The Men’s Field at MGC  –  Week Ending 1st May 2016

.By Brad Grant

In golf form is a fleeting thing.  We go out every time to play our personal best but rarely do we achieve that elusive consistency.  This week was an exception with Brian Russell taking out the double winning both Thursday and Saturday Stableford competitions.  Russell shot an excellent 77 of the stick on Thursday to return 44 Stableford points.  Not resting on his laurels he continued to dominate on Saturday winning with 39 points.  He is now thinking he has a chance to possibly represent Australia in golf at the Rio Olympic games however forgetting to take his clubs home may dash his hopes due to lapses in concentration.

Brian Russell eyes his putt on the way to a 44 point round.

Another multiple winner was George Richardson on the Gold Course.  Over the last week he has emerged as the dominant force shooting rounds of 40 points and 46 points.  Four wins in two weeks by Richardson has left his opponents scratching their heads for answers. They are awaiting Goldfinger to return from his undercover assignment to put up a challenge.

Fields were smaller this week.  The Tuesday Stableford competition was won by Mike Irwin (24) with 39 points from second place-getter Adrian Lewis (25) on 38 points. The largest field of the week turned up on Thursday.  Division 1 was easily won by Brian Russell (14) shooting in the seventies to finish with 44 points from David Hurle (3) on 41 points.  Hurle showed good form shooting 69 off the stick but couldn’t catch the rampant Russell.  Division 2 was a close battle with David McKenzie (28) returning 41 points to win on a count-back from Tom Swan (34) also on 41 points. Saturday saw Brian Russell (13) fire 39 points to win on a count-back from Alex Stephens (16) also on 39 points.

The rain this week perfectly positions the course for the upcoming winter season. With the Club Championships looming the greens are going to be firm and fast. With Course Superintendant Tony Cooksey studying the “Marquis de Sade Diabolical Pin Positions” manual we can expect, quite rightly, a challenge pending.

The Division 2 Scratch Pennant team took on Yarrawonga Mulwala (2) at Myrtleford on Sunday in the final round of this year’s competition. Needing a win to have the “mathematical chance” to reach the finals Mansfield pulled out all stops and won their match 3 and 2. Good wins were recorded by Mark Bettany, Ross Penny and Rod Sargent.

The Division 2 Handicap Pennant team hosted the round at Mansfield last Sunday. Mansfield’s team took on Tarrawingi and after a lot of close matches emerged victors by day 3 and 2.  Winning team members were Peter Sargent, Bob Cullen and Rob Fankhauser.

Unfortunately the tight ladder grouping of teams in both competitions saw the Scratch and Handicap teams both miss the finals by painfully small margins. Thanks go to all those members who contributed their time to represent the Mansfield Golf Club. We will try again next year.

Pro-pin winners for the week were Nick Siperki, Martin Slack and Taki Murakami and the “nearest the pin” awards were shared around.

The Mansfield Golf Club Championships begin in three weeks and the entry sheet will be available to members in the Pro Shop.