Big-hitting Mount Gambier Golf Club member Craig Foster broke a long drought with an unusual winning double last week.
Playing off a four handicap, Foster shot a superb even par round of 72 to win last Thursday’s stableford competition with 40 points, then backed up on Sunday when a horse he part-owns, Action In Cairns, won at juicy odds at the Millicent Cup day meeting at Glenburnie Racecourse.
Foster’s round did not start particularly well, dropping shots on the 1st and 4th holes to be two over his handicap after just four holes.
But an incredible drive which ended up just five feet from the hole on the 315m par-four 5th hole proved to be the turning point.
He missed the eagle putt, but a three-point birdie was a decent consolation.
A bogey on the 7th and birdie on the 8th saw him shoot 38 off the stick on the front nine for a handy 17 points.
Unable to remember his last winning round at the club, Foster had a brilliant two-under par 34 on the back nine for 23 points to give him a total of 40, two clear of club greenskeeper Jake Powell and surgeon Henry Forbes.
Powell claimed second spot on a countback after both players had 21 points on the inward nine, with a wipe by Forbes on the 18th proving very costly.
The unlucky player on the day was recent Saturday winner Eben Beukes who came in with 36 points despite wiping the 6th, 8th and 16th holes.
Saturday’s stableford round saw a handful of players shoot the lights out, defying the trend of winning scores being lower than normal with the onset of the cooler weather and less run on the fairways.
The top prize in A Grade went to Cobden Golf Club member Daniel Oakley who shot 67 off the stick off a one handicap to give him 42 points.
One of a quartet of Victorian visitors who came over to take part in Sunday’s Scramble event, Oakley picked up 18 points on the front nine after shooting an even par 36, but caught fire on the back nine.
He carded six birdies and a bogey for a five-under 31 off the stick, adding an additional 24 points to finish two points ahead of Archy Arch.
In B Grade it was Port Macdonnell visitor Jacob Reed who claimed top honours on a countback from the in-form Mick Gill after the pair finished on 39 points apiece.
And in C Grade it was another visitor, Keith McKellar, who stole the show with a day-high 44 points, three ahead of John Miles.
McKellar made a mockery of his Social Golf Australia handicap of 18, shooting two-over par 38 off the stick on the front nine for a staggering 25 points.
Despite wiping the par-four 14th and picking up just one point on each of the 11th and 17th holes after double bogeys, he was still able to add another 19 points on the inward nine.
