2022 Men’s and Women’s Champions CATH BELLEMORE and BEN CULLINAN with Silverware
Before moving on to the final the semi-finals of the Men’s Club Championships were played on Saturday 29th of October with the following results
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP – SEMIS
The number 1 seed Ben Cullinan defeated the number 4 seed Timothy Tan 4/3.
Aidan Cooper, seeded no 7 reached his first Club Championship final after accounting for 6th seeded Ben O’Callaghan 2/1.
MNOR CHAMPIONSHIP
Due to earlier withdrawals, Ajay Dhadli and Anthony Joseph went straight through to the final.
“A” GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP – SEMIS
Reegan Cake continued his march with a good win over Steve Noske.
The consistent Gary Hing overcame Gus Elliot on the final hole – winning 1 up.
“B” GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP – SEMIS
John Sheridan jumped out of the blocks and was 4 up after 4 against Brian Stuart – finally winning 7/6.
In a very close encounter James Bai overcame a spirited fightback from Tim Song, winning the last for a 1up victory
“C” GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP – SEMIS
The CG Dudley Cup winner and number 1 seed Zach Nielsen went through to the final after the withdrawal of the President Bryan Gardiner due to ill health.
Angus Johnson, no stranger to the finals accounted for enthusiastic new member Dave Bennett 4/2.
THE FINAL DAY
After the success last year of playing the Women’s and Men’s Club Championship on the one day the format continued in 2022 with the finals of the Men’s and Women’s Club Championships played on Sunday October 30. A cool and windy day greeted the players and several members followed the finals with interest. As with the CG DUDLEY the Men’s Club Championships were sponsored by MORGAN STANLEY courtesy of Mark Palmer and Stuart Beattie.
Whilst these articles are normally written embracing Men’s results it would first be appropriate to mention the Women’s Club Championships which were sponsored for the third year by LEADERPRESS, courtesy of Bruce and Judith Drummond.
The results were as follows;
WOMEN’S CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
Cath Bellemore, seeking her 15th Championship victory, had a comfortable win in the 36-hole final over her respected opponent Rhonda Moore. There really was not much Rhonda could do to stop the “machine”. Cath’s putting was outstanding and a major factor in the win. Well done Rhonda for making the final and who knows what might happen next year
Other Champions on the day were
“A” Grade Plate – Krystyna Knottnerus def Ali Baker – 5/4. Krystyna played exceptionally well all day and Ali could not get into the game at any stage.
“B” Grade Championship – Joan Brown def Anne-Marie McNaughton at the 19th. Joan fought back late in the 18-hole final to take the match into overtime.
“B” Grade Plate – In a titanic struggle between the Women’s President, Nikki Wehr and Captain Pam Ryan, Nikki fought back strongly to also take the match to extra holes where Pam won at the 19th.
“C” Grade Championship – In another closely fought match Jan McFarlane proved too strong for Susan Watson in the concluding stages winning 1 up.
The second “9 Hole” Championship was won by Andrea Whitehead over Pauline Glynn 3/2.
Congratulations to all Champions and Runners up and thanks to LEADERPRESS for their support.
MEN’S CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
After finishing Runner-up in his last 2 outings, Ben Cullinan was up against fellow Division 2 teammate Aidan Cooper.
The 36 Hole final got under way in the morning in cold and windy conditions which made it difficult for both players. At the half way mark, Ben was 4 up and in the main that was due to his short game prowess. Whilst in the main, the long game of Aidan was excellent his short game did not match that of his opponent.
The afternoon round was nip and tuck and ultimately Ben got the upper hand taking out his second Club Championship 6/5. Aidan fought hard all day but, in the end, the 2019 Champion ran out the winner.
Congratulations to Ben Cullinan on being crowned the Club Champion for the second time.
Unfortunately, this will be Ben’s final appearance in the Club Championships as he will shortly be heading for Brisbane where no doubt he will challenge for the Indooroopilly Club Championship.
Best of luck to Ben and thank you for the contribution you have made to the club.
Result (1) Ben Cullinan def (7) Aidan Cooper 6 and 5
MINOR CHAMPIONSHIP
The Minor Championship looked to be an evenly matched affair with perhaps Anthony Joseph being favoured to win against a much-improved Ajay Dhadli.
There was never much in the match all day with Anthony leading 1 up for most of it. Finally, he got the upper hand in the closing holes running out a 3/2 winner.
Well done Anthony and hopefully both players will be in contention for the Club Champion title in the coming years.
Anthony will join a host of great club names when his name is added to the B K Bolton Tray.
Result (4) Anthony Joseph def (3) Ajay Dhadli 3 and 2
“A” GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP
After accounting for the 2021 “B” Grade Champion, Wilfred Ong, the number 7 seed Gary Hing was up against the number 8 seed Reegan Cake. After making the semi-finals in 2020 Gary was looking for his first Cub Championship title as was Reegan. Reegan had overpowered Stewart Wharton, the number 1 seed Dylan Morgan and Steve Noske on his way to the final and Gary in his two matches defeating Wilfred and Gus Elliott. So, it looked like it was going to be a close-run affair.
Gary jumped out of the blocks and after 9 holes was 3 up – a lead he never surrendered. On the day Reegan could not match the consistency of Gary with Gary finally winning 4/3 to claim the John Roberts Trophy.
Result (7) Gary Hing (9 H’Cap) def (8) Reegan Cake (10 H’cap) 4 and 3
“B” GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP
The number 1 seed, John Sheridan, was pitted against the number 3 seed James Bai who was playing in his first Championship.
With his previous Match Play experience John was slightly favoured to win.
On the way to the final both John and James had 2 comfortable wins and a close encounter against formidable opponents. So, it was anticipated to be a close-run thing.
James showed his power when he was through the back of the 2nd in two but his short game let him down and he lost the hole. But that really was his only mistake with the short game and he displayed great skills from 50 metres in and with the “flat stick”. There was nothing that John could do and after losing a ball on the 13th, which was by all accounts in the middle of the fairway, he surrendered to a worthy opponent. James won his first championship and will have his named etched on the J B Duncan Trophy.
Result (3) James Bai (16) H’Cap) def (1) John Sheridan (18 H’Cap) 6 and 5
Roving Reporter’s comment- watch out for James in the future. He has a couple of issues he has to deal with but next year he could easily be in the “A” Grade finals.
“C” GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP
As with 2021 when Paul Orchard won the “double”, the CG Dudley and the “C” Grade Championship the most interest of the day centred around whether the number 1 qualifier could emulate Paul’s performance. His match play credentials were unknown as due to circumstance beyond his control he had not played a game until the final. His opponent was the evergreen Angus Johnson who had been in several previous finals. With the lack of experience in Match Play and the fact that Zach had to give Angus 9 strokes the slight favourite was Angus.
The match was close all day and with 3 holes to play Zach was 1 up. A win on the 16th was what was needed and that made him 2 up with 2 holes left – but he had to give Angus a shot on each of the last two holes.
Angus won the 17th but just when it was needed Zach hit a great drive on the final hole and with Angus over the back for 5 and Zach 15 feet away in three, the match was conceded when Angus could not hole his 6th shot. A valiant effort by Angus.
So, Zach also became a winner of both the CG Dudley and “C” Grade Championship in the same year and his name will be inscribed on the Fred Symons Tray.
Result (1) Zach Nielsen (22 H’Cap) def (7) Angus Johnson (31 H’Cap) 2 up
SUMMARY
The Men’s and Women’s Club Championships are over for another year and-;
Two leading Men’s qualifiers won – Ben Cullinan and Zack Nielsen.
Zach Nielsen followed in the footsteps of Paul Orchard andwon both the CG Dudley Cup and “C” Grade Championship.
Cath Bellemore won her 15th club championship and ninth in the last 10 years.
ABSENT ANTHONY JOSEPH
Congratulations to all the winners, both men and women, and also to all of those who made it through to the Match Play.
Appreciation is once again extended to our sponsor MORGAN STANLEY for their continued support of the club.
Our course staff did an excellent job in their preparation of the course. The pro shop staff are acknowledged for their assistance as are the house and office staff.
Their efforts together with the member’s support made for a most successful Club Championship.
From – Greg Fitzhardinge
