Pro am golf tourney still a big hit
The Recreational Services sponsored event is the longest running Pro-Am tournament in New Zealand.
The Eketa¯ huna Pro Am Golf Tournament was again a great success.
A who’s who of the resident professional golfers played in the event and the amateur teams that joined them had a most enjoyable time, according to an Eketa¯ huna Golf Club member.
The event was played this year for the 17th time. The Recreational Services sponsored event is the longest running Pro-Am tournament in New Zealand. It is well supported by the NZPGA and representative Geoff Smart is always in attendance to ensure the professionals are well organised and results are recorded accurately.
The tournament is important for those competing as professionals and this year they were vying for a prize pool of $25,000. It’s a favourite event of the professionals and is attended by a mix of yesterday’s champions and a host of the next generation of aspiring champions.
New Zealand greats like Grant Moorehead, who alongside Philip Taturangi and Michael Campbell won the Eisenhower trophy in 1992, has played in the event most years since its inception. Richard Coombes who won many New Zealand titles , Mark Brown, who did well on the international stage for many years were other noted professionals still plying their trade at a high level.
The Eketa¯ huna course is traditionally played on the first day and provides more of a stern test than many suspect it might. Tracey Collis, mayor of the Tararua District, acted as the official starter and spoke at the end of the day, congratulating the Eketa¯ huna club and recognising the large number of golfers in the district and the quality of courses that the district has to offer — possibly the highest number of golf courses per head of population than anywhere in New Zealand.
The Tararua District is becoming a more recognised golfing destination and there were a number of visitors from all over New Zealand playing in this year’s event.
The tight and tree lined Eketa¯ huna course demands accuracy and although not long by today’s standards, the scoring is never as low as some might think possible.
This year the sheep that traditionally graze the course’s fairways were absent and were missed by some, the course deciding to delay their introduction for a few weeks until after the two major tournaments held on the course each year.
The Bush Classic held earlier in January and the Pro-Am are the largest of many events that are held throughout the year.
This year, as is often the case after the first round, found a number of the Eketa¯ huna-based amateur teams at the top of the leader board, their home advantage giving them an edge. The team of Lyn and Jim Sutherland and John Duffy held a two-stroke lead going into the Masterton round on Sunday. However the field was more tightly bunched that in most years and it was going to depend on who could adapt their game to the longer and drier Masterton course with its faster greens, that would determine the outcome. For the professionals, there were a number of very good scores, but there were many well respected names in the chasing pack.
One of the features of this event is the shootout hole. Any golfer, amateur or professional, who gets close to a designated par three hole has the chance to compete for a $500 cash prize at a “one shot for glory” shootout at the conclusion of the day’s play. Often captured by the more proficient professional golfers, this year at the Eketa¯ huna shootout, Masterton local and stalwart of the events organising committee, was the victor at the Eketahuna shootout and was presented with his winnings at the end of the day.
Prizes:
Teams: 1 Ping Pioneer Cart Bag — The Coasters — 252, 2 Footjoy Hydrolite Jacket — BDO Bashers — 246, 3 Footjoy Pro Men’s Lace — Touch of Slice — 245, 4 Garmin approach S10 watch — Newman — 244, 5 Tietleist Vokey SM7 Wedge — Grip It And Rip It — 242, 6 Footjoy lined lambswool Pullover — NZ Real Estate — 241, 7 Footjoy Contour Men’s Lace — Pinky — 240, 8 Wilson Staff Infinitr putter — The Lone Rangers — 240, 9 Footjoy Casual Lace — Greenlees Print — 239, 10 Footjot Originals Lace — PGG Wrightsons — 239, 11 Sporte Leisure Men’s Shorts — Brushstrokz — 238, 12 Sun Mountain umbrella — Recreational Services 1 — 237, 13 Sporte leisure Men’s Club Polo — Recreational Services 2 — 36, 14Titleist Tour Soft — Rabo Bank — 233, 15 Titleist Velocity Golf Ball — Cropping Crusaders — 232, 16 Sporte Leisure MGC Hat and FLX Glove — Easy Storage — 230, 17 Wine — K Consulting Limited — 230, 18 Wine — The Anzacs — 230, 19 Wine — BME For Me — 230, 20 Wine — Geoff Masters Plastering — 229, Long Drive (wine).
Professional: — Eketa¯ huna Fraser Wilkin — Masterton, Gareth Patterson.
Ladies: Eketa¯ huna — Lynne Sutherland, Masterton — Sue Irving.Men under 10 — Eketa¯ huna — Jeff Ogg, Masterton — Conrad Shanley. Men 10 & over — Eketa¯ huna — Paul Hurley, Masterton — Brian Smith.
Nearest Pin (wine) Professional — Eketa¯ huna — Troy Ropiha, Masterton — Harry Na.
Amateur — Eketa¯ huna — Richard Hodge, Masterton — David Stedman. Women Eketa¯ huna — Sue Irving, Cheycoda Cox.
Shoot Out — Eketa¯ huna — Mike Dixon, Masterton — Troy Ropiha.
First Eketa¯ huna — Newman.
■ Overall results: 1 Nick Gillespie 68 64 132 10, 2 Martin Pettigrew 68 65 133 9, 3 Steven Heyes 68 66 134 8.