Baldock pips Joseph to win
Dean Baldock came out on top to win the inaugural Westown Cup golf tournament last weekend.
Playing on his home course, Baldock (74-72-146) came from three shots behind after the first round to defeat Inglewood’s Ben Joseph (71-76-147) by one stroke, with Tumahu’s Joseph Doyle (74-75-149) third. Best net went to Westown’s Kasper Gwerder who had rounds of 88-22-66 and 92-22-70-180-136.
The Cup attracted field of 48, including 14 women, with a further 47 joining the Cup field to play on the Sunday in the Golf Zone Open.
For Baldock, it was a fruitful weekend with his second round 72 the low round in the Golf Zone Open. Inglewood’s Chris Watson (99-35-64) had the best net, with Waitara’s Sejin Joung winning the stableford with 43 points.
While organisers would have hoped for larger fields, they should be encouraged with the idea of spreading the tournament over two days and that other clubs in the district take this event into consideration when planning their own club calendars next year. ❚ One event that did have an impact on playing numbers was the Grant Clements Memorial Tournament at Mt Maunganui. The 72-hole tournament attracted a field of 75 men and 11 women, including six players from Taranaki.
The tournament was reduced to 54-holes this year due to heavy rain making the course unplayable until the Saturday afternoon. The best of the Taranaki contingent was Ethan Jones (68-75-73-216) who finished in a tie for 15, 12 strokes behind the winner, national rep Daniel Hillier (70-66-68-204).
Results of other Taranaki golfers: Jamie Reid, Fitzroy (73-76-75-224) 24=, Fletcher Broderick, New Plymouth (77-77-72- 226) 34=, Joshua Morris, Te Ngutu (75-79-76-230) and Sanjay Modgill, New Plymouth (75-76-79-230) 39=, Monte Burmester, New Plymouth (80-77-79-236) 57=. ❚ The men’s handicap pennant resumes this weekend with the third round scheduled for Manukorihi and Inglewood. For some teams, this weekend’s matches are do or die affairs.
In the North Section, at Manukorihi, the two home club’s teams go head to head in a match that will no doubt be generating plenty of discussion and banter in the clubrooms. New Plymouth and Westown clash with defeat for either side effectively ending their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages.
In division two, the same fate will fall on Fitzroy One if they do not beat Tumahu, while Kaitake One and Inglewood both have a one win one loss record. Defeat for either will make qualification that much tougher.
In division one of the Taranaki Wide section at Inglewood, unbeaten Eltham play Manaia, knowing that a win will cement their place at the top of the table. The other team with two wins are Waverley who take on Te Ngutu Two in what is likely to be a very closely fought match.
Fitzroy Two take on Pungarehu who will be very keen to produce a much stronger performance after two heavy defeats.
In division two, champions Te Ngutu One face Kaitake Two in what is likely to be a very closely fought match with both teams keen to keep their 100 per cent records.
Inglewood play host to Patea and should be too strong for the South Taranaki team who have been disappointing so far, losing their first two matches. ❚ The women’s midweek pennant competition got under way on Monday at Waverley and Westown.