Betland blitzes golf championship with seven-under par round

GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS At presentations of the Forbes Golf Club championships on Sunday evening president of the association Stuart French summed up the feelings of most when he said, “You didn’t lose it, John won it.” And that how they felt as John Betland, a prolific winner of major events state wide, collected yet another title by finishing with a seven under par 65 round on Sunday to blow all opposition off the park. Some say John is the best ever from the Forbes club under pressure and while not singing any praise to his success he did say on Sunday while celebrating that a six foot putt for eagle on the second hole was the perfect start. “I feel I only drove the ball average but scrambled pretty good. I got up and down OK keeping the ball below the hole for putts most of the time,” he said. “It adds to play in good company and I did so today and they all played OK. “I think it is the first time I have played the championships without some form of preferred lies, a credit to the greens staff and the committee for the work they put in seeing the course is as good as it is. It’s all going OK,” he added. While talk of seven under par round without preferred lies caught the attention of fellow competitors many were asking, ‘is it a course record?’ The answer is sure to be something club officials will be working on in coming days as well as the number of times John has won the major after winning his first as a 14-year-old. Like his brother, Steve Betland is a polished golfer never to be underestimated with a swing most would ‘die for’. His run in the championship deserves full credit making it a two-horse race which is sure to continue for many years to come. Kim Herbert had a slightly more stress-free championship winning A Reserve by a whopping 20 shots and surprisingly he credits John Betland for much of that success. “I shared a cart with John during the first couples of rounds and watched his swing and how he plays to position the ball, it helped. To be honest I’m very happy with the way I played, not bad for an old guy,” Kim said. In B grade it came down to the last hole for Anthony Alley to claim victory after taking an 11 shot lead into the final round for a one shot win over Peter Barnes who will rue a missed short putt on the 13th hole then a disastrous seven on the par four 17th. Experience told as Max Haley had his battles before winning C grade by four shots from a ‘new boy on the block’ Cameron Herbert who it appears is taking lessons from his winning father Kim. Championship scratch results – A grade John Betland 283, r/u Steve Betland 288; A reserve Kim Herbert 322; B grade Anthony Alley 352, r/u Peter Barnes 353; C grade Max Haley 390, r/u Cameron Herbert 394. Champion handicap winners – A grade Kim Herbert 282, r/u John Betland 287; B grade Peter Barnes 289, r/u Nick Morrison 296; C grade Cameron Herbert 137, r/u Adam Andrews 124. Junior Boys – scratch Isaac Page 367; Encouragement awards Lachlan Hodge and Lenny Iyer. Veteran championships – scratch Peter Dawson 314; handicap 282. Ladies golf champions (back) Ev Uphill, Wendy Simmons, Colleen Venables, Rose Carrroll (front) Brianna Duncan, Heather Davidson. Leading scratch scores in full. A grade - John Betland 73, 73, 72, 65 (283); Steve Betland 74, 71, 71, 72 (288); Harry Callaghan 75, 77, 78, 74 (304); Tim West 78, 83, 76, 76 (313); Peter Dawson 83, 77, 75, 79 (314); Cam McMillan 78, 78, 77, 84 (317). A Reserve – Kim Herbert 82, 79, 78, 83 (322); Kailab Tyne 85, 82, 84, 91 (342) Stuart French 81, 88, 88, 91 (348); Charles Dwyer 89, 83, 80, 96 (348); Steve Uphill 95, 88, 87, 91 (361). B grade – Anthony Alley 89, 85, 83, 95 (352); Peter Barnes 88, 88, 90, 87 (353); Ken Sanderson 86, 85, 102, 85 (358); Nick Morrison 89, 94, 94, 83 (360); Alfonso Melisi 96, 91, 88, 86 (361); Patrick Murphy 94, 84, 88, 98 (364). C grade – Max Haley 97, 97, 96, 100 (390); Cameron Herbert 104, 95, 98, 97 (394); Jonathon Cutler 93, 98, 102, 103 (396); Adam Andrews 99, 95, 102, 105 (401); Richard Smith 106, 98, 102, 104 (410); Steve Rogers 108, 102, 104, 103 (417). During presentations president Stuart also thanked green keeper Jack Elliott and staff for the way the course was presented and the continued support of the Forbes Shire Council. “And I have to also thank Tony and Andrew Cogswell from Lachlan Commodities for their sponsorship of the championships, it all adds to the success of the past two weekends,” Stuart said. “Some are saying the course is too long, well I played in front of the A graders today and seeing first hand the length they hit it I think it could be longer. But thanks to all who played the championships, your support is most welcome,” Stuart added. Major competition continues this weekend with the Mixed Foursomes titles scheduled for Sunday. Played over 27 holes the championships is sponsored Duncan Insurance. Saturday’s competition is 4BBB aggregate medley sponsored by Todd Callaghan Painting.