From left: John Heathcote with the Malcolm Macpherson Plate, Malcolm Macpherson and Wes Taylor.
HEATHCOTE WINS MELBOURNE DISTRICT VETERANS CHAMPIONSHIP
By Richard Froebel
John Heathcote from Settlers Run was the decisive winner of the 2011MDVGA Annual Championship. His solid back nine of 38 at Keysborough GC was enough to have him finish 5 shots clear of his nearest rivals Michael Taylor (Croydon) and Ralph Richards (Gisborne).
The Scratch Championship is played for the Malcolm Macpherson Plate and is conducted over two rounds at different courses. This year the magnificent Kingston Heath was used for Round 1, where the field was reduced to the top 8 plus ties.
Keysborough was presented in its usual superb condition for the final round and after a top front nine of 39 (2 over), Michael Taylor briefly took the lead by one. There was no change until the 13th where John sank a vital long putt to save his par and draw level.
The 14th hole was where John really stamped his authority on the Championship. A difficult Par 4 at the best of times, he played the perfect drive and followed it up with an approach from 150m to within 2m of the pin. His birdie putt never looked like missing and he opened up a two shot lead.
The long Par 3, 15th was the clincher with John capitalising on his advantage with a solid par to Michael’s double. With only three holes remaining and a four shot lead, John only needed to stay out of trouble. He did so and with rounds of 85 and 79 he was declared the MDVGA Champion for 2011.
In the Handicap Bowl event, Wes Taylor from Spring Valley was the deserved winner. Like the Championship, this annual event is played over 36 holes and after the first 18 at The Heath, Wes trailed by just 1 with 38 Stableford points.
David Schrieber was unable to repeat his great first round heroics but the ever reliable Membership Secretary, Bill Rhoden (36-36), Paul Davies (35-37) and Les Dickson (34-38) all gave themselves a shot at the title. In the end, Wes produced a quality 36 points to claim victory by 2 shots.
Congratulations to both winners. The Championship and Handicap Bowl events are scheduled for Commonwealth in June and Kingswood in September next year.
|