ntsnr2007

2007 Northern Territory Seniors Championship

RAAF Darwin Golf Club June 5 - 6, 2007

2007 NT Senior Amateur

Venue: RAAF Darwin Golf Club

Winner: Tony Kennings(NSW)

Runner Up: Peter Terrace (QLD)

3rd Place: Chris Coats (QLD)

2007 Full Results

TONY KENNINGS BREAKS THROUGH
AT 2007 NT SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

Popular NSW senior golfer Tony Kennings broke through for a well deserved win in the 2007 Northern Territory Senior Amateur Championship held at the RAAF Darwin course from June 5-6. A strong supporter of the Australian senior golf circuit, a current member of the Australian Senior Team and a very consistent performer for several years, surprisingly, this was the first championship win for Kennings.

The other real winner in this event was the RAAF Darwin Golf Course. A 9 hole course with 18 tees the course was a revelation to all who made the trip to Darwin. It presents a very challenging game for golfers of all levels and the course design is excellent resulting in 18 very different holes. The water problems down south are not evident here and there was plenty of grass on fairways and the greens. A course worth visiting!

Round 1
Warm conditions and F-18 jets flying overhead made this the best "opening ceremony" yet encountered and one that will certainly be hard to beat. In fact, the jets remained for the whole tournament and provided great entertainment as they thundered down to land crossing just above several of the fairways. The plane enthusiasts were in heaven!

At the close of play on day one Tony Kennings and Peter Terrace (QLD) held the lead with fine scores of 71. This was one better than Chris Coats (QLD) who returned to close to his best form with a solid 72. Close up on 73 were Nigel Goodall (WA) and Bill "Whippy" Wellington (TAS).

It did appear that the winner would probably come from this leading group with perhaps Queenslanders Vern Scott (75), Doug Thorp (76) and Ian Read (77) outside chances. Defending 2006 NT champion Denis Dale was not at his best and struggled home with a 79, a score matched by Queenslanders Norm Way, Rod Dale and Graeme MacDonald.

Round 2
Another beautiful Darwin day with the temperature in the 30s - just as well it is winter!

Norm Way and Denis Dale were the first to make their charges with Way being one under par playing 17 and Dale three under par playing 16. Unfortunately their par breaking golf did not continue to the end as the difficult closing holes took their toll and their chances of an upset victory slipped away. Dale's 69 and Way's 71 were still the best rounds of the day and they eventually finished in 5th and 6th places.

Nigel Goodall, Ian Read and "Whippy" Wellington failed to mount serious challenges and the championship settled down to a battle between the final group of Kennings, Coats and Terrace. After a strong opening nine Chris Coats took the lead with 9 holes remaining but an errant drive and an out-of-bounds on 10 proved very costly.

With 7 holes remaining Peter Terrace took over as leader and stayed there until Kennings' consistent par golf saw him draw level. This pair stayed locked together as they moved to the final hole - a 200 metre par 3 to a difficult green and a fitting hole to decide the championship.

Terrace made the front of the green with Kennings just off to the right as the drama grew. To add to the atmosphere Coats chipped in for a birdie 2 to claim outright 3rd place, a single shot ahead of the very consistent Queenslander Doug Thorp who closed with a 71 to claim outright 4th.

Spectators and players now gathered to watch Kennings and Terrace battle for the title. Terrace putted from the front of the green but came up short, then Kenning chipped close and it was down to the final putts. Terrace's par putt from 8 feet slipped just over the edge leaving Kennings with a 2 footer that he confidently held for his par and a round of 73 to claim the title and his first victory - well done Tony!

Norm Way's 71 gave him 6th place and he has now moved into the lead in the 65 years plus section of the Australian Senior Order of Merit. This is run in conjunction with the Australian Senior Order of Merit and Way now has a 100 point lead over NSW golfer Jack Parker. Both Order of Merit championships will conclude with the two events to be held in Queensland in July.

Three golfers tied for seventh position on 151 and collected 143 valuable Senior Order of Merit points. They were Ian Read (QLD), Nigel Goodall (WA) and Whippy Wellington (TAS). All three are now just out of the Top 10 and are looking for strong peformances in their future events to secure a place in the next Australian Senior Amateur Team.

The Northern Territory Championship was a great tournament and the hospitality of the RAAF Darwin Golf Club and members was memorable. The 2008 NT championship is already scheduled for Alice Springs (a great desert course) and the venue for 2009 is currently undecided. All visitors agreed that if it is the RAAF course they will look forward to making a return visit.

Leading Scores
144 - Tony Kennings (NSW) 71 - 73
145 - Peter Terrace (QLD) 71 - 74
146 - Chris Coats (QLD) 72 - 74
147 - Doug Thorp (QLD) 76 - 71
148 - Denis Dale (NSW) 79 - 69
150 - Norm Way (QLD) 79 - 71
151 - Nigel Goodall (WA) 73 - 78
151 - Ian Read (QLD) 77 - 74
151 - "Whippy" Wellington (TAS) 73 - 78
153 - Vern Scott (QLD) 75 - 78
154 - Graeme McDonald (QLD) 79 - 75
156 - Rod Dale (QLD) 79 - 77