NAGAMBIE GOLF CLUB By DAVID LOVE The second round of the 2025 Nagambie Golf Club championships hotted up with some worthy performances consolidating leading positions going into the third and final round. The winner of the day’s stroke event was Graeme Cusack with a major turnaround in form from the previous week. Cusack was happy to see the clubhouse in round one but produced some of his best golf to win round two with 88-16-72. While accepting his Seymour Club match day voucher, Cusack acknowledged his playing partners for their much needed support. Runner up was Des Phelan for the second week in a row. Phelan’s 88-15-73 has allowed him to take a slender lead in the B grade net heading into the final round. Rounding out the top three was championship leader Michael Roberts, improving on his first round score by two. Roberts carded a very satisfying 76-3-73 to lead the championship by one. Now with two rounds complete, Michael Roberts holds a one shot lead over Michael Sloan for club champion honours, 154 total to 155. Roberts also leads the A grade net by one shot, 148 to Ryan Ezard 149. B grade has Des Phelan leading Wes Boyle by one shot, 147 to 148, and C grade has a runaway leader with Hugh Lawrence leading by eight shots on 152. The nearest the pin prizes went to Michael Nolan with a well timed strike at the third, Andrew Biggs slogged his way to the eighth, Shaun Bryant got a shock at the 13th, and Jeremy Ezard stumbled one up to the 16th. Next week’s golf will be the third and final round of the championships. On office duty is D. Love and in the bar G. Cusack. EUROA GOLF CLUB By RICHARD JOHNSON Thirty two players competed in two divisions in perfect conditions. Dale McIntosh continued his run of good form to pick up another win with 37 points from his handicap of 11, two points ahead of Bill Wright on 35 points. Paddy McCarthy and Cam Roper each finished with 34. In Division Two, Don Bubeck took the countback win on 36 over Gary Ross. Dick Farmer was one further back on 35 points. The Wednesday competition was decimated by the winter flu with only nine players able to play. Keith Seeber and Don Bubeck tied with 31 points. Hot Bubbles Carwash and Laundromat sponsored the weekly events. Greenkeeper Dav Mackrell has lowered the greens mower, and as a result the greens are running as fast as ever. Coupled with some very tight pin placements, this made for plenty of tricky putts. Many players were struggling to score much above 20 Stableford points. The club proudly unveiled its latest clubhouse addition, a very large screen TV. Generous support from Euroa Rotary Club and Thomsons Betta Electrical combined to provide this asset for the enjoyment of members. It will be used for screening golf results, club information and sporting events. Stableford events are to be played this Wednesday and Saturday, with the following Saturday to be a mixed event played from the red T markers on Pink Ribbon Day. AVENEL GOLF CLUB By LYN CARRACHER Perfect golf conditions greeted the field for the second round of the club championship qualifying stroke play last Saturday, and some good scores were recorded. Jed Smith had the round of the day and a new personal best, shooting one under 71 for a fabulous nett 66. It could have been two under if his birdie putt on the 18th had fallen, but he took consolation in knocking Danny Neville off for nearest the pin. Another good round came from Lance Carracher who shot 79 nett, 70 to take the runner up prize. Line balls went to Alex Smith 89 nett 71, Dave Fullager 92 nett 72, and Brad McNamara 99 nett 73 on a countback from Lyn Carracher. The other nearest the pins were Alex Smith with a great shot on the eighth, Mark Hannigan with a near hole in one on the 14th, while the fifth was unclaimed. Drive and pitch winners were Campbell Smith on the seventh and Shane Black on the 17th. The birdie hole was the 15th, with Jed and Shane both claiming a ball. Tim Batten was drawn for the Imperial Hotel $50 voucher for the second consecutive week and happily invited everyone at the golf club to come down and help him spend it over the bar. The members draw has jackpotted to $40 this week after Georgia Engel was drawn but not present. Draw is at 6:30pm Fridays. After the two qualifying rounds, the semi finals of the match play have been set to decide the club championships of 2025. For the men, it will be a repeat father-son contest of last year: Jed Smith (1) v Campbell Smith (4) and Shane Black (2) v Dale Smith (3) to contest the A grade. In what promises to be an equally entertaining B grade championship, Danny Neville (1) v Alex Smith (4) and Tim Batten (2) v Dave Fullager (3). The No one club trophy will be Mark Hannigan v Kev Fiorini straight through to the final. The ladies number one qualifier is Lyn Carracher, but unfortunately she won’t be available for the matchplay so it will be a contest between Rachel Smith and Sam Hannigan to decide this year’s champion. The VIC Sandgreen championships are coming up at Charlton on August 23 -24, and our annual tournament is on the following weekend, with the Pioneer Park 4BBB Par for men and ladies on Saturday the 30th and men’s open 18-hole championship on Sunday the 31st of August. Please send entries to Jed on 0407 546 917 or jedelecs@gmail.com This Saturday will be par from the short course tees. Good golfing. EUROA LADIES GOLF By EMILY FRAVEL We have been spoilt with lovely weather lately. On Wednesday, 10 ladies took to the course and six played 18 holes and four played nine holes. Competing in Stroke play and Round One of the Burton Trophy. The day was kindly sponsored by Hot Bubbles Car Wash and Laundromat. Lorraine Ellis was the standout, winning the day with a nett 76 and taking least putts with a solid 29 (sponsored by Mary Dewis). Balls down the line went to Robin Lied with a nett 77 (sponsored by Gail Allen and Robin Lied). The nine hole winner was Rae Farmer with 13 points (sponsored by Annette Smith). Nearest the pins: Eighth: Robin Lied (Evans Accounting) 12th: Retained by the club (May Hamilton) 18th: Retained by the club (Burtons Stores) Drive and Pitch: Fifth: Robin Lied (Trotters Mitre 10) 15th: Gail Allen (Levenia Redfern) On Saturday, 11 ladies enjoyed a Stableford round in equally fine conditions, with Hot Bubbles Car Wash and Laundromat again sponsoring the day. Robin Lied claimed victory with an impressive 37 points, followed by Lorraine Ellis on 30 points (sponsored by Gail Allen and Robin Lied). Nearest the pins: Eighth: Lorraine Ellis (Kae Lummas) 12th: Melissa Eddy (Strathbogie Tractors) 18th: Erica Mercer (Burtons Stores) Drive and Pitch: Fifth: Annette Smith (McKernans Engineering) 15th: Erica Mercer (Lorraine Ellis) Third shot on 17th: Retained by the club (Tehan George and Co) STRATHBOGIE GOLF CLUB By KRISTEN MOORE Saturday August 9 provided glorious conditions for Stableford competition, with jumpers off and short sleeves on. Ladies winner: Kerry Hewlett with 30 points. Men’s winner: Allan Rowarth with an excellent 36 points. Line ball winners: Grant Pearce (36 points), John Moore (34), Nathan Macaulay (32) Nearest the pins: Fourth: Peter Smith Eighth: Phil Fry 15th: Ria Pearce 17th: Beat Van Der Schoor Kerry Hewlett also took home the ladies’ drive and pitch and the straightest drive awards. Next week’s event on Saturday August 16 will be a three person Ambrose. Please invite friends, including those without handicaps and we will provide for them. It promises to be a fun day with plenty of laughs and squeals on the course. Mal Inglis will be on duty.
