SOMETIMES you know it’s your day.
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Phil Beasley iced his fifth Terang Golf Club championship with one of the lowest rounds of the tournament on Sunday.
The Terang plumber signed for a round of 74 that included two birdies, four bogeys and 12 pars. What the scorecard didn’t show was how he made birdie on the par-five 14th.
His approach shot to the green was going to fly through but in a good break, it struck a ball already on the putting surface and left his just two metres from the hole. He then sunk the putt.
“I had a bit of luck,” he said.“I hit a flag stick (and it dropped close by) and I hit another golf ball on the green and it stopped.”
Any golfer will attest, you need luck.
Not that he needed much. After leading by five shots at the halfway mark, Beasley extended his advantage in Saturday’s third round by a shot after shooting 79. He entered Sunday’s final round six shots ahead of first-round leader Marcus Rees but that was quickly whittled down.
Beasley made bogeys on the first, third and fourth holes as Rees put a double-bogey at the opening hole behind him with a birdie and two pars to be within four after four holes. But Beasley steadied, playing the last 14 holes one under, claiming the title by 10 from Rees.
“When you are sleeping on a six-shot lead it’s a bit of relief when you win. You don’t want to bugger it up or make it harder than it should be,” the 37-year-old said.
“If you shoot a solid round in the 70s you should be all right. It was good to win and I was a bit more relieved to get there. It’s certainly a good feeling. If you go into the last round and you think you should win it’s more relief when you do and a bit of satisfaction.”
Beasley, who plays off a handicap of four, has now won the A grade championship four times in the past five years. He finished second last year.
His next major club tournament is on March 22, a two-man ambrose event where former Australian Masters winner Bradley Hughes joins his good mate, former Terang premiership footballer Paul Royal, as part of a major fund-raiser for the club.
Beasley said the club was holding a sportsman’s-type night on March 21 with Hughes, former top jockey Neville Wilson and football great John Rantall.
“We hope to get a broad spectrum of people coming and hope a good part of the crowd on that Saturday night are non-golfing people, townspeople who are interested in racing or football. We are hoping this concept will work better.”
Then the next day, players fight for a $600 first prize pool in the two-person ambrose event.
Beasley will use the event as a warm-up before the club’s first round of pennant. He, Rees, third-placegetter Lachie Meade, who shot a final round 75 off a handicap of eight and fourth-placed Ash Quick, will be part of the team.
In other grades, James Clarke won the B grade title by nine shots while in C grade, Bevan Heard emerged a two-shot winner over his son Matthew.