By Peter Owen
When John Small pulled his tee shot on the first hole into the trees at Cooroy last week, he feared he may be in for a pretty torrid day on a course he’d played only once before.
A plus one handicapper at Pelican Waters, John was playing off plus three on the statistically easier Cooroy course during a Vets host day competition last Monday.
After enduring some derisive jeers from his playing partners, John somehow found the fairway with his second shot, laid up with his third, chipped on and sunk a three metre putt for a bogey on a hole officially rated Cooroy’s easiest.
From that point on, John Small really showed why he’s rated so highly, and why he’s the senior member of an A grade pennant team considered the best in all of Queensland.
John birdied the third and eighth holes to complete his first nine in 33 strokes. Then he took the Cooroy course apart.
He birdied 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16 before holing out his pitch shot for another birdie on the 18th.
When the smoke had settled, John’s card showed he’d navigated the tight Cooroy circuit in 63 strokes, tallying 40 stableford points and winning the day’s A grade competition by four points.
He’d also shot his age for the first time – a remarkable achievement for somebody aged just 65.
“I was over the moon,” said John, who revealed he had a running bet with long-time Coffs Harbour-based mate Paul Gallagher of a bottle of Penfolds Grange wine for the first of them to beat their age on a golf course.
“Straight after the game I got on the phone and texted him, ‘Grange, baby!’” John said.
After playing golf for years at the Killara Golf Club, north of Sydney, where his handicap was once plus three, John relocated to the Sunshine Coast in 2018 and joined Pelican Waters.
A member of the NSW junior squad in his youth, he has always been a good golfer – good enough that, when he was 50, he visited the United States and competed in Q-School qualifying for the Champions Tour.
The trip was cut short when his father died, but by then John had discovered the truth – his game just wasn’t good enough for that sort of intense competition.
Instead he returned to Sydney and, for more than a decade, ran the Meriton Sydney Invitational – a pro-am with prizemoney of $125,000 that raised $800,000 for the Westmead Children’s Hospital and became the biggest golf event of its kind in Australia.
As for his own game, John says he’s got better as he’s got older, and he particularly enjoys playing with fellow veterans at courses all around the Sunshine Coast.
Cassie passes the test
Peregian’s Cassie Porter found herself in exalted company at the weekend as she tested her game against some of Australia’s best golfers in the women’s Victorian Open.
Cassie’s four solid rounds – 71, 70, 72 and 71 – around 13th Beach’s Creek and Beach courses saw the rookie pro finish tied for fourth.
In front of her were US LPGA Tour players Hannah Green, the winner, and Karis Davidson, and Ladies European Tour member Whitney Hillier. Alongside her was another LPGA Tour player, Su Oh.
Cassie collected prizemoney of $21,525 for her efforts, and continued a run of tournament performances that showed the 19-year-old has the brightest of futures on the pro tour.
Katelyn Must, the teaching pro at Peregian, tied for 23rd.
Abigail has a winning attitude
She may not be the best player on the Invincibles Sunshine Coast Junior Golf Tour, but Abigail Wolff is impressing many people with the way she goes about playing the game.
The young Noosa Springs junior has just been awarded the tour’s Drummond Golf Achiever of the Month award for players competing in the six and nine-hole events.
Abigail, a new Invincibles member, won the award for her attitude, sportsmanship and presence on the course.
Invincibles founder and president Graeme Miller said the award was not so much about winning an event, but more about honesty, integrity, commitment and focus.
“Abigail is a pleasure to be out on the course with,” said Graeme, who was understandably chuffed with the performance of former Invincibles members in last weekend’s women’s Victoria Open at 13th Beach.
Past member Karis Davidson tied for second, while Cassie Porter (tied 4th), Justice Bosio (tied 10th) and Katelyn Must (tied 23rd) were prominent.
So close for Maddie
A brilliant tee-shot on the short 12th hole that almost found the cup helped Noosa’s Maddison Kelly to a brilliant one-under-par 71 in the Peregian Junior Open on Sunday. But it wasn’t quite enough to give her victory.
Maddie and Bundaberg’s Kate McFarlane tied with matching 71s, which would normally have resulted in a playoff. But, because it was getting dark, organisers resorted to a countback, with Late winning with a better second nine.
Maddie took some consolation, though, in being runner-up in the net category, and taking the Nearest the Pin award for her second shot to the 18th hole.
Keith too good for the Vets
Keith Harkins, who moved to the Sunshine Coast six years ago after 22 years as an engineer in the food industry in Brisbane, scored 40 points to win Cooroy Vets’ stableford competition last Wednesday.
He beat Paul Korczynski and Peter Crosby, who each had 39 points.
Best score of the day was Ken McKay’s 41 points, which saw him win the B grade trophy.
Club competitions
NOOSA
Monday, 7 February
Women’s 4-ball, best 2 ball stableford: T. Skeppstrom, T. Frawley, N. Scanlon & S. Griffiths 88, M. Linklater, G. Steele, S. Callaghan & H. Birt 84; women’s stableford, 9 holes: Kathy Jones 19, Barb Allen 18.
Tuesday, 8 February
Men’s stroke: Chris Wright 66, David Conolly 67c/b, David Cameron Mills 67, Alan Holley 70c/b; B grade – Chris Misios 67c/b, Ian Vardy 67c/b, Bruce Osborne 67, Ken Reed 69c/b; C grade – Murray Joseph 65, Peter Turnbull 69, Barry De Lacy 70, Grant Evans 71c/b.
Wednesday, 9 February
Vets stableford: A grade – Peter O’Brien 41, Keith Howard 39, Alan Meredith 38; Laurie James 38c/b, Neil Prideaux 38, Tom Mulcairn 37c/b; C grade – Jim Toovey 41, Jim Crawford 39c/b, Michael Masters 39.
Thursday, 10 February
Women’s Canadian foursomes: Ann Tummon & Mandy Webb 72.125, Orawan Millar & Noreen Flood 72.375, Judy Patterson & Allana Moore 72.875.
NOOSA SPRINGS
Monday, 7 February
Men’s 4-person Ambrose: C. Wilson, M. Hart, R. Ellis & D. Oates 57.5, U. Schmetzer, K. Sunderland, R. Probert & J. Stephens 60.125, S. McMenamin, J. Krimmer, G. Taylor & S. McCready 61.25.
Wednesday, 9 February
Men’s stableford: Craig Davis 37c/b, John Gavin 37, Greg Copeland 36c/b; women’s: Jenny Hickey 40, Sarah Bate 37, Amanda Harburg 36c/b.
Saturday, 12 February
Men’s stableford: Glenn Sunderland 39, Graeme Maddern 38c/b, Graham Dill 38c/b; women’s: Rosie Randall 40, Ruby Jaede 38, Sandi Hoskins 37c/b.
Sunday, 13 February
Men’s Sunday Series, stableford: Ken Healy 37, Gil Hoskins 36, Thomas Mardling 35c/b; women’s: Sandi Hoskins 33.
COOROY
Wednesday, 9 February
Vets stableford: A grade – Keith Harkins 40, Paul Korczynski 39c/b, Peter Crosby 39; B grade – Ken McKay 41, Neville Kunst 39, Derek Wood 39; C grade: Joe Daniels 40, Andrew Aves 39c/b, Jim Gregg 39.
