Mixed bag for Mahunga men

Both the Mahunga men's teams in the Wellington interclub competition were in action at Mahunga on Saturday, and they met with mixed results.
The division 7 team were at the top of the table going into the match against Shandon, who were in second place five points behind. The result of the match was a solid 10 points to five win for Mahunga, a result that leaves them at the top of the table, but with third-placed Masterton posting a good result in their match, they have moved to second place eight points behind Mahunga.
The division 11 team had a 5 point margin over the Masterton team going into this round at the top of the table. But the home course advantage was not used, with the visitors taking the match by 10 points to 5, a result that still has Mahunga at the top of the table, but by just a point from the Masterton team. With the third-placed team 21 points adrift of these two team and just three rounds to go, it would appear likely the competition winner in this grade will be either Mahunga or Masterton.
Saturday's club competition was a par round. In the first group, Justin Karaitiana edged out Kevin May for the top spot, with both players finishing on 3-up. Neville Biel took third placing on a score of square.
The second group saw better scoring, with Kevin Gibbs taking the honours with an 8-up score, which was one better than Joe Graham in the runners-up spot; with a gap back to Roger Stenton on 2-up.
The Makes Cents nearest to the pin and the McAuley's Transport on the sixth both went to Anita Karaitiana, while Ngaire Graham took the Pak'n Save Masterton on the eighth hole, Ross Ireland the Alister Bruce Affordable Sheds on the 10th hole, and Justin Karaitiana the Dinah and Deb Keats Professionals Real Estate on the 17th hole. Justin Karaitiana also scored the only hole in two for the day.
Sunday saw the men's Marquis Shield team playing the final round of this year's competition at Featherston, where their opponents were from the Eketahuna Golf Club. Going into the round, it was only one of these teams that could take out the Marquis Shield. The Mahunga Juniors lead the way by taking a 3 to a , scoreline, and when the intermediate division matches were shared at 2 apiece, Mahunga had a distinct advantage. That was further helped by the senior division taking a 2 to 1 result, giving Mahunga the singles battle by 8 points to 4. The Fourball matches were closely contested, but Mahunga took both senior and junior Fourball matches, while Eketahuna took one of the intermediate Fourball and halved the other. That meant for Mahunga it was the first time in 60-odd years of competition they have successfully defended the Marquis Shield.
In the divisional trophies, Mahunga ended up a clear winner of the Sutherland Trophy for the junior division, and they were just one point behind Eketahuna in the Intermediate Cup in second place, and they were also in second place in the Workman Cup for the senior division, three points behind the Masterton team.
Also on Sunday, the final round of the women's Tilson Salver was played at Mahunga. The home team got the better of the Castlepoint team, but they were too far back at the start of the round to feature in the reckoning for the trophy. The Tilson Salver ended up with two teams on 18 points - Masterton and Featherston. As I understand it, these two teams will do battle at a later date on a neutral course to determine who will hold the trophy for the year. The Riverside Plate was also decided on Sunday. This trophy goes to the player who scores the most points during the competition, and it was shared by Jeanette McNae from Masterton and Ann Hart from Castlepoint.
On Tuesday, the veterans group played in a medal competition. In the women's first group, both Janet Shaw and Janet Campbell finished with 62 nett, with Nooroa Rota taking third place on 63. In the second group, there was also a tie at the top, with both Daphne Jordan and Cilva Richmond finishing with 62 nett, with Judith O'Connor taking third place in the group.
The men's first group saw a three-way tie at the top, with Peter Campbell, Doug Simpson and Fred Brittain all finishing with scores of 58 nett. The second group saw Roger Stenton at the top with the day's best score of 55 nett, with Ian Gemmill the runner-up on 59, with Phil Wellesley taking the third place on 61.
The women's nearest to the pins went to Nooroa Rota on the third hole and Betty Loader on the sixth hole, while the men's went to Blair Harvey on the sixth and seventh holes. There were no holes in two.
This coming Saturday has the women playing the first round of their Ross Burling Trophy, as well as a LGU round. The club competition will be a medal round. Sunday is the Haddon Donald Trophy.