Local golfers, David Calvert and Mat Crandell, have finished third and fourth in the 2023 Srixon NSW Mid-Amateur held at Byron Bay and Ocean Shores Golf Clubs last week.
Mat had moved to the top of the leaderboard after a second successive even par round last Tuesday, in the three-round event.
The run put him one shot ahead of Damon Stephenson (Parkwood International) who shot 73 and 72, a combined one over par.
‘I’m very happy with the start, I’ve had two solid rounds of 72,’ Mat said.
‘Being my home course is obviously a big advantage because it can be tricky, especially when the greens are this quick and there’s a bit of wind. It’s definitely been an advantage knowing the ins and outs of the place. I’ve played a lot of golf too at Ocean Shores’.
But Damon pulled out a magic final round of 68 that gave him a total of three under par (73,72,68), and the championship.
It was almost a bogey-free affair for the Gold Coast native, with birdies on the second, fifth, sixth, seventh and 14th to snuff out any chance his fellow competitors might have had. Stephenson’s only blemish, a bogey on the 18th, merely a blip in an otherwise almost perfect performance.
‘I’m a little bit tired, but good. It was a long week and a tough day today but I played pretty well for the 18 holes,’ he said.
‘I hit a lot of good shots, made some good putts and managed to keep the other three at bay, so I’m really happy,’ Damon said post win.
Michael Williams (Moore Park) came in second with plus five (69,77,75) just ahead of Byron Bay’s David Calvert, also on plus five (70,76,75).
Despite his midway lead Mat finished in fourth place after a final round of 79 left him seven over par.
Local’s did celebrate a win in the Men’s Nett competition where David topped the field of 166 competitors.
In the women’s event locals were lead by Kimberley Howard (Ocean Shores) who finished in eighth position (plus 55).
Cath Stolz (Shelly Beach), won the contest with a combined plus 22, ahead of Gemma Dooley (New South Wales) plus 25 and Lucie Quillam (Moore Park) plus 31.
Kimberley also took home the honours in the nett competition topping the ladder with plus 7, ahead of Helen Haynes (Cromer) plus 17, and Lucie also plus 17.
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