General News
8 December, 2021
Couch claims fifth Cobden golf championship
ASH Couch completed a wire-to-wire victory as he claimed his fifth Cobden Golf Club championship on Saturday.
ASH Couch completed a wire-to-wire victory as he claimed his fifth Cobden Golf Club championship on Saturday.
Couch posted a final round 76 to add to his 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 titles, finishing seven shots clear of runner-up Daniel Beard, with third place-getter Tom Rix a further shot back.
Couch said consistency throughout the four rounds set-up his win.
“I haven’t won it for a few years so it was pretty good,” he said.
“I was pretty consistent, I only had one double bogey for the four rounds and that was on the second last hole.
“I probably avoided a fair bit of trouble (throughout the champs) which was nice and I didn’t have any big blowout holes.
“To only have one double bogey was pretty satisfying.”
The five time champion opened the event with back-to-back 76s, before a third round 73 ultimately paved the way to victory.
His final round 76 was mistake-free, with Couch admitting his score in the round prior offered him some handy breathing space entering the final day.
“I had a good third round which allowed me to distance myself a little bit and it probably forced everyone else to do things they normally wouldn’t do to try and catch up,” he said.
“Then on Saturday I parred the first 12 holes, so I didn’t have too many mistakes either.
In B grade, David Bath’s final round 84 lifted him to a two shot win over Marty Darcy.
The pair entered the final round tied for first but Bath got the upperhand on the final day, with the duo finishing seven shots clear of Carl Horan.
Craig Sargeant comfortably won the C grade section by 23 shots ahead of Bernie Bourke and Jeff Mason, while Simon Mahony won D grade by 19 shots ahead of Kevin Duffin and Greg Byrne.
Daily results:
A grade: winner Jake Reed nett 70, runner-up Tom Rix nett 72; B grade: winner Andrew Giles on countback from Col Elsum nett 69; C grade: John Rix on countback from Jeff Mason nett 71; D grade; winner Cooper Beard nett 70, runner-up Brian Smith nett 71.
Balls down the line went to Simon Mahony, David Bath, Ash Couch, Andrew Holster, Mark Loving, Craig Sargeant and John Creece.
Nearest the pins were recorded by Daniel Beard (fourth hole), Geoff Davis (seventh hole), Tom Rix (10th hole), Brayden Crow (second shot to the second) and Jake Reed (second shot to the 14th).
Andrew Giles won the privilege pot, with this weekend’s event a men’s and women’s stableford.
Meanwhile, the ladies golf champs wrapped up last Wednesday.
SherineHealey (268) took out the A grade championship, while Carmel Darcy (295) won B grade and Judy Myers (331) claimed C grade.
Janine Stevens took out the Grayland/Green Trophy for the best nett score of 219, while Thelma Green had the best putting record of 100 putts for the championship.
Daily results:
Winner: Janine Stevens nett 65 on countback from Carmel Darcy.
Balls down the line: Elaine Telford, Pat Tickner, Sherine Healey, Marie Smith.
Nearest the pins: Thelma Green, Carmel Darcy and Laurel Davis (fourth hole), Elaine Telford, Janine Stevens and Marie Smith (seventh hole).
Medal of medallists: Janine Stevens.
