Ernie, The Lord Howe Island Signal
For the first time, the Golf Open was held as a stableford event and took place in the first week of May. The course was looking perfect due to many volunteer hours and some great work by “Hairy” – ‘on loan’ from the LHI Bowling Club.
A field of approximately 50 players took part, both visitors and locals. It was great to see many new faces in the line-up as well as many familiar faces turning up for another year of punishment. Unfortunately, accommodation on island was fully booked months beforehand, otherwise we would have been looking at a field of at least 80.
The Open ended up as a three-day event, rather than four, due to heavy rain on the 3rd day of competition and play having to be abandoned. The course dried out in time for a full round on Friday and a great finish was shaping up with a handful of locals all within reach of a win. In the end Anthony Riddle (106 points) held on to win the 2021 Open from Julie Bretnall (103 points) followed by David Grimes (102 points).
In a day to remember, Anthony was also was presented with life membership of the Club due to his tireless work steering it through some difficult financial times as president, his volunteer hours as a greenkeeper, his ongoing work in the junior golf program and his dedication to completing Club renovations during Covid 19 times.
The stableford format seemed to get very positive feedback and first-time visitors were very keen to find out next year dates. We received some very generous donations from visitors and it was great to see everyone celebrating an incredible week at the Friday night presentation dinner.
Thank you to everyone that was involved in the 2021 open whether as sponsor, player, patron, employee or volunteer of the club. We look forward to your ongoing support over the winter months and we will keep you updated on our Facebook page for future events.
This article appeared in The Lord Howe Island Signal, 31 May 2021.
