COOMEALLA golfer Ben Doherty is potentially 18 holes away from winning the tournament named in his grandfather’s honour.
The 19-year-old is at the top of the leaderboard of the 30th annual Shane Doherty Memorial Tri-State Masters following the opening two rounds at Red Cliffs and Robinvale this week.
Doherty (157 strokes) holds a four-shot lead over Riverside’s Troy Germane (161) heading into the final round at Mildura Golf Resort on Friday.
Two-time winner Garth Doherty (163) and Dean Marshall of Clunes (165) round out the Men’s A Grade seeded group.
In Ladies A Grade, defending champion Jenny Chandler of Cardinia Beaconhills Golf Club (166) holds a five-shot lead over clubmate Ann Felgate (171), with Mansfield’s Donna Sedgman (174) and four-time winner Jenny Jeffreys of Portsea (178) making up the top four.
Event organiser Kym Doherty said Shane would be over the moon with his grandson at the top of the leaderboard.
“I think about how thrilled Shane would be to have Ben playing, let alone leading and in contention,” she said.
“Ben could have played last year after turning 18 but he wanted to focus his year on his Year 12 studies, and now he has taken a gap year and is practicing really hard and playing well in Open tournaments as well.”
One of the biggest tournaments on the Sunraysia golfing calendar, the Tri-State Masters in 2023 has a different look with usual host venues Riverside and Coomealla golf clubs out of action due to flooding.
Red Cliffs and Robinvale took over duties on Monday and Wednesday respectively and Kym Doherty said there were great days of action.
“I think it was nice for those playing to have a change of scenery,” she said.
“Robinvale had their open the week before so the course was in top condition, and same with Red Cliffs, it’s the best I’ve ever seen it look out there.
“Numbers are down on last year but it has been a fun week and everyone who is playing has really enjoyed themselves.
“We’re now looking forward to the final day of play and the celebrations afterwards.”
Seeded groups tee off at noon at Mildura Golf Resort today.
