DARREN Bilney claimed a seventh club championship on Sunday at the Mount Gambier Golf Club, defeating a valiant Joel Mann.
The 36-hole final was taken to the 34th hole, with Mann fighting all the way.
In the end it was Bilney who claimed the win 3-and-2 and joined two other players who have won seven championships in the club’s 99-year history.
The A Reserve club championship was won by Zac Shanks 5-and-3 over Wayne Elliot, again over 36 holes.
In the B Grade 36-hole final it was Matt Bowering claiming a 6-and-5 victory over Damian Smith, while in the C Grade final over 27 holes it was a dominant display by Michael Rookas, who won 9-and-8 over Archie Milich.
Meanwhile, an excellent field of 89 players battled it out in Thursday’s stableford competition, with Bob O’Connor claiming the win with 41 points, two points clear of former Mount Gambier professional Craig Davis on 39.
Davis’s round started with three birdies, with others on five, seven and eight, leading to a six-under-the-card front nine of 30 points.
A birdie on the 11th hole saw him standing on the 15th tee at seven-under the card. Unfortunately bogeys on 15 and 16 saw him fall back slightly, but like all good players he finished with a birdie on the 18th to post a six-under 66 off the stick, good enough for second place.
Robert Perryman was third on 38 points, with Andrew Noble the only other player to beat his handicap, finishing on 37 points.
The ball rundown extended to 33 points, with Graham Thomas snaring the last one.
Nearest the pins belonged to David Douglas on the eighth hole and Henry Forbes on the 16th, with only Douglas able to roll his putt in for a birdie two.
Gary Button had the round of the day in Saturday’s stableford, with a fine 42 points and a 78 off the stick to pip Darren Coxon by one point on 41 and win the A Grade.
Button’s round was steady, with just seven bogeys, one birdie and 10 pars enough to defeat an unlucky Coxon, whose 72 off the stick was marred only by a double on the ninth hole, plus a costly bogey on the last.
Judson Wheatley claimed B Grade with 41 points, defeating Max Tollner on 38, with Dane Hendreck third on 37 points.
In C Grade Brad McDonnell’s 37 points was enough to win by two from Dennis Smith, with Graham Thomas third on 34.
With another healthy field of 105 players, the ball rundown extended to 33 points, with Jacob Reed taking the last one.
Nearest the pin belonged to Wayne Elliot on the eighth and former president Tim Driver on the 16th, who knocked his ball to just 21cm.
Both players were able to roll their putts in for birdie-twos, although Driver’s did three laps of the hole before finally conceding to Newton’s Laws.
