Round 1 Pennant Wrap – Sunday, 17 July
Week 1 of operation Return of the Flag is done and dusted with a hard fought 13/8 victory to The Brisbane Golf Club over Keperra Country Club. Keperra are always tough, and this year was no exception with 6 games going to the final hole. Thankfully, we scored 4 points from those games and showed we have the strength…and game…to close those tight ones out.
Before we get to the highlights, we would like to thank all involved in the day’s proceedings: Pro Shop staff, catering and bar staff, David Mason and his team for setting up a course that was a pleasure to play (those fires were a great talking point and nice to not see any clubs in there during the day), parents who make the early morning and midweek trips, Greg Mitchell who is showing a great ability for herding cats, Dave Raman for the cool head throughout the day, the supporters who came and cheered on the players, and the players themselves. As you can see it is very much a team effort and all efforts are greatly appreciated.
Opens 7/4:
The week started off with having 4 players out due to commitments and illness so already on the backfoot. Ben Steiler and Craig Mahon jumped at the chance to fill in for Dylan and Luke, whose illnesses were poorly timed…get well boys. There were 3 debutants with Cooper Clarke, Paul Todd, and Craig Mahon, with Craig winning his first ever match for BCG 4&3…well done Craig.
Other highlights: Sam Howse winning his first match as the #1 player 3&2. Chris Sommerfeld’s putt on 17th, with a big audience, that sealed his win. Tom Deane making birdie on 17 to go one up and end up winning 2 up. John Smoljko on the 18th hole making his opposition have to sink a 3 footer to halve the match, only to miss and give John the win 1 up. Connor Whitelock accounting for stalwart David Nendick 3&1. Ilija Soldan winning 1 up.
With Billy Dowling and possibly Sam Slater returning from commitments, Luke and Dylan from illness, we have a good problem with selections for next week.
Juniors 4/0:
With Campbell Kerr making top 32 in Scottish Junior Tournament, we knew we had a good squad still with 2 debutants in Justin McCormack and Chase Oberle, and the boys stood up to not lose a match…outstanding achievement! Justin McCormack took out his first point for BGC as #1 player in convincing 6&5 fashion. Justin also won the coveted Ron Chopper head cover as player of the day, well done! Chase showed great determination by sinking a birdie putt on 18 to halve his first match for BGC. Eric Yeon finished the day early with a dominant display to win 5&3. Harvey Palmer fought hard to gain a half point and Demos Drakos showed composure to score a 2&1 victory as family watched on…no pressure mate😊.
Again, selection dilemmas are a good problem to have.
Masters 2/3:
We had 2 debutants: Eugene Estella made the giant step up from Opens to Masters this year, and Ian Burgess joined the ranks. Obviously not the result the broken old blokes were after, but 2 points is still 2 points, and we will take it. Stephen Deane, fresh from his roasting at the hands of Ron Chopper, fought out a 2&1 win to show there is still a fighting spirit in there. Ash Sturmer hit his 2nd shot on 8 to seven feet which sealed a 2&1 win as well.
The squad is showing a great sense of team spirit and it is nice to see a lot smiling faces with people having fun and getting around their teammates in a show of support. A great result to start and we host Redcliffe next Sunday to try and make it 2 from 2. This will also be a tough assignment taking on the reigning Division 1 Pennant holder, so any support given is very welcome.
Looking forward to seeing more of the same on Sunday from The Brisbane Golf Club.
Ash Sturmer, Men’s Captain
