Outstanding teenage golfer Mitch Handford ticked off another major achievement when he shot an even-par round of 72 for the first time at the Mount Gambier Golf Club on Saturday,
Playing off a five handicap, the effort was good enough for the 17-year-old to win the A Grade division in the club’s stableford competition on a countback with 41 points.
The milestone followed his win in the South Australian Country U18 junior championship in the September school holidays.
On Saturday, Handford – who took up the game at age 11 – played alongside club professional John Martin and long-time A Graders Craig Foster and Joe Clements.
He certainly was not overawed, shooting a one-over par 37 on the front nine, courtesy of eight pars and a bogey on the par-four 2nd hole.
That led Handford to make the turn on 18 points, but a second bogey for the round on the par-three 10th dropped him back to two-over par.
After making pars on the 11th and 12th, he picked up an invaluable four points on the par-four 13th after playing a wedge to the green for his second shot and holing a 25-foot putt for birdie.
That got him back to one-over off the stick, but he gave that straight back after making a third bogey for the day on the par-four 14th.
He needed a big finish and duly produced, getting up-and-down from just off the green on the par-five 15th for another birdie.
Pars followed on the 16th and 17th before he made his third birdie on the back nine after hitting his wedge to about 20 feet on the 18th and holing the putt for a three and three more points.
“I was not sure whether 41 points would be enough to win, but I was just happy to shoot par for the first time,” Handford said.
Martin said he was impressed by the youngster’s ability to score well despite not having a great ball-striking day.
“He showed maturity beyond his years to finish with a score like that, Martin said.
“If he got into trouble he was able to get out of it and if he played a hole well he was able to maximise it.”
Handford, who has just finished Year 12 at St Martins, now plans to take a gap year before moving to Adelaide to go to University.
His round earned him a ham for Christmas, while Matt Bryant took home the runners-up prize of a turkey roll after also finishing on 41 points.
Fellow A Grader Clint Mitchell also signed for 41 points, but had to be content with a ball in the rundown.
On a day of great scoring, Adam Barnes was the fourth player to accumulate 41 points, his effort earning him top spot in B Grade.
Coming in second in B Grade with 40 points was veteran Bob Dalgarno, the 83-year-old missing out by a single shot on shooting his age after an 84 off the stick.
Taking home the ham in C Grade was Dale Tait with 38 points, one better than runner-up Peter Jones.
Meanwhile Daniel Long was celebrating on Thursday after taking out the stableford competition with 40 points.
The 19-handicapper started modestly with just 15 points on the front nine, but caught fire on the way home.
He opened with a four-point birdie on the 10th, added another three thanks to a par on the 11th and four more after a birdie on the par-four 12th hole.
His only hiccup was a double bogey for one point on the 13th, eventually registering 25 points on the inward nine to beat Ross Anderson on a countback.
Anderson paid the price for a wipe on the 14th, while Max Hellyer was even more unlucky, also signing for 40 points despite wiping the 7th, 15th and 18th.
Kevin Cook also deserves a mention, shooting a one-over par 73 off the stick to finish with 39 points before backing up on Saturday with another 73 off the stick to just miss the top prize for a second time in three days.
Do not forget with Christmas Day falling on a Saturday this year, the usual Saturday stableford competition will be played on Boxing Day.
Merry Christmas to everyone and hopefully Santa will bring you all a great round of golf.
