Final Round Report:
Queenslander Grahame MacDonald has won his first 54 hole event on the Australian Senior Ranking calendar with a two shot victory in the 2009 Northern Territory Senior Championship.
MacDonald handled the windy conditions and the firm and fast greens better than the rest and his last round of 76 was the best of the day. He finished two strokes clear of NSW senior Denis Dale who closed with a 78.
The final round of all championships is usually filled with tension and exciting golf and this event was the same. Playing together in the final group Dale, MacDonald, John Beaumont and Bob Gamsby were expected to fight out the finish.
Dale began his round well with a string of pars and held his narrow lead until the turn where he was a stroke ahead of MacDonald. Beaumont had slipped to four behind. There were no reports of anything " special" coming from the earlier players so as is often the case in all tournaments interest centred on the final group.
MacDonald lifted his game and concentrating hard he played some excellent golf on the back nine - hitting every green from ten to fifteen and putting precisely to open a two stroke lead over Dale who had bogied 11 and 13. It was clearly a "two man" race. Then MacDonald bunkered on 16 to open the door. Dale was on the green in two but his birdie putt edged over the hole and ran 5 foot past on the very slick greens. When the return putt lipped out MacDonald had maintained his lead with the difficult 17th to play.
The tournament was virtually decided when Dale's drive finished under the steep lip of the newly renovated bunker on 17. Forced to play well away from the green with his second he could not make par. MacDonald played the hole safely to avoid the greenside lake and when he matched Dale's bogey he had maintained his two stroke lead with a hole to play.
MacDonald played the final hole perfectly - a safe drive and an accurate 9 iron that gave him a certain par and a well deserved two stroke victory.
John Beaumont and Steve Cann finished tied in third place. For Beaumont the round had been a disappointing one as he was keen to improve on his runner up performance in 2008. Like many players he did not have the best of days on the greens but third gave him yet another top 5 finish. Steve Cann's third was his best performance in a Senior Ranking event and this good finish should give the popular farmer from Bright every reason to be very pleased with his performance.
Bob Gamsby finished with a final round 80 to claim a spot in the top five. His round was very similar to Beaumont's - strong off the tee but problems on and around the greens. Gamsby is gathering more and more ranking points and he could be a player to watch as he moves up the ranking list.
The tournament finished with a wonderful championship dinner at the function room of the Lasseters Casino. Melbourne Cup winning jockey John Letts was the guest speaker and he entertained all present with his often humorous stories and anecdotes on the Cup, racing and life in general. A great end to the best NT Seniors Championship yet!
Prize Winners:
NT Senior Champion: Grahame MacDonald - Nudgee 229
Runner Up: Denis Dale - Asquith 231
Nett Champion: Robin Jeggo - Palmerston 219
Nett Runner Up: Steve Cann - Bright 219
65 Years Gross: Norm Way - Gailes 242
65 Years Nett: Murray Martin - Palmerston 221
55 Years Gross: John Beaumont - Mount Gambier 234
55 Years Nett Peter Varley - Arundel hills 219
1 229 Grahame MacDonald 79 - 74 - 76 Qld
2 231 Denis Dale 76 - 77 - 78 NSW
3 234 John Beaumont 77 - 77 - 80 SA, Steve Cann 77 - 80 - 77 Vic
5 237 Bob Gamsby 83 - 74 - 80 WA
6 239 Sandy Small 79 - 78 - 82 SA
7 240 Peter Varley 82 - 78 - 80 Qld
8 241 Ken Glasson 85 - 77 - 79 Qld
9 242 Ross Percy 84 - 77 - 81 Vic, Norm Way 79 - 80 - 83 Qld
11 243 Dave Morrison 82 - 84 - 77 NSW
12 245 Peter Wright 86 - 78 - 81 ACT
13 246 Lindsay Elliott 81 - 82 - 83 SA
14 247 Gary Gracie 82 - 85 - 80 NSW, Tony Mazzone 82 - 79 - 86 SA
16 248 Brian Baker 85 - 80 - 83 NSW
17 251 Muzza Martin 84 - 81 - 86 NT
18 252 Cliff Chidlow 86 - 79 - 87 NSW
19 254 Ken Lamb 85 - 86 - 83 NSW
20 259 John McEwen 86 - 86 - 87 NT
21 261 Graeme Altmann 92 - 85 - 84 Vic
The 2010 NT Seniors Championship will move to the top end and will be played at the Darwin Golf Club.
Round Two Report:
Day 2 was a better day with the wind not really significant on most holes.
Players now had the chance to use their experience on the course and better scores were expected.
Best rounds of the day were 74's from Grahame MacDonald and West Australian Bob Gamsby.
Both players commented that they had played well and had learnt a lot from the opening round.
Alice Springs does need some strategic shot making.
MacDonald's 74 gave him a share of the lead with round one leader Denis Dale who played steadily for a score of 77.
This pair holds a one stroke lead over South Australian John Beaumont who has a pair of 77's after his two rounds.
The trio have a three shot lead over a group that includes Bob Gamsby (83-74), Sandy Small (79-78) and Steve Cann (77-80).
Norm Way was next placed with a total of 159 after rounds of 79 and 80.
It would be a big surprise if the winner of the event came from outside these seven players.
LEADING SCORES
153 Grahame MacDonald 79 - 74, Denis Dale 76 - 77
154 John Beaumont 77 - 77
157 Bob Gamsby 83 - 74, Sandy Small 79 - 78, Steve Cann 77 - 80
159 Norm Way 79 - 80
160 Peter Varley 82 - 78
161 Ross Percy 84 - 77, Tony Mazzone 82 - 79
162 Ken Glasson 85 - 77
163 Lindsay Elliott 81 - 82
164 Peter Wright 86 - 78
165 Cliff Chidlow 86 - 79, Brian Baker 85 - 80, Muzza Martin 84 - 81
166 Dave Morrison 82 - 84
167 Gary Gracie 82 - 85
171 Ken Lamb 85 - 86
Click the 2009 RESULTS button above for all the scores.
Round One Report:
Although missing Australia's leading senior amateur in Stefan Albinski the field for the 2009 NT Seniors Championship did include 5 of the current Australian team to play New Zealand in May.
Good golf would be needed on the testing Alice Springs lay out.
The practice round had shown that the course was definitely harder than 2008.
Good rains had softened fairways and extensive work on the bunkers had seen them deepened with significant faces to make them a demanding challenge.
The greens were in great shape but the firmness and pace with the grain was going to be a real test.
On a tough day with a “two club" wind blowing the best round belonged to Denis Dale who returned a 4 over par 76.
Dale played well tee-to-green and apart from a few missed short putts would have returned a close to par score.
Still, missed putts were the story of the day for most players.
A stroke behind was the 2008 runner up John Beaumont and Victorian Steve Cann with 77.
Both players reported they had played steadily but had wasted a few around the greens.
Only three other players managed to score under 80.
They were South Australian newcomer Sandy Small, regular Order of Merit player Grahame MacDonald and Australian team member Norm Way.
All had scores of 79.
There were a few surprise scores.
Big hitting Queenslander Ken Glasson soared to an 85.
He found the sand and rocks with wayward drives and had a terrible day with the putter.
Victorian champion senior Ross Percy was another to disappoint with his score of 84.
He was seen working on the putting green until well into the night.
The day was made complete with a barbeque for all the visitors at the home of local Ian Low.
"Lowy" had an injured knee and had to miss the event but still opened his home to 20 guests - many thanks!
LEADING SCORES
76 Denis Dale
77 John Beaumont, Steve Cann
79 Norm Way, Grahame MacDonald, Sandy Small
81 Lindsay Elliot
82 Dave Morrison, Peter Varley, Tony Mazzone, Gary Gracie
83 Bob Gamsby
84 Muzza Martin, Ross Percy
85 Ken Lamb, Adrian Todd, Ken Glasson, Brian Baker
Click the 2009 RESULTS button above for all the scores.
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