2017 New Zealand Womens Autumn Foursomes
Harewood Golf Club 21-23 March
Exciting Finish For Locals
A former Scottish junior representative and a current Canterbury selector have claimed the 81st New Zealand Womens Autumn Foursomes Cup at Harewood Golf Club today.
It was an exciting finish for the host club with Harewood members Deb Scott, partnered with Jill Balloch, winning on the 18th hole after a closely fought battle.
Matching against Julie Livesey (Tai Tapu) and Sharon Screen (Charteris Bay), the favoured pair didn’t have the best of starts, being 2-down after 4 holes. Par’s on the 5th and 6th got them back to all-square which they held till the 10th hole. A bogey on the opening back nine was good enough for Scott and Balloch to edge ahead with Livesey and Screen shooting a triple-bogey.
The match however see-sawed back and forth for four more holes, until Scott and Balloch slotted two pars’in a row, to gain the lead on the 15th. The 16th and 17th were halved, until the match was conceded on the 18th when Livesey and Screen struggled to make the tough finishing hole in regulation.
As one of the lowest seeded pairs, Scott and Balloch had to play consistently for all six rounds, frequently giving shots, up to 23 in one match, in the handicap foursomes format.
The three-day tournament randomly draws 64 pairs, with players competing for the NZ Golf Autumn Foursomes Cup over six rounds of foursomes’ match play.
Scott and Balloch first met Denise Kenny (Geraldine) and Sisi Silcock (Geraldine) in their opening match, which they won 4 and 3.
First round losers, Kenny and Silcock however went on to win their next five matches and eventually took out the 2017 NZLGU Salver. To secure the Salver, Kenny and Silcock won 2 and 1, over Janet Nicholls (Tai Tapu) and Diane Stalker (Tai Tapu), in their final today.
Semi-finalists in the NZLGU Autumn Foursomes Cup and the NZLGU Salver were Carol Bogue (Alexandra) with Rosie Turnbull (Alexandra), Valerie Ross (Mataurua) with Annette Thompson (Mataurua), Julie Fraser (Taumarunui) with Liz Hodgson (Taumarunui), and Anne Moffat (Wanaka) with Marg Reid (Wanaka).
The NZLGU Salver Flight 1 was won by the sister-duo Ginny Bolderston (Geraldine) and Nicky Muir (Hororata) who have both been selected to compete in the forthcoming 2017 New Zealand Womens Masters. Bolderston will represent Aorangi, and Muir, Canterbury, next weekend at Ngaruawahia Golf Club.
The NZ Autumn Foursomes Flight 1 winners were Pam Ellis (Waitikri) and Lyn Roberston (Amberley). Ellis has a long association with Canterbury Golf, and is the current manager of the districts Masters team.
With multiple flights on both sides of the 64-pair draw the prize list is impressive. In the Autumn Foursomes main draw other flight winners included Katrina Noone and Rhonda Thomson, from Ardleigh, along with Waitikiri members Danae Goosman and Cheryl Kemp who as well asbeing an accomplished golfer, is a pastNew Zealand representative in Softball.
More winners for Harewood with flights won by Alison Lynch and Denise Whitbread, and Linley Trapp who partnered with one of the tournaments regulars, Andrea Mark from Paraparaumu. Completing the list of flight winners in the main draw, were Jan Latham and Shona Moore from Lincoln, along with Erin Mulholland (Hawarden) and Mary Samuela-Anderson (Scargill).
In the NZLGU Salver side of the draw locals Kay Gilray with Margaret Black, and Lynley Gainsford with Pam McTaggart claimed two more flights for the host club. Also from Harewood, Julie Hamilton, partnered with Jocelyn Pollock (Masterton) were in the prize pool winning the 7th flight.
Norma Mitchell (Wyndham) and Mary Symons (Otautau), Lynn Pederson (Wairakei) and Corinne Pert (Kinloch), and Carol Brand (Gleniti), partnered with Vicki Moore (Ashburton) won the NZLGU Salver flights 4, 5 and 6 respectively.
The tournament is managed by PaR nz Golfing Holidays who announced at tonight’s prize-giving ceremony that Whakatane will be the venue for the 82nd New Zealand Womens Autumn Foursomes Tournament. Details and entry forms will be published in due course.
For more information
Denise Langdon
NZ Golf Tournament Director
Phone 0275 662 385