FORMER South Gambier footballer Nicholas Tarca has broken through for his first win at the Mount Gambier Golf Club since hanging up his boots and taking up golf at the start of 2019.
The 32-year-old set a new low score of 81 off the stick to lead the field in Saturday’s stableford competition with 41 points.
After starting on a handicap of 24, Tarca said he had hoped to reduce that to 12 – the cut-off for A Grade – by the end of 2021 but did not quite make it.
Playing off 14 on Saturday and starting his round on the 10th hole, he notched 20 points on the back nine despite wiping the par 4 12th hole after striking bunker trouble.
He compensated for that with five three-point holes, finishing with a birdie on the 18th.
He took the momentum from that to the front nine, adding another 15 points in the first five holes and looking on track for something in the mid 40-point range.
His tally was helped by three-point pars on the first and second holes, before adding another four points thanks to a birdie on the par 4 fourth.
That came courtesy of a huge drive that finished about 20m short of the green, having no trouble pitching inside a metre and making the putt.
“I’m usually not that good (accurate) off the tee but I’m okay at everything else,” Tarca said.
“I also don’t usually do very well on the par threes.”
That looked like it might have been his nemesis again, picking up just one point on the sixth and eighth holes, as well as the par 5 seventh.
But as he did on the back nine, he managed to finish with a flourish thanks to a three-point par on the ninth hole, giving him a one-point advantage over Matthew Dixon on top of the leaderboard.
The result gave the pair the top two spots in B Grade, while a count-back was needed to determine the winner in A Grade.
In the end it was Shane Brook who got the nod over Peter Dempsey after they finished on 39 points apiece.
Playing off a handicap of four, Brook shot a one-over par 73, splitting his round with 17 points on the front nine and 22 on the back after shooting a one-under par 35 with birdies on 11, 14 and 16.
In C Grade the honours went to Stephen Stott who finished on 40 points, four clear of runner-up Don Coulter.
Last Thursday it was veteran Max Tollner who showed the benefit of a new driver to notch 42 points, edging out Peter Emetlis on a count-back.
“I got a new Callaway Rogue and had it fitted by John (Martin) in the pro shop,” the 72-year-old said.
“It’s definitely helping me get some more length off the tee.
“I also made quite a few good putts … just about everything went right for a change.”
That included chipping in for a four-point birdie on the par 5 11th hole, although he undid some of that good work with one-pointers on the 13th, 14th and 16th.
Luckily he regrouped just in time, a three-point par on the 18th hole ultimately proving the difference, with Emetlis only able to pick up a single point on that deciding hole.
Robert Perryman was one point back in third place, again just a single point ahead of Matt Bryant.
With the club on a high after the success of this week’s MG Plasterers SA PGA Seniors Championship, the excitement levels will crank up again on Sunday when the finals of The Barn Steakhouse club championships will be decided.
The action will kick off at 8am when promising youngsters – and next door neighbours – Zac Shanks and Blake Schroder will do battle in C Grade.
At 8.10am it will be Matthew McCallum up against Jon Clayton in B Grade, with both players more than capable of moving up to the top grade in the not-too-distant future.
At 8.20am the A Reserve final will get underway where top qualifier Tony Revill will take on Bryan Pink in a clash that promises to go down to the wire.
The same applies to the club championship final where Darren Bilney and Hayden Schroder – who have put their names on the trophy nine times between them – will do battle in what could be an epic if both players bring their best games.
Each of the finals will be contested over 36 holes, with the second rounds to kick off after lunch.
