Donnelly, playing on his home course, provided the one point with a 2 and 1 win over Wellington’s Steve Thomson.
Jace Brown, of Patutahi, halved with Hawke’s Bay’s Pete Saunders on Saturday.
Anaru Reedy (Electrinet Park) lost both his matches on the 18th while Tolaga Bay member Bruce Yates came back from an 8 and 6 hiding on Saturday with a 1-down defeat on Sunday.
Auckland-based Tairāwhiti player David Solomann was cursing himself after three-putting the last to lose his Saturday match.
Tairāwhiti results, Saturday - Tairawhiti ½ Hawke’s Bay 3½: Peter Stewart lost 2 and 1 to Mark Tasker; Jase Brown halved with Pete Saunders; David Solomann lost 1-down to Richie Ratama; Waka Donnelly lost 3 and 2 to Mike Trass.
Tairāwhiti 0 Wellington 4: Pete Anderson lost 4 and 3 to Mark Bowden; Bruce Yates lost 8 and 6 to Aaron Wright; Eddie Brown Jr lost 2 and 1 to EJ Nicholson; Anaru Reedy lost 1-down to Matt Pegg.
Sunday - Tairāwhiti 0 Hawke’s Bay 4: Anderson lost 5 and 4 to Mike Harvey-Fitzgerald; Yates lost 1-down to Nick Radonich; E Brown Jr lost by default to Doug Holloway; Reedy lost 1-down to Jared McGillicuddy.
Tairāwhiti 1 Wellington 3: Stewart lost 7 and 6 to Brad Rowland; J. Brown lost 3 and 2 to John Potts; Solomann lost 5 and 4 to Jonno Cane; Donnelly def Steve Thomson 2 and 1.
Poverty Bay
You know the course is playing tough when the best golfer in the region can’t break 80 on it.
It was no surprise that William Brown was leading the Division 1 field after the opening round of the condensed Dodgshun Cup men’s strokeplay on Saturday.
But you have to go a long way back – December 27, 2021 – to find the last time he shot 80 or over at Poverty Bay.
Brown’s 80 was still enough to give him a two-stroke lead in the series which has been reduced to three rounds after Round 1 was cancelled because of the weather - meaning players have to count all three of their scores.
Brown was two strokes ahead of Stefan Andreassen, with Glenn Morley third on 84.
John Van Helden and Richard Foon are joint leaders in Division 2 following matching rounds of 82. They even had the same scores for their nines – 41, 41.
Bill Simpson has Division 3 sewn up if he plays in all three rounds. He was the only entrant.
Round 2 will double up as the Liquorland men’s club championship qualifying round this Saturday and the final round is on Sunday.
SUNDAY - Men’s stableford, Division 1: C. Carmody 39, D. Bullivant 37, C. Fox 37, D. Wilson 32.
Division 2: L. Pollitt 35, P. Grogan 34, R. Owen 34.
Twos: C. Fox
SATURDAY - Dodgshun Cup men’s strokeplay, Round 1, senior division: W. Brown 80, S. Andreassen 82, G. Morley 84.
Division 2: J. Van Helden 82, R. Foon 82, D. Bullivant 85.
Division 3: B. Simpson 103.
Twos: P. Clayton, V. Richardson
Approach: G. Morley.
Approach: P. Grogan.
WEDNESDAY (July 31) - 9-holers’ red tee stableford: L. Fletcher 20.
18-hole stableford: M. Lane 40, J. Muir 38.
Twos: M. Allen, L. Holmberg.
Patutahi
Is Dwayne Russell the man to end Hukanui Brown’s club championship reign?
That question will be answered over the next several weeks after the champs got under way with the first qualifying round on Sunday.
Brown, going for a sixth consecutive senior men’s crown, did not play in the opening qualifier which ended with Russell at the top of the standings.
An eagle-3 on the first hole helped Russell to a 1-over 71. Round 2 is this Sunday. Players count their best single round. Brown, fresh from his King of the Coast runner-up performance, will be out to make a statement.
Jon Priestley is setting the pace in the intermediate division with his 78 on Sunday, Korban Harrison-Allen’s 87 was the best of the juniors and Denise Johnston led the women with 94.
SUNDAY - Club championship qualifying, round 1, men’s net, senior division: J. Priestley 69, Q. Peneha 69, R. Mottart 70, S. Phillips 71, T. Brodie 72 on c/b.
Junior men: K. Harris-Allen 70, G. Holland 70, C. Kaa 71, P. Summersby 74, W. Stevens 75.
Women’s net: L. Kriel 79.
Eagle on 10: D. Russell.
FRIDAY - Meat pack 9-hole stableford, senior division: T. Brodie 18, P. Summersby 18, D. Meadows 17, T. Sharp 17, M. Owen 17.
Junior division: S. Fookes 20, P. Tinnelly 18, C Kaa 18, D. Humphries 17, I Tietjen 17 on c/b.
Electrinet Park
The weather gods continue to mock the waterlogged Park course.
Just as it looked like Park would be kicking back into club action, the rain came again last week and an all-too-familiar “course closed” sign went out.
It meant the Te Kanawa Cup and Fletcher Cup men’s pairs competition were postponed once again, but with fine weather so far this week, fingers and toes are crossed it will happen this weekend.
The champs will be played under a shroud of sadness following the death of long-time Park members Blanche Walker and Truman Collier.
While Collier had not been playing golf for some time, she is still well remembered at the club while Walker was a hugely popular member who was farewelled at Te Poho-o-Rawiri Marae at the weekend.
“You will forever be missed,” a clubmate posted on Facebook while another wrote: “Fly high you Dancing Queen.”
Their passings follow the recent death of another big name of Park golfing past - talented golfer and hockey player Dee Tureia.
Waikohu
The club championships tee off this Sunday and Ike Ruru and Cheryl Te Rito look set to make a challenge for titles.
Ruru won the men’s stableford on Sunday with 33 points while Te Rito’s 34 was the best of the women.
SUNDAY - Men’s stableford: I. Ruru 33, T. Reeves 30, R. Reeves 30.
Women’s stableford: C. Te Rito 34, Andrea Reeves 32; A. Tamanui-Nunn 31.
Twos: I. Ruru.
Endeavour championship result: Tom Smith def Claude Ruru.
COMING UP: SUNDAY, club champs, first round.
