John Betland has won another Forbes Golf Association (FGA) club championship, firing a remarkable 10-under par over four rounds.
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Betland (30), who won his first title as a 14-year-old, was under par on each of the four rounds played on October 11-12 and 18-19, finishing with 278, 13 shots clear of his older brother Steve.
Betland’s four unblemished rounds (69, 71, 70, 68) had FGA members comparing the effort to his 2009 title, which he won with 14-under the card, or to Brian Doyle’s club championship record (3-under) set in the early 1980s when preferred lies did not apply.
While many of the challengers for the A-grade (up to six handicap) title shot low scores, only John and Steve Betland (73, 77, 71, 70 for 291) strung at least three good rounds together.
Shane Sallaway (75, 82, 78, 74 for 309), Todd Callaghan (76, 83, 80, 73 for 312), Peter Dawson (81, 73, 81, 77 for 312) and Michael Wood (80, 78, 76, 78 for 312) rounded out the top six in A-grade.
Richard Nixon played consistently over the four rounds to secure a double victory, winning A-Reserve (7-12 handicap) and the Veterans divisions with scores of 83, 79, 83 and 79. He was three shots ahead of Bruce Carpenter (83, 85, 80, 79 for 327), with Ray Taylor (79, 85, 86, 82 for 332) and David Mylecharane (89, 88, 78, 79 for 334) next best.
The B-grade title for this year belongs to Barry Parker, who shot 78 last Sunday for a total of 337 (86, 85, 88, 78), three clear of his major rival Ted Morgan (84, 87, 84, 85 for 340).
Paul Kay (86, 88, 90, 89 for 353) and Tony Cogswell (89, 89, 92, 87 for 356) were third and fourth in B-grade.
Three shots was also the margin in C-grade where Laurence O’Connor (91, 91, 88, 95 for 365) had a large enough lead to hold off a challenge from Ash Hogan (96, 90, 88, 94 for 368).
Junior golfer Jordan Brett (383) and Advocate golf scribe Steve Grallelis (392) filled third and fourth place in their division.
The best junior player over the four days was Jarrod Andrews, who while not at his best, finished with 85 (after 97, 88 and 96) for a total tally of 366.
Robyn Hammond had four solid rounds to win the A-grade women’s title by 21 shots, after rounds of 88, 85, 90 and 85, with Kerry Stirling next best with 86, 90, 92 and 101.
Both are previous winners.
Division two this year went to Jenny Hubbard, who was too consistent for her rivals with 95, 92, 92 and 91. Seven shots back was Verna Lane (96, 96, 93, 92).
Robyn Lyell also won her division three title by a large margin, carding 96, 100, 98 and 96, to be 26 shots clear of Christine Davies at the end of play last Sunday.
John Betland’s victory will only boost his status as firm favourite for the upcoming Frank Spice Classic (November 15-16).
Hot on the heels of his championship win, Betland travelled to Sydney with David Sly, Jenny Fletcher and Debbie Tilley to compete in the regional final of the Holden Scramble four-person ambrose.
