Trophy caps a long day
THE East Geelong Open went down to the wire on Saturday, with club member Brad Dunn claiming a thrilling playoff win over fellow clubmen Jeff Crabbe and Ryan Sealey.
The trio tied on 114 after 27 holes and had to go to the par four first hole late in the day to decide who would take out the 2017 trophy.
Dunn took driver off the tee and put his ball just short of the bunker on the right hand side of the green before chipping to eight feet.
His birdie was enough to take out his second title, and the 35-year-old said it was a nice reward after a tough day on the course.
“It wasn’t red-hot scoring, I didn’t think it was good enough to get there but it was in the end,” Dunn said.
“The weather was nice but the greens were pretty hard and difficult to putt on. They were pretty quick.
“I hit it all right early on but I just putted very badly on the first nine holes. I went in five behind at lunch with nine holes to play but I only had one-over in the last nine holes.”
Dunn went out in 78 for the first 18 holes but came home with a sensational 36 to draw level with Crabbe and playing partner Sealey.
It was a remarkable effort to get there in the first place for the A-grade pennant star, who had been in Fiji for eight days and only arrived back in the country at 2am on Saturday.
“I wasn’t going to play but I got home and had five hours sleep and thought I may as well get out in the sunshine, but at the end of the day I was pretty wrecked,” Dunn said.
“I’ve been a member at East Geelong since I was 12, so 23 years, it’s a good feeling.
“It’s my second there and even though scoring wasn’t great, you’ve only got to beat what else is there.”
Dunn will now look to compete in the Anglesea and Lorne Opens as he prepares for a busy summer.