37 to take the lead into the final nine. An impressive birdie on the 15th and a run of pars to finish his round was good enough for claim the prestigious jug.
“I played really well, especially yesterday (at Myrtleford) around that tight course”. Ellis commented.
The interstaters dominated the field with 8 of the top 10 coming from interstate, with Ross Percy and Bernie Bickerton the only two Victorians.
The Victorian Senior Amateur Handicap Championship, which is played concurrently with the stroke event, saw Trevor Pattinson (Albury) take the title after a final round nett (handicap reduced) score of 73 for a three round total of 218. The nine handicapper won by on a countback from Robert Angus (Cumberland NSW).
For all age category results, please visit the Tournament Homepage
Over at Myrtleford for the Men’s Balance Field, Adam Charleston of Lonsdale carded the best gross score of 77, while Hidden Valley’s Lou Villani posted a best nett 68.
In presenting the Men’s Championship trophy, Golf Victoria President John Hobday paid compliment to both the Myrtleford and Bright Golf Clubs commenting that “both layouts were presented in superb condition for the entire week. Full credit must go to the course staff together with the respective Club Committees and members for the time and effort that they have put into their courses.”
“On top of that, the organisation has been simply excellent. From the lunches that each club has provided to the overall hospitality extended to all players and partners, the support that Myrtleford and Bright have given the Championship has made for an excellent week of golf.”
The Victorian Men’s Senior Amateur Championship continues to maintain its popularity with a starting field of 126 players competing in this year’s event from 56 clubs, including 19 Interstate clubs.
Victorian Women’s Senior Amateur – Final Story
Nikki Haines took out the 2015 Victorian Women’s Senior Amateur with a strong 5/3 win over Kingston Heath’s Lynne Brown in the 18-hole final played at Myrtleford.
Having qualified at number 2 after the 36-hole stroke rounds, Haines reached the final courtesy of a 4/3 victory over June Tickell (Trafalgar) in the morning semi-final while fellow finalist Brown progressed after narrowly defeating the 2014 Champion Helen Pascoe (Buninyong) 1 up this morning.
Rain was looking threatening on the radar as the finalists headed out on course to fight for the title. Haines came bolting out of the gates with a birdie on the first to start a 5-hole winning streak. Brown managed to steady the sprint, halving holes six through eight and winning hole nine to make the turn at 4 down. Haines’ solid play on the stretch home secured her dormie 4 up with four holes to play, and the eventual 5/3 victory over Brown.
A further feature of the Women’s Senior Championship were the two age-group flights for players 55-64 and 65 and over. In the 55-64 flight, Heather Harley of Kooringal was victorious after a 5/4 win over Jubilee's Di Murphy. Both players had earlier earned their finals spots after morning semi-finals wins against Bobette Wilkinson (Tocumwal) and Jenny Chandler (Beaconhills) respectively.
In the 65+ flight, Sandra Collingwood (Keysborough) won the 2015 title with a convincing 6/5 victory over Marg Tobin from Corowa. Collingwood and Tobin had progressed to the final after morning semi-final wins over Heather Baxter (Yarrawonga Mulwala) and Betty McGuinness (Buninyong) respectively.
At presentations, all players commended the pristine condition of the courses and tremendous hospitality displayed by the hosts throughout the championship. In addition, Golf Victoria Board member Sue Rea reiterated special thanks to both clubs and their committees, volunteers and ground staff for the tireless efforts and assistance.
Since amalgamating in 2010, a key goal of Golf Victoria has been to simultaneously stage as many Men’s and Women’s State level events together as possible and it has been great to see the enjoyment of both the men and women this week at the Championships for the first time here in the Ovens and Murray region.
The 2016 Victorian Men’s and Women’s Senior Amateur Championships for amateur golfers aged 55 and over will head to Mildura when the event will be hosted by the Coomealla and Riverside Golf Clubs from Monday 17 to Wednesday 19 October.