On Saturday a field of 18 players braved the very cool conditions for the 4th rd of the Captain’s Stableford Trophy.

With a persistent shower greeting the players on the turn it was Curt Evans who handled the trying conditions the beat to win the B grade and also have the score of the day. A shaky first hole wipe was soon forgotten with a run of bogey’s getting him 16 points to the halfway hotdog.

After a quick stop to don the wet weather gear he finished with 5 pars and 3 bogey’s. A minor hiccup on the 14th was not enough to cost him the win, finishing the day with 38 points and well ahead of the rest of the field.

The runner-up was Allen Meyer with 34 points winning from Pete Bullock on countback. Meyer was able to perform better after the rain with 16 points on the back 9 with Bullock wiping the last hole after a birdie on the 17th to lose by the barest of margins. A further 2 points behind was Ant Mathys on 32 points to make up the final placing.

The A grade have been struggling with the course of late and again this week saw some low scores once more. Lucky that John Mossop has not been out of late voicing his disapproval of the appalling scores that have been returned, not that he has troubled the scores of late. A countback was needed to separate the winner with Leo Price beating Peter Lunnay, both on 33 points.

Price was having trouble in the wet with a card that resembled the Crows up and down ladder position. 3 pars and a birdie on the 13th was offset by the 3 wipes for that 9. Lunnay on the other hand lost the win scoring only 8 points on the final 6 holes.

Another countback was needed for the next positions with Jock Agnew edging old Don Ferguson with 32 points. Ferg thought he had done enough to beat Agnew but after readjusting his handicap to the correct number had to concede that he would not be collecting from Agnew. We all know Ferg just loves to get that $2 from all and sundry and had to actually hand it back under much protest.

NTP winner on the 7th was Jeremy Briggs with Allen Meyer taking the 9th. Best 2nd went to Jim Cameron on the 12th, making a welcome return to the course after a lengthy period on the injury list.

The prized NAGA chocolate went to Mark Edwards who was also the winner of same prize on Thursday. With only 24 points and tied with Shane Anderson, it was a pity vote that saw him get the NAGA after a hasty trip to the course on Thursday was accompanied by a brief roadside chat much to the amusement of fellow golfers travelling past on the way to the course.

This week will be the 5th rd of the President’s Trophy with Stump aiming for an early start.

With near perfect conditions a smaller than normal field took to the course to contest the Pinkerton, Palm, Hamlyn and Steen Monthly Medal. The course was looking a bit damp around some greens with the front 3 holes being closed for the first time this year with the composite course in play.

On a day that should have seen some great scoring not one player managed to break their handicap. The  A grade winner and also tied for score of the day was Leo Price with a very creditable nett 74. He could only manage 9 pars for the day but was able to limit his double bogey’s to 2 holes, both of which he 3 putted.

In the runner-up position was George Kidman a further few shots behind on nett 78. He was struggling with the elements and his short game was not up to his usual standard with only 4 pars on his card. A highlight of his game was with his putter which may have saved him.

 In 3rd was Greg Hutchesson a few more shots further back with a nett 83, well clear of his nearest rival. Things definitely weren’t going his way when chipping from under the trees on the 15th he managed to hit a ball some 30 metres in front of him and launch the ball sideways away from the green.

The B grade was won by Stump Murray with a nett 74 also. A rare birdie for the day on the 11th was the standout with only 4 pars helping his card from blowing out. Like all who played he was having a little trouble with the flat stick.

The runner-up was Curt Evans on nett 75 who had a major turnaround after the break. After using nearly his entire quota of his 18 handicap on the back 9, with 2 errant drives on the dangerous 12th hole, he righted his radar. A well compiled 40 off the stick on the front 9 ensured he placed well enough to have even stole the win.

A 4 way countback was needed to separate the final places with Peter Walker edging out John Wilkinson, Paul Harmer and Cheers Bill all on nett 78.

The C grade also struggled around the course with Ant Mathys winning with nett 78. Using his knowledge of the pin placements he putted extremely well and was a highlight of this card.

Runner-up was David Strothera with a nett 80 to edge out David Boyd on nett 81. Allen Meyer was in  fourth with nett 84, who started the day well when he almost sliced more than his drive in the kitchen before play.

The Nearest to Pin winners hard to find with Paul Harmer the last player of the day landing just on the 9th to take the prize while Peter Walker hit a great approach on the 12th to win best 2nd. The long drives went to Greg Hutchesson in A, Andrew Hutchesson in the B with Sam Hill for the C grade.

A countback was not needed to decide the putting comp winner with 5 balls going out to a group of 5 with all having 30 putts.

Next week will be the 3rd round of the Captains Stableford trophy with hopefully a bigger field in attendance.

Full results here.