ON THE weekend of Saturday and Sunday, 13 and 14 September, the Gloucester Golf Club hosted the annual Col Johnson Four Ways Junior Match Play Tournament.
The tournament has been running each September since 1982 and this year is the first win for the local Lower North Coast (LNC) team for 14 years.
The event commemorates Col Johnson who put so much effort into junior golf in Newcastle, the Central Coast, Hunter River and our own Lower North Coast for so many years.
If that’s not significant enough for the Gloucester Golf Club, it was our own Mitch Andrews who not only finished on the winning team but was the only undefeated player from any team over the two days of play.
There are three separate six-person contests over the two days, two on Saturday afternoon and one on the Sunday morning allowing each team a chance to play each of the three other teams in nine-hole match play.
The LNC team started in the strongest fashion, taking out the Newcastle team 5-1 in the opening match.
Next, it was the Central Coast, and with the first three matches lost, the local team fought back in the last three to secure a 3-3 draw, leaving the LNC leading the tournament at the end of the first day’s play.
The second day, Sunday, the LNC played their final match against the Hunter River team, who, fielding a relatively young team, had a handicap advantage.
The local team hung on, with the final putt on the final hole in the final match determining the winner.
Team manager, David Ogilvie, says all the boys contributed well, although special mention goes to Travis Boyd, Mitch Andrews and Jack McLeod.
Travis was outstanding, with his etiquette, his performance and ‘his never say die’ attitude.
On Sunday, he fought from 4 down on the 6th to win the remaining 4 holes to secure a vital half point.
Gloucester’s own Mitch Andrews was a little powerhouse, with a terrific attitude to go with it.
Mitch is the only LNC player to win all his matches, winning 4-2, 3-2 and 2-1.
Jack McLeod is a joy to be around, regularly complimenting his opponents’ shots, even on the approach shot on the last hole with the match on the line.
He epitomises what this event is all about, one of encouragement, learning and shared experience.
By Peter WILDBLOOD
You can help your local paper.
Make a small once-off, or (if you can) a regular donation.
We are an independent family owned business and our newspapers are free to collect and our news stories are free online.
Help support us into the future.
