Jamie Green triplex cuts the 16th green
Jimmy Maher rolls the 13th green Queanbeyan’s 5th green
Helping out with preparations were a small group of member volunteers who assisted in machine raking bunkers and blowing greens and fairways. Fairways and tees were cut in the afternoons, while the greens were triplex cut ahead of each round. “I was really excited about what we achieved for the tournament,” says 65-yearold Kelly, who in a past life was a member of the Australia Air Force. “It was a lot of hard yakka for Jimmy and Jamie as well as the volunteers, but I was really pleased with how the course presented and the players were very happy. It was great to see how the whole club got behind the event which was the real highlight. A tournament like this is a big deal for the club and everyone played their part to make sure it was a success.” Canberra is well known for its climatic extremes and the weather leading into the tournament did Kelly few favours. For the
month of January the Canberra region clocked 25 days above 30 degrees, including 14 above 35 and five above 40. Ironically on the Wednesday before the tournament, the course copped its first decent rain in over a month when 12mm fell, causing the cancellation of the Pro-am. The course certainly proved a worthy test for the 142-strong field, with the tight tree-lined fairways and small tricky greens, considered some of the best in the district, causing more than a few headaches for most. The cut was made at +4 and just 30 players finished par or better come Sunday. Despite Iceland’s Valdis Jonsdottir dominating the opening two rounds of the tournament – including a career best opening round of 8-under – it was ever-consistent Englishwoman Meghan MacLaren who went on to successfully defend the title she won last year at Coffs Harbour.
In the months leading-up to the tournament there was a flurry of activity both on the golf course and in the clubhouse, with grant money from the NSW Government put to good use. When it was announced that the club was to host the tournament, it came with the news that the club would also receive funding to upgrade its facilities. While the majority of that was spent on improvements to the clubhouse, course works included the construction of a new putting green/chipper, the consolidation and refurbishment of several bunkers using EcoBunker and the addition of cart paths. ATM congratulates Bryan and his crew on a great effort hosting the tournament. The NSW Women’s Open continues its regional tour in 2020 with Dubbo Golf Club set to host, before it heads to the coast with Forster Tuncurry Golf Club’s Tuncurry course hosting in 2021. MAY-JUNE 2019
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