Three members of the North Warrnambool Eagles are hoping to erase the painful memories of a grand final defeat with victory at this week’s Scramble Championship Final at Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club.
The Warrnambool Golf Club team of Luke and Matthew Wines, Tom Batten, Ross Corbett and PGA Professional Ben Ford had a day out in Round 1 on Tuesday to lead by 1.1 shots.
Eynesbury-based Professional Ford picked up where he left off at the Regional Qualifying while Luke Wines proved deadly in his role as lead man on the greens, pouring in almost everything he looked at from inside 10 feet.
The Warrnambool team had six nett eagles in their round of 20.3-under par, putting them a little more than a stroke ahead of Kooindah Waters Golf Club (19.2-under) with Willunga Golf Club (18.2-under) a further shot back in third.
Just half a shot separates Ulverstone Golf Club (17.5-under), Moranbah Golf Club (17.1-under) and Bunbury Golf Club (17) but it is Warrnambool who leads the way.
Adamant they are here purely for the experience of playing in a Scramble Championship Final on the Gold Coast, there is motivation to win sitting just beneath the surface.
“We lost the grand final by a point. We don’t want to talk about that,” said Batten of their heartbreaking defeat to arch rivals South Warrnambool in September.
“It’s golf season at the moment.
“We’re enjoying the experience, to be honest, but I think everyone would be joking if they didn’t say they wanted to come up here and win.”
There is an AFL connection in the Kooindah Waters team also, Wyong Lakes teammates Jordan Deeble, Lee Moore, Dean Smith and Mitch McDonald proving to be a formidable combination on the golf course, too.
They recruited Toukley Golf Club Professional Mitchell Brown prior to their Regional Qualifier win at Pacific Dunes and now find themselves in the hunt for a national title.
Crediting Lee ‘Pixie’ Moore for some long bombs in their six eagles and seven birdies on day one, Mitch McDonald also expects the competitive juices to amp up over the final two rounds.
“We saw it as having won already, just getting up here and being so looked after, playing and staying here,” he said.
“It just already feels like a win so we didn’t feel that much pressure.
“A lot of us have played sport most of our lives so we’re going to get on the tee and want to win anyway.”
The Willunga team led by PGA Professional Cameron Bickley had four eagles and 11 birdies to sit in third place while Ulverstone played the front nine in 11-under on their way to a 17.5-under par total.
Moranbah Golf Club’s Kyle Cherry had the honour of hitting the opening tee shot of the tournament on Tuesday only to have nerves take hold and miss the ball entirely.
Despite the ignominy of that moment, Cherry more than made it for up when it mattered, hitting the approach shot and draining the putt for a nett eagle on Moranbah’s final hole as they climbed into fifth position.