PORT Fairy and Timboon golfers feature heavily in the Corangamite District Golf Association (CDGA)preliminary squad for Melbourne Country Week.
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The two clubs, which faced off in the 2014 CDGA division one pennant grand final, supply eight of the 13 members of the squad.
Alistair Gillin, Matt Hanson, Rodney Gillin and Luke Smith hail from Timboon and helped the club claim its maiden top-grade pennant title in May.
Chris Dunn, Shane Gurnett, Troy Richardson and Nelson Williams are the Port Fairy representatives.
The squad also includes: Tim Farquharson (Birregurra); Ashley Quick, Phil Beasley, (Terang); Jarrod Schill (Cobden) and Nathan Robertson (Warrnambool).
Melbourne Country Week runs from October 1 to 3, with the matchplay contests at Victoria, Keysborough and Long Island golf courses.
Corangamite will contest division one, having earned promotion after being the division two runner-up last year.
Defending champion Ballarat, Peninsula, Bendigo, West Gippsland and Murray Darling are also part of the top grade.
CDGA secretary John Snowden said selectors would cut the squad to 10 or 11 after practice matches against Geelong and Ballarat in coming weeks.
Squad members will also contest the 36-hole Victorian country championships on September 29 and 30 at Riversdale and Settlers Run.
“We should hold our own. The standard of competition in division one is a fairly big jump up (from division two),” Snowden said.
The 2014 Melbourne Country Week tournament will be the last Corangamite contests before a Golf Victoria restructure comes into place next year.
The Corangamite and South West associations will merge under the restructure, with the new entity to be called Western District Golf Association.
Meanwhile, young ball strikers from across the region will converge on Warrnambool Golf Course for the 2014 Sungold Junior Open next week.
The 36-hole tournament on Monday and Tuesday will incorporate the Corangamite District Junior Championships.
afawkes@fairfaxmedia.com.au