Rochester and District Sports Notes

Two very experienced bowlers scored big with Heather Curnick coming away the overall winner with 95 points on her rink and John Weeks being the runner-up with 78 points.

Francis Keech played on a rink of four and came away with a win there on 42 points.

Next Friday, August 22, bowlers will be playing drawn pairs.

The cost is $7 per player, names on the list by noon.

Indoor Bowls

On Monday, August 11, there was only one team that won both of its games.

Bert Smolenaars and Mike Ellis were both in fine form and won their games by a significant margin.

There will be three more Monday nights of indoor bowls, and then our focus will shift to outdoor bowls.

Bowls Coaching/Skills Session

Marg Knight is offering weekly bowls coaching 10am-12pm, commencing this Thursday August 14.

Bowls are not necessary as club bowls will be available for use.

Contact Marg – 0407 093 848.

Leigh Milgate will continue to offer skills sessions at the same time

Kitchen Roster

Many thanks to Judy Murray, who has presented a kitchen roster for the coming season’s tournaments.

Hard copies are available on the pinboard, in the dining area and have also been emailed to members.

Trading Table

Items are being sought for a trading table and raffle for the upcoming Ladies Fours Tournament – October 23.

Please consider how you can help.

Inquiries can be directed to the Ladies Tournament Committee.

Season Opening

The opening of the 2025-26 bowls season will take place on September 5, beginning at 4pm.

Bar Roster

Hard copies available in the club foyer for those wishing to obtain one.

Monday – Friday, 5-6.30pm

18 – 22 August: P. Stack and A. Gusak.

25 – 29 August: G. Willis and G. Houlihan.

1 – 5 September: B. Coghill and B. Smolenaars.

Lockington Bowls Club

Another fine week of good weather attracted members and visitors to enjoy the popular game of Scrounge on both Wednesday and Saturday afternoon.

Three rinks were in operation on Wednesday.

On rink one, Steve Pavone played consistent bowls to amass a healthy tally of 65 points, while Frank Chugg, 40, and Lorraine Appleby, 33, tried valiantly to stem the tide.

Next door, Pos Andrea hit the green on fire to establish a handy lead over Ray Hanson and Peter Egan.

Halfway through the contest, Hanson hit form to close the gap and only trailed by four points with one end remaining.

However, Andrea was up to the late challenge and won the rink on 58 points after scoring one point.

Hanson grabbed four points to only miss by one shot for 57 points and shared the final end with Egan on 22 points.

Steve Peter dominated rink three, scoring a respectable 60 points to shade John Andrea 45 and Rod Fiedler 33 points.

Once again, the vittles proved popular.

On Saturday, the numbers were down a little with local tournaments drawing a few members away.

However, the standard was up to above-average level and some fine scores were recorded.

Steve Peter continued with his current high standard of bowls to manage 56 points and hold off Lorraine Appleby on 40 and Frank Chugg with a solid 38 points.

The other rink provided an enthralling battle between the four bowlers.

Ray Hanson found the pay-dirt, scoring 39 points closely followed by Ashley Dobell 36, Alan Sharp 34 (Elmore) and Rod Fiedler 31 points.

Unfortunately, the hot food was cold.

Members attended the annual two-day Spiers Family Fours held at Echuca Bowling Club last weekend.

The rink of Pos Andrea, Russell Shawcross, Leanne McInnes and Steve Pavone (s) bowled well against some stern opposition and missed the cut in the sectional play with just the one win and a tie.

Bowlers enjoyed the true greens and hospitality.

A well organised tournament.

The beginning of the Sixty and Over competition will be held at the Lockington Bowls Club on Wednesday, September 3.

Contact John van den Bosch for details.

The club will hold their opening day on Sunday, September 14 in conjunction with the Annual Memorial 2 bowl Triples starting at 1pm.

Contact Ray Hanson or Cindy Felmingham for details.

Rochester Golf Club

Our annual tournament started with the course in great condition, thanks to the hard work of our dedicated volunteer ground crew over the last month.

In overcast weather, 36 women played in the Ladies 4BBB Stableford event on Friday.

Rochester Ladies Captain, Barb McCarty, combined well with Lockington's Jenny Holt to win with an impressive 47 points.

Runners-up on a countback were the team of Leisa Evans and Donna Holt, representing Lockington, from the unlucky duo of Cate Ward and Lauren Coghill, both teams on 46 points.

Next best were the following teams of sisters in law: Racheal Major and Karen Taylor (44), visitors Ellen Banko and Ruth Turpin (Rich River), Joy Kennedy and Rosemary Winter (Axedale) (42), Debbie Bish and Sue Amos (Bamawm), Jenny Major and Kim Dingwal, Bernice and Cheryl Campbell (Neanger Park) and Eilish Whelan and Lynne Delaney (Raywood), all on 41 Stableford points.

Nearest the pin winners were Amos (3rd), Kennedy (5th, 3.6m), Donna Holt (12th) and Rachael Major (16th).

Turpin was nearest to the line on the 10th fairway, while Lauren Coghill won the longest drive down the 15th fairway.

A good field of 28 teams followed the Ladies for a hit off at 10.30am.

It's not often that scores of 50 Stableford points or above are recorded at our course, especially in winter.

With the fairways in excellent condition, higher scores than average were expected.

Shane Connelly and Brent Sweeney combined to play below their handicap to win with that magical 50 points.

Runners-up were the brother-in-laws, Brendan McCarty and Richard Ballantyne (47), from acting captain Chris Eeles and Mike Austin, and visitors Phil and Mark Hamley (45).

The following teams all had 44 Stableford points: young members Zac McInness and Will Coghill, the not-so-young, David Gebbie and Steve Bubb, Lockington's father and son team of Kevin and Grant Humbert, and visitors Whitfield and Duncan.

Grant Humbert won the closest to the pin on the 5th scrape with his shot to 6.3 meters.

Visitors Greg Reynoldson (8), Jacob Coller (12), and Brendan McCarty on 16 were the nearest-the-pin winners.

Rushworth's Kelly Cheong won the straightest drive on the 10th, while Lockington's Ash Portwine took out the longest drive down the 15th.

Saturdays, 2-person Ambrose was played with threatening skies.

However, only small light showers during the round didn't interrupt play.

Current club champion, Jake Wright, combined with Bamawm’s Darcy Taylor to win the best gross score, 2 under 69.

Next best was former club champion Shane Bywaters and Andrew Purdy with a combined 70 off the stick.

Neanger Park's duo of Bernice and Garry Campbell just won the best net score with a fine (661/4) from the unlucky pairing of Francis Lee and Neville Vicary representing Bamawm, also on 661/4.

Next best were Jess Cuttriss and Andrew Rushton (671/4), Bywaters and Purdy (673/4), and Chris Eeles and Steven Bubb on net 68.

The Campbell family had a day out by winning nearest-the-pins on 5 and 12 for Bernice, and Cheryl and Garry the straightest drives for the Ladies and Men's respectively on the 10th fairway.

Purdy won on 16, and Lady Captain Barb McCarty won for her long drive down 15, while big hitting Jake Wright hit a monster to win the Men's section.

Unfortunately, the predicted rain finally arrived just in time to disrupt the Ladies and Men's Open Championship on Sunday.

Due to the inclement weather, a small group played 18 holes to determine the Ladies Open Champion for 2025 in tough, wet, cold, and scrawly conditions.

Julie Leahy took out her first Open Championship on a countback from Karen Taylor, both with 101 off the stick.

Taylor also won the best net score once again on a countback this time against Barb McCarty with a net 79.

Next best was Leisa Evans and Lauren Coghill.

Leahy also won for her straight drive on the 10th fairway, while Evans had the longest drive down the 15th fairway.

Big-hitting and current Rochester men's champion Jake Wright added another open trophy to his resume and had no issues handling the tough conditions, scoring 2 under 69.

The next best was President Leigh Hick's on 75, followed by Kevin Dunn (80), Lee Talbot (81), ex-Rochester member Jamie Hynes, and fellow Macedon member Mick Doyle, both on 83 off the stick.

Visitor Kevin Dunn won the best net score for his 80, -9 net 71, on a countback from Talbot and Hicks, all on net 71.

Murray Schier, after winning the club's B-grade trophy recently, took out his first open B-grade title, scoring 87 off the stick, and young Lockington visitor Bowden Stone was declared the handicap winner for a net 75.

Other good net scores were recorded by Brett Stone, Liam Keenan and Ayden Youd.

Youd also won closest to the pin over the tournament for his nice shot to the 8th, while Joy Kennedy was declared the winner for the ladies' nearest-the-pin on the 5th over the weekend.

Hynes and Stone took home prizes for the straightest drive and longest drives on 10 and 15, respectively.

In his closing address, President Leigh Hicks thanked all the visitors and our major sponsors for their continued support and the many volunteers for their dedicated work, especially over the last few months.

He congratulated Bernie Eeles on winning the major raffle of $1500 cash.

For photos from Rochester Golf Club’s annual tournament head to the Campaspe News website or pick up next week’s print edition.

Lockington Golf Club

August 15

A number of Locky ladies travelled to Rochester to compete in their Annual Tournament 4BBB.

Jenny Holt’s super form continued, as she teamed up with local Barb McCarty to score another win.

16/08 – Par – Mystery Partners

It was great to see the biggest field for quite a few weeks.

After the day’s rounds were completed, the draw for partners was conducted to determine the event’s winners.

Two pairs finished with a combined score of -3, so a countback was needed to determine the day’s winners.

Victory went to Will Hardess (-1) and Kevin Humbert (-2), from Jeff Carnie (square) and Neil Maddison (-3).

Next best on -5 were Brad Wakefield (-3) and Trav Mancer (-2).

The best individual score was returned by Jeff Carnie (square), just ahead of Steve Holt and Will Hardess, who both finished -1.

Nearest the pins: 16th – Kevin Humbert; 2nd shot 12th – Steve Holt (A), Will Hardess (B), Brad Wakefield (C); 2nd shot 18th for the 6-pack smack – Ash Portwine.

Spike’s Longest Drive on the 1st, sponsored by Hot ‘n’ Cold Plumbing – Ash Portwine (A), Neil Maddison (B), Brad Wakefield (C).

Neither the O’Connors Case eagles nest on the 3rd, nor Captain Grant’s yardstick on the 16th was won.

Handicap Matchplay semi-finals – Jeff Carnie versus Neil Maddison.

In a match of ebbs and flows, Jeff won the 3rd with a par to take an early lead, only for Neil to win the 4th.

Jeff parred the 5th to again take the lead, but Neil parred the 7 th.

Jeff won the 8th, Neil won the 9th and the match was square after 9.

After halving 10 and 11, Jeff parred 12 and 13 to lead 2-up.

The 14th and 15th were halved, then Neil rallied to par the 16th to cut the margin to one-down.

The match was decided on the 17th when Jeff parred it to seal a 2 and 1 victory after an excellent contest.

Steve Holt versus Stuart Newton.

The red-hot in-form Steve began well to win the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 10th to surge to a 5-up lead.

Stuart fought back to par the 11th to cut the margin to 4-down.

Steve then birdied the 12th to win the hole (despite conceding a shot) to go 5-up, then sealed the match with a par on the 13th to win the hole, and the match, 6 and 5.

The final between Jeff and Steve should be a good contest between two in-form golfers, both yet to win a matchplay title.

Upcoming events

Tuesday, August 19 – Committee Meeting.

Friday, August 22 – Lorna Henderson Canadian Trophy. Duty: Pauline Humbert, Jan Clymo.

Saturday, August 23 – Stableford – Privilege Cup – Wedgie Trophy. Duty: Jeff Carnie, Mark Lyons.

Thursday, September 11 – Joy Bickford Rose Bowl Teams Event – enquiries and entries to Pauline Humbert (0409 038 554).