A cool but mostly sunny Monday afternoon greeted the 94 players at the 26th annual edition of the Golf Victoria Heart Open at Commonwealth GC. The strong field comprised of 79 men & 15 ladies all of whom had undergone a heart procedure in order to be eligible to play in the event enjoyed a rare opportunity to mix with fellow competitors who share a common but unique bond.
Play commenced via a 12:15pm shotgun start, with the overnight rain clearing for what was to be an enjoyable afternoon for all amongst one of the Melbourne sand belt’s finest layouts.
In the women’s event, local knowledge proved to be a huge advantage with the top two places filled by local Commonwealth members. Anne Slattery took top honors with a fine score of 31 stableford points from a daily handicap of 30 with Helen Fraser (daily handicap 12) finishing in the runner-up position with 29 points. Yering Meadows member Carolyn Coffey rounded out the top three places in third with 26 points.
The men’s event saw a tight finish at the top with Lonsdale’s Graeme Burns finishing with the top prize with 36 points. The National’s Trevor Main emerged from a four way tie on 35 points to secure second place with Northern’s Vince Galtieri finishing third with 35 points on a countback.
The overall prize & Don Lawrence trophy (awarded to the highest scoring Open Heart Surgery Participant) was taken home by a familiar face. Gordon Mainsbridge (Port Arlington) the 2015 champion made it back to back Don Lawrence Trophy titles with 37 points from a handicap of 29 which was also good enough to take the best overall score for the day.
The day concluded with a presentation dinner, which featured guest speakers Diana Heggie (CEO – Heart Foundation), Anne Mennen (Director of Development – Monash Heart) and Golf Victoria president Stephen Spargo. A total of $1620 was raised for Monash Heart via player donations for the nearest to the pin competitions along with $705.40 to the Heart Foundation donated by players & guests via a raffle at the presentation dinner. We thank all players and guests for their tremendous generosity.
Golf Victoria would like to thank Commonwealth GC for their superb hospitality, support & presenting the course in such superb condition. Special mention to the families of the founders of the Open Heart Open who were honorary guests for the evening Chris Davie & Muriel Lawrence.
The 2017 Golf Victoria Heart Open will be held at Yarra Yarra GC Monday 20 March.
To view full results & photo gallery, click here.