The dominance of Mudgee golfer Andrew Best of the Lithgow Open continued when he shot a two under par 70 to win his fifth Open in a row and seven titles all up. Best is an outstanding golfer playing off an amazing handicap of plus 4 and said after his win:
“It is one of my favourite golfing days of the year. A group of us Mudgee golfers have been coming to Lithgow for many years and we love the layout of the course and the greens are always superb.
I am extremely proud of my record and I’m looking forward to extending my winning streak next year.”
Best’s round consisted of four birdies and two bogies which was a great effort considering the course was set up at its toughest with the greens extremely slick with the holes placed in tricky positions.
Runner up on a countback to Best was Lithgow’s Justin McCann who finished with a par round 72.
The Open attracted over 130 starters with visitors coming from far and wide and Lithgow club again turned on a highly professional event thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers and club staff that was led by club manager Natasha Drury. Westfund’s Graeme Osborne was on hand at the presentation to present the successful golfers with their prizes which were as follows.
The A grade handicap winner was Blackheath golfer Brett Nightingale with 65 nett with the runner up title going to Geoff Thompson on 69 nett.
The B grade scratch winner with 87 was young Ben Achurch who looks to have a good career in front of him. Runner up was Daniel Buckens who also carded a 87 off the stick.
Handicap winner was Steve Jennings with 68 nett continuing his succcess from the previous day in the Short Course Championship and over the past month or so. Runner up to Jennings was Cameron Hann with 71 nett.
The Veterans scratch title went to Christopher Holmes (Wallacia) with a score of 72.
The handicap Vets title went to Brian Judge on 71 nett.
The Junior scratch title with a score of 93 (for golfers 18 and under) went to Riley Cameron who is another young local with a bright career ahead of him. The Junior handicap winner was James Bennett with 82 nett.
The Ladies Scratch winner went to Jo Hayne with a score of 92 and runner up was Christine Peachman on 93.
The Ladies Handicap winner was Deanna Goodsell with 70 nett and runner up was Jennifer Wild on 75 nett.
Nearest to the pins were: 2nd Dean Stafford (69cms); 4th Les Goldspink (10cms); 9th Brett Nightingale (155cms); 13th Dave Marshall (214cms) and 18th Blake Goldspink (150cms).
Longest drives were also held and they went to Rod Bright in A grade and Dave Monk in B grade.
The Open conclude two huge days for the club with the short course Championship being held the previous day and again the Lithgow course received praise for its difficulty and excellent condition from all who played in these two big events.
Report: Jeff Geddes
Lithgow Open champion Andrew Best (left) and Westfund‘s Graeme Osborne