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| 2007 ACT Senior Amateur |
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Venue: Gold Creek Golf Club
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Winner: Denis Dale(NSW)
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Runner Up: Richard Froebel (VIC)
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3rd place: Brian Sams(NSW)
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Bill Banks (ACT)
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| DENIS DALE WINS ACT SENIORS TITLE |
Thanks to Vern Scott (QLD) for writing this report.
Current order of merit leader and the 2006 Australian Senior Amateur Champion Denis Dale (NSW) continued his consistent 2007 form to record a victory in the 2007 ACT Senior Amateur Championship held at the Gold Creek Country Club.
With consistent rounds of 73-73-75, Dale’s 5 over par total of 221 edged out Richard Froebel (Victoria) by one shot on the testing Gold Creek layout which featured generous fairways (favouring the long hitters), superb greens and tough up and downs. Froebel opened the tournament with a great 3 under par round of 69 and followed this with rounds of 76 and 77. Third place was shared by current Victorian champion Brian Sams (74-80-71) and current NSW champion Bill Banks (72-78-75).
Ross Percy (Victoria) had another top 5 finish with rounds of 74-74-76 for a total of 226. Cameron Fraser (NSW) opened with a superb 2 under par round of 70 and eventually finished in 6th position on 227, one ahead of Peter King who closed with an impressive one under par 71, a final round score only matched by Brian Sams.
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Round 1 was played under favourable conditions and this was reflected in the fine scores where three players broke par - Richard Froebel (69), Peter Terrace (69) and Cameron Fraser (70). The ever-consistent Bill Banks and Denis Dale opened with rounds of 72 and 73 respectively. Local Gold Creek favourite Michael Christopher matched Dale’s round of 73. Unfortunately, well known Order of Merit player Ian Read (Qld) was forced to retire after round one with a recurrence of a painful back complaint.
Conditions altered for Round 2. Early morning players teed off in low temperatures with a 2-club wind blowing from a different quarter. The tougher conditions resulted in higher scores. The best round of the day was a fine 72 by Peter Wright (ACT). Denis Dale repeated his first round 73 and this was matched by regular Order of Merit competitor Chris Coats (Qld). First round leaders Richard Froebel and Peter Terrace followed their superb 69’s with rounds of 76 and 74 respectively. With a two shot lead going into the final round, Terrace’s tournament came to a heartbreaking end when he suffered the consequence of not handing his card into the scorer’s desk.
Round 3 conditions mirrored those of the first day. Richard Froebel began with a one shot lead over Denis Dale and he had increased this lead to 3 shots after 9 holes. However, solid pars by Dale on the difficult 10th, 11th and 12th holes, saw Froebel’s lead reduced to nil. This was also the position with one hole to play.
After leading the tournament for 53 holes, Froebel’s bogey on the final hole was no match for Dale, who coolly holed a 10 foot pressure putt on the difficult 18th for par and a one stroke win. With a final 1 under par round of 71, Brian Sams shared third place with Bill Banks who finished with a 75, 4 shots behind the winner.
Ross Percy (74-76-76) finished in fifth position, one shot ahead of the long hitting Cameron Fraser (70-81-76). Seventh place went to Peter King (QLD) who, after earlier rounds of 76 and 81, matched the best round of the day with a fine closing 71.
Tied in eighth position were Tony Gresham (NSW), Michael Jackson (Vic), Russell Rogers (NSW), Chris Coats (Qld) and Tony Kennings (NSW).
The Australian Order of Merit circuit moves west with two events to be played in WA in April - the WA Seniors Championship at Royal Fremantle from April 12-13 (Ian Read is the defending champion) and a new event for 2007 - the Melville Glades Seniors to be played from April 16-17.
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| Denis Dale - 2007 ACT Seniors Champion |
| Click for more photos |
