AFTER two rounds of the Mildura Golf Resort Championship Cameron Stewart has taken to a nine-shot lead with rounds of 74 and 72.
With only one round to go it is fair to say that barring any disqualification, Cameron will walk away with the win as it will be a massive ask for Gary Fumberger (79-75), Glenn Marr (79-76) or Andrew Stewart (76-79) to chase down the older of the Stewart brothers.
It will be interesting to see who can hold out on the final round to finish second, which should have a lot of pride in itself with the three mentioned golfers all within one shot of each other.
The final round will be played Saturday at Mildura Golf Resort.
Stokker’s Riverside double
JARROD Stokker won the Riverside Golf Club Championships on the weekend which, with his Riverside Open victory earlier in the year, saw him claim both of the club’s major events in 2019.
With scores of 73-72-75-72, consistency was the key for Stokker, who came from five shots back at the start of the final round, trailing 54-hole leader Ben Hogan.
Stokker went through the first 10 holes on Sunday even, which gained him nine shots on Hogan who went through the first three rounds without a double bogey but produced two in that period on Sunday.
Stokker stood on the 11th tee four shots in front and produced three birdies, three bogeys and two pars, which gave the same result as Hogan’s eight straight pars coming home.
Chris Thomas started the final round one shot behind Stokker but wasn’t able to continue the form from the first three rounds to finish fifth.
Ashley Whitehouse had a championship to forget by his standards even though most golfers would be excited to shoot 73-76-76-77.
This is a great result for Stokker, who wasn’t able to push his way into Riverside’s top Pennant side this year but can now be comfortable that he has proven himself to be the best golfer at the club in 2019 through results not reputation.
Thompson’s runaway victory
MICHAEL Thompson was the runaway winner at the Merbein Golf Club Championships with fantastic scores of 75-73-76 for a 224 total; one of the best championship scores seen at Merbein.
This gave Thompson a 13-shot victory over Andrew Fairlie, who finished the championships with 80-77-80.
Thompson’s result of eight-over par for three rounds puts him up to the level now of some of Sunraysia’s best golfers and hopefully we see him out and about at local tournaments representing Merbein to show this form at major district events.
MDGA fundraiser
IF you haven’t already booked a place at the Murray Darling Golf Association fundraiser, then you need to get on to it straight away as tees for the shotgun start are filling quickly.
The Texas medley Stableford will be played at the Mildura Golf Resort on Sunday with a 12.30pm shotgun start.
The cost is $25 per player, which includes a sausage sizzle before the game and nibbles for all golfers after.
There will be nearest the pins on all par threes, longest drive competitions, tickets after the game for raffles as well as great prizes up for offer for those who play well.
So get a team of four together and contact the Mildura Golf Resort on 5022 8089 or the Sunraysia Golf Range on 5022 9440.
RULE OF THE WEEK
THERE has been a bit of talk this year about when and where you can start a round of golf, plus also how many players in a group and what should happen if the players themselves choose to change this.
The information for both of these points of interest are covered in rule 5.
5.3
Starting and Ending Round
A — When to Start Round
A player’s round starts when the player makes a stroke to start his or her first hole (see Rule 6.1a).
The player must start at (and not before) his or her starting time:
• This means the player must be ready to play at the starting time and starting point set by the committee.
• A starting time set by the committee is treated as an exact time (for example, 9am means 9:00:00 am, not any time until 9:01am).
If the starting time is delayed for any reason (such as weather, slow play of other groups or the need for a ruling by a referee), there is no breach of this rule if the player is present and ready to play when the player’s group is able to start.
Penalty for Breach of Rule 5.3a: Disqualification, except in these three cases:
• Exception 1 – Player Arrives at Starting Point, Ready to Play, No More Than Five Minutes Late: The player gets the general penalty applied to his or her first hole.
• Exception 2 – Player Starts No More Than Five Minutes Early: The player gets the general penalty applied to his or her first hole.
• Exception 3 – Committee Decides that Exceptional Circumstances Prevented Player from Starting on Time: There is no breach of this rule and no penalty.
5.4 – Playing in Groups
B – Stroke Play
During a round, the player must remain in the group set by the committee, unless the committee approves a change either before or after it happens.
Penalty for Breach of Rule 5.4: Disqualification.
If you have any golf-related topics you would like me to look at or have a rule change you would like me to explain, you can contact me at mildura@houseofgolf.com.au
