By Peter Owen
Her golfing pedigree is impressive. Her mother played regularly until she was 85 and her brother was an aspiring professional who contested with legends like Jack Newton in the 1970s.
But Toni Liddy didn’t take up golf until she and husband Paul decided to retire and move to the Sunshine Coast less than a decade ago.
Since then, she more than made up for lost time.
A 28-handicapper when she started playing at Peregian just eight years ago, Toni is now a regular at Noosa Springs, and her handicap has dropped to 18.
A winner of the Calvin Klein B grade Championship late last year, Toni showed she’s never been in better form when she scored an easy win in Noosa Springs’ Senior Monthly Medal last week, shooting 84 for a nett 66 and a five-stroke victory.
“I putted very well and just didn’t make any mistakes,” said Toni, who puts her recent improvement down to the advice of resident teaching pro Hamish Robertson.
Paul and Toni Liddy were Peregian members until about five years ago, when they began playing at Noosa Springs, commuting two or three times a week from their Peregian Springs home.
“Eventually we decided it would suit us much better to move to Noosa and cut out all the travel,” she said.
Her secret to playing well, she says, is to keep calm and accept whatever happens on the golf course.
“There’s no point getting upset,” she said. “That’s not going to change anything. Just think about the next shot, and get on with it.”
Though she and Paul seldom play in the same group, there is something uncanny about the way their games peak at the same time.
When Toni won the Calvin Klein women’s B grade title, Paul took out the men’s A grade championship.
And last week when Toni won the women’s event, Paul was runner-up in the men’s Monthly Medal, with a nett 71.
Now Scotty’s struggling with his long game
Adam Scott, revered for years for the quality of his ball striking and derided for his inconsistent putting, is struggling with something entirely new as he seeks to reclaim his position as one of the world’s best players.
Noosa’s favourite golfer has found it difficult to find any consistency since he returned to the US PGA Tour after spending much of last year at his Sunshine Beach home, as the tour went into recess because of COVID-19.
Ironically, Scott tested positive for the virus only a few weeks later, but quickly recovered.
His problem, he says, is his ball-striking, an aspect of his game that has long been considered among the very elite of professional golf.
Fans watched in astonishment this week at the Honda Classic as Scott struggled with pulled drives and missed greens on a course that Scott has tamed many times in the past.
“My short game is fantastic at the moment, the best consistently it’s ever been,” he said. “That’s fortunate because otherwise I’d be selling hot dogs, not playing golf.”
Scott, currently using his long putter to great effect, is 23rd in putting average on tour this season.
“Tee to green has been a strength for me,” he said. “I think it gives me a little edge on the field. But I certainly can’t say that now.
“Anyone could look at my stats and see that’s not really my strong suit right now.
“With the golf swing and ball-striking being kind of the strength of my game for my entire career, I believe it can come back fairly quickly with a little bit of work on the range the next few weeks.”
Despite his sometime errant long game, Scott cobbled together four decent rounds – 69, 67, 72 and 68 – to finish tied 13th behind fellow Australian Matt Jones in the Honda Classic.
Samara gets to play with the greats
Peregian’s Samara Dryden was one of four members of the Invincibles Sunshine Coast Junior Tour invited to play in the pro-am immediately before the Queensland Open at Pelican Waters this month.
Samara, one of the most promising juniors on the Sunshine Coast, was part of a playing group that included top female amateur Sarah Wilson, herself an Invincibles member until recently.
“I had a ball,” said Samara. “It was a load of fun. Sarah was so helpful, giving us tips on how to manage ourselves on and off the course.”
Sarah Wilson, one of five women who played in the Queensland Open, missed the 36-hole cut, and then flew to Adelaide where she lined up in the South Australian Amateur Championship, shooting rounds of 74, 70, 70 and 75 to finish fifth.
Tony takes his form to Bribie
Noosa club champion Toby Harding shot an impressive two-over-par round of 74 to win the Lower Mid-Amateur section of the district Mid-Amateur Championship at Bribie Island last week.
The Lower Mid-Amateur category is confined to players aged between 30 and 44.
Golfers from throughout southeast Queensland were among the 170 who competed in the combined Mid-Amateur (30 to 54) years and Senior (55 and over) championships.
Harding, who took part in pre-qualifying for the Queensland Open during a busy few days of golf, won by two strokes from Virginia’s Craig Lawrence and Gold Coaster Ben Ratcliffe.
Harding also won the long drive prize on the 17th hole for his category.
Peregian member Gareth Bertram was the overall Mid-Amateur nett champion, his score of 69 the best on countback from Bribie Island’s Darren Simpson.
Other Noosa district prize winners were Chris Wood (Noosa, 3rd in the Upper Mid-Amateur (45-54 years) section), Rex Achurch (Noosa, 3rd in Senior Championship) and Peter Walker (nett winner, Lower Senior (55-64 years) section).
Rain delays matchplay title
THE opening day of this year’s Invincibles matchplay championships, scheduled for Sunday at Pelican Waters, became a victim of the recent heavy rain. Instead, the opening round will now take place at Twin Waters on Friday, April 9, with the finals scheduled for Sunday, April 18, also at Twin Waters.
Skins set for next week
THERE’S still time to register for next Wednesday’s Noosa Springs Skins Series.
The Skins, played four times year, is a team event with a prize of four bottles of wine for the best stableford score by a team on each hole. If two or more teams get the same score on a hole, the prize jackpots to the next hole.
The cost is $85 ($39 for members) and that includes lunch and post-game nibbles. Tee-off is at 12 noon.
George takes on the best
Noosa’s George Giblett shot four consistent rounds – 72, 76, 74 and 74 – to finish 36th in the South Australian Amateur Championship at Royal Adelaide last week. Best of the Sunshine Coast contingent in the elite event were Pelican Waters teammates Blaike Perkins and Joel Stahlhut, who had matching tallies of 288, sharing 13th place.
Club competitions
NOOSA
Monday, 15 March
Women’s stableford: A grade – Karen Haynes 38, Lynette Cuss 35c/b; B grade – Donna Coey 38, Alice Cumming 36. Women’s (9-hole) stableford: Judy Williams 21, Robin McKenzie 19, Lou Bowen 18.
Tuesday, 16 March
Men’s stableford: A grade – Ryan Mulder 39c/b, Sam Jones 39, Ian Burrough 38c/b, Don O’Donnell 38; B grade – Steve Grey 36, Michael Morgan 35c/b, Bob Cox 35c/b, Stephen Jackson 35c/b; C grade – Peter Crooks 37c/b, Colin White 37, Jim Lawrence 36c/b, Alfie Bartlett 36.
Saturday, 20 March
Men’s stableford: A grade – James Lonie 36c/b, Aaron Carter 36c/b, Shane Dunning 36; B grade – Steve Grey 39, David O’Connor 36c/b, Geoff Cohen 36; C grade – Geoffrey Wild 36, Keith Moore 33c/b, John Sharp 33. Women’s stableford: Rosemary Caffyn 35, Paula Jeffrey 34, Noreen Scanlon 28.
NOOSA SPRINGS
Monday, 15 March
Men’s stroke: Paul Grant 68, Paul Liddy 71c/b, John Gavin 71; women’s stroke: Toni Liddy 66, Leisha McMenamin 71c/b, Sandra Probert 71.
Tuesday, 16 March
Men’s stableford: Martin Scollon 33c/b, Phil Harrison 33, Alexander Hackett 33c/b; women’s stableford: Julie Blair 34, Debra Oates 28.
Sunday, 21 March
Men’s Universal Property Sunday Series: Phil Harrison 33, Rory Bourke 32, Robin Core 31; women’s: Maddison Kelly 34, Dana Angus 33, Jillian Thurgood 31.
COOROY
Tuesday, 16 March
Women’s (9-hole) stableford: Susie Thompson 17, Sandy Viney 16.
Saturday, 30 March
Men’s 4BBB stroke: L. Grainger & J. Mac 63, G. Hall & A. Stewart 64.
