The 2015 Women’s Country Championships got underway this morning with the traditional start to the week the Country Foursomes Championship.
Eighty six pairs teed it up over thirty six holes at one of jewels of the Murray region Tocumwal Golf Club. The one hundred and seventy two strong field, one of the largest in the events history, faced frosty conditions early before the sun emerged along with a light breeze ensuring ideal scoring conditions.
With defending champions Judy Langford (Wodonga) and Sara Hagy (Howlong) not competing in this year’s event, a strong contingent of the state’s finest country women golfers were looking to add their names to the coveted Marion Dwyer trophy.
At the conclusion of round one, it was the Wodonga pair of Casey Wild and Catherine Odgers who led the way after a solid morning round of 80. One of the pre-tournament favourites, Wild and Odgers took a slim two shot advantage into the afternoon round over the pair of Kilmore local Jessica Pickwick & her partner Johanna Wyllie (Tambo Valley) who fired an opening round of 82 with Jo Flaherty (Warrnambool) & Georgia Macklan (Yarrawonga) well in the hunt after also firing an opening round 82.
The Maffra pair of Lynne Templeton & Kaye Gallagher led the nett event after round one with a nett score of 73 with Belvoir Park’s Marianne Stoettrup and The Dunes’ Penny White in second place with a nett score of 74. Wild and Odgers headed out in a three over par 39 on the first nine of the final round on the Captains layout, further cementing their place atop the leaderboard extending their lead to three strokes at the turn.
Further consistent play over the final nine saw the round one leaders hold firm and return the best round of the championship a 79 to secure a four shot win. The consistent play of the one & five marker defied the often up and down nature of the foursomes format allowing them to cruise to victory. Pickwick & Wyllie finished in second place on 163.
Stoettrup and White proved too strong in the nett event finishing with a two round nett total of 146.5 to take honours by two and a half shots from the fast finishing Christine Munday (Maffra) and Robyn Walker (Newry) on a two round nett total of 149.
The majority of today’s field move on tomorrow as two hundred and fifty nine ladies take to both the Presidents and Captains layouts for round one of this year’s Glenelg Cup and Country Championships events.
To view full results of the Country Foursomes Championship, click here.