FOR the majority of amateur players, dramatic changes in form from one round to the next are usually met with the response … “that’s golf”.
It was no different for David McGregor in Saturday’s stableford competition at the Mount Gambier Golf Club.
Just a week earlier he had been left scratching his head after shooting +11 in a par competition at the Attamurra layout, finishing 99th in the 101-strong field.
That had followed similar disappointing results in the previous two weeks, scoring just 29 stableford points a week after managing a below-average net 84 in the Monthly Medal.
But on Saturday his form suddenly reappeared, resulting in the 49-year-old finishing on top of the leaderboard with 39 stableford points.
“I’d been playing well, but those three weeks were pretty ordinary,” McGregor said.
“I didn’t try to do anything differently on Saturday … I guess I just stayed out of trouble pretty well.
“I was steady off the tee and my putter went okay, apart from a couple of short ones I missed.”
Playing off an eight handicap, McGregor got off to a solid start, moving to 11 points after making four pars and a bogey (on the second hole) in his first five holes.
A hiccup on the par 3 sixth hole added just one more to the tally, but he recovered with three-point pars on the seventh and eighth, finishing the front nine with 18 points after a bogey on the par 4 ninth.
“I missed a four-foot birdie putt on the seventh and a two-footer for par on the ninth, which was disappointing,” he said.
“But I thought 18 points was a good start.”
Two more bogeys to start the back nine provided no indication of what was about to come.
As it turned out, he played his final seven holes in even par, making birdies on the 15th and 18th, bogeys on the 14th and 17th and pars on the other three.
That added 21 points to his score and gave him a 77 off the stick, a total he has bettered just once in his 30-odd years playing the game.
“I had a 71 off the stick about 15 years ago, but apart from that I don’t think I’ve ever broken 77,” McGregor said.
His 39 points gave him victory in A Grade, recent winner Bryce Whicker finishing second on 37.
Whicker could count himself a little unlucky not to pocket first place again after wiping the second and sixth holes.
He almost made up for those mistakes with birdies on the first, eighth, 16th and 18th holes.
The B Grade winner was Ian Ritter who was in pole position after an excellent 23 points on the front nine, but added only 15 more on the back nine.
That was still good enough to finish two points clear of runner-up Peter Miller, while Peter Jones scored 37 points to claim C Grade by one from Matthew Dixon.
Meanwhile last Thursday’s stableford competition was taken out by John Leerson whose 40 points saw him come in two clear of his nearest rivals.
Playing off a 12 handicap, Leerson was steady on the front nine with 18 points, but had an excellent back nine with 22 more, the highlight being a four-point birdie on the par 5 11th hole.
The round of the day came from Nick Moretti who compiled 38 points to take second on a count-back after shooting 73 off the stick.
The three-handicapper made birdies on the eighth and 15th holes, with bogeys on the second, third and 16th to finish one-over par for the round.
He edged out Patrick O’Donnell, Mark Forster and Patrick Dempsey for second place after that trio also finished on 38 points.
