FOR all the success Cameron Stewart has experienced in Sunraysia golf, the Coomealla Open was one title that eluded him.
The tournament had been under the stranglehold of district legend Greg Rhodes with more than 20 victories, and had Ash Whitehouse and Justin McPhee as recent winners.
A four-under 68 in Saturday’s opening round of this year’s open gave him a lead that would not be reeled in, finishing his 36 holes with a two-under 172 to claim his first Coomealla crown.
Merbein Open winner Daryl Morgan finished runner-up with 150, Ash Whitehouse two strokes further back on 152.
“I haven’t played since Easter, so I had no expectations on myself, but I have been hitting the ball pretty well all year so it was matter of making sure everything was on target,” Stewart said.
“The greens were hard and fast and the course was playing quite long as well.
“The 68 on Saturday was a great result, I’d had a bit of confidence there and have been playing well all year.
“I still got nervous during the middle of the round but I was able to stay calm to the finish.
“I drove it pretty straight and I putted pretty well on Saturday which was probably the biggest factor. I missed a few more opportunities on Sunday but still managed to hole them well enough.”
Stewart is hoping to continue his form for upcoming local events, and has an eye on making selection for Sunraysia’s Country Week team in late September.
Rising star Stephanie Baker, meanwhile, has made it back-to-back Coomealla Open titles after the emerging talents scored 158 across 36 holes.
The 16-year-old, however, wasn’t entirely happy with her performance, her total being one stroke higher than her breakthrough victory in last year’s open in November, postponed due to flooding.
Baker finished two shots ahead of Angela Plumridge (160) and five in front of Sue Laird (163).
“It certainly wasn’t my best golf, the pins were tough and the greens were running pretty fast,” she said.
“Going into the final round I knew Angela and Sue weren’t going to be far away, and Angela is probably playing her best golf at the moment, so I had my work cut out for me.
“It (my game) has been getting better, I’ve been focussing a lot more on improving particular things like my short game with coach Mike McKenzie.”
Baker is eyeing a potential college scholarship in the USA and still has another 12 months to weight up her decision.
The teenager from Robinvale College wants to win a “big junior tournament” this year, and aims to lower her current handicap of 1.3 into plus figures.
