Saturday morning's forecast had plenty of people nervously peeking through the curtains after hearing whispers of a bitter overnight low. Thankfully, the bark of the forecast was far worse than its bite. While there was certainly a touch of frost about, it wasn't nearly as severe as many had feared, and players were soon enjoying another crisp but beautiful winter's day on the course.

One golfer making a welcome return was Cheli Larsen, fresh back from Africa. The wildlife sightings may have been a little different this week - no lions, rhinos or hippos roaming the fairways of Queenstown - but perhaps a 30-degree drop in temperature was a nice welcome home gift instead. Despite the climate shock, Cheli quickly found her golfing feet again with a tidy 18-point round to claim a share of third place in the ladies' competition.

The men's competition was another tightly contested affair, with James Sowerby taking top honours after an excellent 22-point round, which for those wondering was a bogey free gross score of 32!! David Grant and Bill Grant both chased hard with 21 points, while another four players finished on 20 points, ensuring there wasn't much breathing room anywhere on the leaderboard.

Men's Stableford Results

1st – James Sowerby – 22 pts – $25

2nd – David Grant – 21 pts – $20

2nd – Bill Grant – 21 pts – $20

4th – Evan Merritt – 20 pts – $15

4th – Steve Moore – 20 pts – $15

4th – Frank Garthwaite – 20 pts – $15

4th – Ron Cusick – 20 pts – $15

8th – Conor O'Boyle – 19 pts – $9

8th – Kim Wilkinson – 19 pts – $9

8th – Adam Dawson – 19 pts – $9

11th – Gregory Carter – 18 pts – $5

11th – Nigel Soper – 18 pts – $5

11th – Jeffery Smith – 18 pts – $5

11th – Neil Watson – 18 pts – $5

Special Prizes

Nearest to the Pin – Hole 2 - Bill Grant – $20 Life Pharmacy Wilkinson's Voucher

Bill Grant produced a beauty on the 2nd hole, firing his approach shot in close enough to claim the Life Pharmacy Wilkinson's Nearest to the Pin prize. As if that wasn't satisfying enough, Bill calmly converted the opportunity for a birdie two, no doubt playing a big part in propelling him to his 3rd place finish as well.

Longest Putt – Hole 9 - Kim Wilkinson – $25 Neat Meat Voucher

On the final hole, Kim Wilkinson demonstrated that sometimes scrambling can be every bit as rewarding as perfect golf. Faced with a lengthy putt to save par, Kim rolled in an absolute beauty to secure the Neat Meat Longest Putt prize. A clutch finish, a hard-earned par and a voucher to take home—not a bad way to finish the day.

The ladies' competition saw Anne Paton continue her good form, edging out Hanna Kang on countback after both finished with 20 Stableford points. Cheli Larsen and Jo Denton shared third place on 18 points, making for another closely fought contest.

Ladies Stableford Results

1st – Anne Paton – 20 pts – $16

2nd – Hanna Kang – 20 pts – $11

3rd – Cheli Larsen – 18 pts – $5

3rd – Jo Denton – 18 pts – $5

Congratulations to all of our winners and thanks to everyone who braved another winter's morning. Well done to James for a particularly great round to remember! It may not have been quite African safari weather, but with sunshine, good company and plenty of quality golf, Queenstown wasn't a bad place to spend the day either!