By Norm Lewis. 

Local golfers Tony Mann and Rob Williams once again bagged the NSW Veterans Men's Four Ball Sand Green State Championship, played at Narromine recently.

Mann and Williams have now won this event four times since 2019, which is a great achievement for our players.

Smaller numbers took part this year, with just 44 players from 15 clubs participating in the Championship tournament. Clubs participating this year hailed from Nowra, Walcha, Kew, Trangie, Nyngan, Cobar, Dubbo, Gilgandra, Tooraweenah, Grafton, Gulgong, Narromine, and even one player travelling all the way from Darwin!

Narromine has conducted this event annually since 2015, with the exception of the COVID years of 2020 and 2021.

After the Saturday first round, Williams and Mann led the field and followed up with a top round on Sunday, recording 90 Stableford points over the 36 holes; great scores for the Narromine champions that ensured victory once again.

Runners-up in the event were another Narromine pairing, Tony Harding and Steve Squires, with a two-round total of 83 points. Greg Barling, with his partner Ron White from Darwin, took third place with 75 points.

The Handicap section of the event went to the Dubbo pairing of Steve and Bruce Simpson on 95 points, followed by Greg Dunn (Dubbo) and Dudley Beetson (Nyngan) with 91 points on a count-back from Neil Dark and Don Brooks (Walcha).

The daily results for the Saturday 18-Hole Scratch went to Bain Smith and Scott Mayne (Cobar), with 37.

The 18-Hole Handicap went to Tim Montgomery and Scott MacDougall (Trangie), on 48 on a count back, from Peter Brian and Roy Bennett (Cobar) also on 48. On Sunday, the 18-Hole Scratch went to Peter Hutchinson (Narromine) and Gary Wilkin (Cobar), scoring 38.

The 18-Hole Handicap went to Peter Gardner and Phil Johnson (Nowra) on 46, on a count back from Colin Berry and Simon Cross (Walcha), also on 46.

Nearest-the-Pin prize on Saturday went to Steve Squires and Peter Brien, while on Sunday it went to Peter Brien and Greg Barling.

At the conclusion of the golf, Narromine Veterans Club president Peter Hutchinson welcomed all participants and presented the trophies.

He also thanked everyone for their support to make the event a success, including the Veterans Sub Committee comprising Ash Bullock,Chris Harding and Norm Lewis, and the Members of the Golf Club Committee who help with the organisation of the event and preparing the course, which was in excellent condition.

He also acknowledged the Ladies’ Committee for preparing the cards and scoring the results, as well as catering for the event, with credit also to the barbecue cooks, the bar staff, and club members who loaned their golf buggies to the visitors for the tournament.

The President said the Veterans Club appreciated the help given by all who helped make the Tournament a success.

With local club volunteers working tirelessly in the week leading up to the event to prepare the course for the tournament, the small attendance was disappointing. However, this appears to be a trend statewide. New South Wales Veteran Golfers Association (NSWVGA) president John Daley told the gathering that all tournaments were down in attendance, due to the cost-of-living increases existing at the moment.

Speaking on behalf of the NSWVGA, Mr Daley congratulated Narromine on the conduct of the event and confirmed that Narromine has been allocated this tournament again in 2025.