The finale to the 2016 Stuart Appleby Regional Series was contested today on the North course at Sandhurst Golf Club with yet another jam-packed field of 112 players. It was a gloomy day for most of the round with the odd shower making a brief appearance to annoy the players before a downpour following the end of the round.
After a strong year of golf to date Ben Henkel fired a great score to capture the overall boys title. The Curlewis member managed his way round the par 72 layout with a very impressive round of two under-par 70. Jack Deftereos-Brennan also signed for a two under-par round but Henkel prevailed on a count back for top honours.
It was also a tie at the top of the leaderboard in the overall girls section today with both Piper Stubbs and Shanaiah Fernando tying on two over-par 74 apiece. Stubbs’ stellar back nine of two under 34 edged out Fernando on a count back. The pair have a habit of levelling each other’s score in the Regional Series, back in June the result was the opposite when Fernando bumped out Stubbs for the title on a count back.
In the handicap divisions, it was Li Su that found the day easy going when he posted a score of 67 nett to capture the A division prize. In B division it was a scintillating round of 63 nett from Max Miragila which saw him finish alone at the top of the leaderboard. Both Morten Hafkamp and Ayan Sharma also had great rounds finishing with 64 and 65 nett respectively. Eric Shuang from Huntingdale returned a fantastic 43 stableford points for his inaugural Regional Series title in C division today.
Early in the morning 44 players contested in the 9-hole Stuart Appleby Rookie Series competition. Jack Keating came in with the best score in the U16 boys section with a round of 45 for the top spot. Ben Wood found his way onto the podium for the best nett score in the U16 boys with 33. Sophie Miles cemeneted top spot in the U16 girls with 42 this morning while Ashleigh Gombos won the handicap sector.
Ben Powell was once again too strong in the U11 boys with a solid score of level par 36. Phoenix Diaz came in with a blistering round of 27 nett to take out the handicap prize. Meanwhile, in the U11 girls section Siobhan Zealley was the best in with a round of 50, edging out Portia Hall on a count back. Playing from a handicap of 21, Sydney Bayerle chimed into the winner’s circles following a nett score of 36.
The overall Regional Series Cup was fiercely contested since the first event in January with the leading eligible playing earing rights to represent Victoria in the upcoming Jack Newton Srixon Invitational. With a number of players still in the mix is was destine for a nail biting finish.
In the end it was Ben Henkel that showed rock solid from all season and today was no different. Capturing today’s title was enough to notch out the array of contenders to be crowned the Regional Series Cup champion for 2016. Henkel will now join the team that will be representing Victoria at the JNJG Srixon International in early October.
With only two points separating Nathan Page and Matthew Howell heading into today’s final event in A division it was anyone’s guess who would walk away victorious. In the end neither of the players received points today so it was Nathan Page won outright on a season tally of 84 points.
Northern’s Zac Wood was presented with the B division Cup accumulating 89 points across the season. Wood was a strong performer all year with his best finish coming at Port Fairy in May when he won.
Jacob White tallied a massive score of 145 points across 54-holes in the C Division Regional Series Cup to secure victory. The Howlong member started slow but certainly made up lost ground during winter wins at Woodlands, Yarrawonga and a second place at Keysborough.
The School Sport Victoria 12 years and under team was selected today from the scores from the 18-hole Regional Series Competition. The successful players include:
Girls
Wong, Jeneath – St Catherine's School (Captain)
Marx, Keeley- Yarra Valley Grammar
Rubtsov, Claudia – Shelford Girl's Grammar
Wanigasekera, Tiana- St Mark's Primary
E1. Solanki, Ashni – Firbank Grammar
E2. De Costa, Sayumi – Mount View Primary
Boys
Miraglia, Max – St Mary's Colac (Captain)
Hafkamp, Morten – Kennington Primary
Sharma, Aryan – Haileybury College
Tran, Aaron – Glen Waverley Secondary College
Johnston, Ayden – Rowville Secondary College
Ngo, Oliver – Wembley Primary
Audley, Thomas – Orchard Grove Primary
Eduard, Abel – Kew High School
E1. Gunasekera, Navindu – St John's West Footscray
E2. Uy, Izak – Emmanuel College
A big thank you to Sandhurst and all of the 2016 hosting venues for their continued support towards junior golf in Victoria.
Click here for final Regional Series results and SSV trial results
Click here for final Rookie Series results