Masterton golf field fills fast

Masterton Golf Club
I like quizzes and with the most prestigious event on Masterton Golf Club's calendar coming up, I decided it would be a good opportunity to provide a quiz on the Trust House Wairarapa Open set down for Saturday and Sunday, May 7-8. So try out, and seeing I'm in a generous mood, the first person to contact me with the correct answers gets an Easter egg.
1. When was the first Wairarapa Open held?
2. Which golfer has won the Open the most times?
3. In 1991 the Open was staged at Martinborough. Why?
4. Two members of the NZ team to win the Eisenhower Trophy have won the Wairarapa Open. Who are they?
5. What major difference is there in the format of today's Open, compared with 50 years ago?
6. A golfer from Texas has competed several times in the Open. Who is he?
7. Who won the tournament last year?
Entries are coming in quite well, I gather, so it would pay to contact the office smartly. Remember the Senior (Open) Division is for handicaps up to 7.1, while the Intermediates are from 7.2 to 14.5. The full field is limited to 54 Seniors and 44 Intermediates.
On Monday, the rain came at just the wrong time for competitors in the Juken NZ "Easter Bunny" Tournament.
However, golfers are a hardy breed, with over half, including all the women, completing their rounds. The men's event was broken into two divisions, a 9-hole and an 18-hole affair.
Results:
Men (18 Holes): Sam Forrester 36 pts 1, Geoff Masters 34 2, Jack Forrester 33 3, Joel Macklin 33 4, Dennis Hogg 33 5, Hira Renata 32 6, Murray Wolland 32 7.
Men (9 Holes): Toby Tuoro 19 pts 1, Mike Falloon 16 2, Ewen MacDonald 16 3, George Deans 15 4.
Women: Sara Haskell (Ctn) 34 pts 1, Sereana Phillipps 32 2, Valda Anderson 30 3.
There were only three people scoring twos, but strangely Joel Macklin and Geoff Masters had two each, while "Hoggie" shot just the one. Phil Rutene won the only longest drive with surely the shortest drive to win such a prize, while nearest the pin awards went to Roly Brown and Valda Anderson. The Vets didn't play on Monday of course, but we do have results from late last week.
Women: Pamela Andrew 21 pts 1, Sue Blathwayt 20 2, Liz Bensaude 18 3.
Men's Group 1: Mick Gates 25 pts 1, Peter Cameron 23 2, Kevin Hooper 23 3.
Men's Group 2: Rex Fowler 24 pts 1, Michael Bell 21 2, Brian Henson 21 3.
Nearest the pin prizes went to Liz Bensaude and Kel Biggs.
Last week 17 9-holers had a great day out for their PGG Wrightson Stableford and shoot-out qualifier. Di Herbert, Shirley Morgan and Rosey Wellbrook all shot 17 points, while Di Herbert banged out the longest drive and Gael Cullery was nearest the pin.
Next Saturday has all four of the men's Wellington interclub teams in action, with Division 1 playing in the first of three rounds in the promotion-relegation series. Then Division 3 are at home to Waikanae, Division 7 play Boulcott Farm on that team's home patch, while Division 11 will be looking to do Mahunga some harm over on the Mahunga course. This Saturday at Lansdowne the club is running another 9-hole event starting at 2pm, while on Sunday, Competition Day, there is a stroke round, which is something of a mixed bag. Sunday's events also include another Marquis Shield round, this time against Martinborough at Featherston.
Off the fairway
Sam Forrester seems to be making it a one-horse race in the "Golfer of the Year" competition, but there's quite a way to go before he can claim the win.