The final Saturday 9 Hole Stableford of Autumn delivered a cool morning before a nicely mild afternoon for golf. Good scoring, some clutch shots, and at least one player doing his best to turn a winning round into a nervous ordeal.

At the top of the men’s competition was Billy Groves, whose winning score of 22 points wasn't as stress-free as it looked on paper. Two three-putts threatened to derail his charge up the leaderboard and had spectators wondering whether he was about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Fortunately for Billy, the rest of his game held together nicely to secure the win and the $25 first prize.

Lyndon Thomas and John Kennedy were hot on his heels with 21 points apiece, while a tightly packed leaderboard saw plenty of players within striking distance all afternoon.

Men's Stableford Results

1st – Billy Groves – 22 pts – $25
2nd – Lyndon Thomas – 21 pts – $20
3rd – John Kennedy – 21 pts – $20
4th – Tim Arbuckle – 20 pts – $15
5th – Geoff Cotton – 20 pts – $15
6th – Mike Gain – 19 pts – $10
7th – John Strettell – 19 pts – $10
8th – Bill Davidson – 19 pts – $10
9th – Stephen McAteer – 19 pts – $10
10th – Tony Moran – 18 pts – $5
11th – Jim Cullen – 18 pts – $5
12th – Bruce Cunningham – 18 pts – $5
13th – Corey Sinteur – 18 pts – $5
14th – Rod White – 18 pts – $5
15th – Bernt Carlsson – 18 pts – $5
16th – Norm Dolamore – 18 pts – $5
17th – Frank Garthwaite – 18 pts – $5

Special Prizes

The special prizes provided plenty of excitement as well.

Nearest to the Pin on Hole 7 was claimed by Norm Dolamore after he cozied his tee shot up to within three feet of the hole. It was one of those shots that has everyone else in the group quietly checking their yardages and wondering where it all went wrong. Norm's effort earned him the $20 Life Pharmacy Wilkinson's Voucher.

Longest Putt was left right until the final hole of the day, where despite narrowly missed the Stableford prizes, Cory Clark managed to salvage something from his round with a magnificent slippery putt, in excess of 30 feet down the tier on the 9th green. The ball somehow found its way to the bottom of the hill and then into the hole, earning Corey the $25 Neat Meat Voucher and probably more satisfaction than several of the holes that came before it.

The ladies competition produced some strong scoring of its own, led by Sue Wilson who posted an excellent 20 points to claim top honours. Lynda Baker and Julie Grant couldn't be separated on 18 points, sharing the remaining prize positions after another competitive afternoon.

Ladies Stableford Results

1st – Sue Wilson – 20 pts – $16
2nd – Lynda Baker – 18 pts – $7
3rd – Julie Grant – 18 pts – $7

Congratulations to all of our winners and thanks to everyone who took part. With scoring this tight, clutch putts, tidy approaches and avoiding those dreaded three-putts continue to make all the difference.

Just to back up the claims of near and far:

Norm Dolamore's N.T.P on the Left and Cory Clark's L.F.P on the right - we couldn't get the flagpole in focus because it was so far away!