Andre Stolz’s charge to a third straight SParms PGA Legends Tour Order of Merit shows no signs of abating following a one-stroke victory at the Bargara Legends Pro-Am on Wednesday.
Leading by two thanks to a bogey-free 5-under 66 on day one at Bargara Golf Course, Andre fought through a challenging front nine as the likes of Nigel Lane and Brad Burns narrowed the gap.
He turned in 2-over but found a spark with a birdie on 10, adding two more on the back nine for a 1-under 70 and 6-under total.
“I felt like I played OK the front but just struggled a little bit,” Andre said.
“The birdie on 10 was timely. I was just trying to hang in there so to birdie 10 straight up for the back nine, that put me in a good frame of mind.”
Brad Burns’ 4-under 67 in Round 2 was the day’s best by three strokes, enough for the former Order of Merit winner to snare outright second.
Nigel Lane (70) was third at 3-under followed by Chris Hollingsworth (71) and Euan Walters (71) at 1-under.
On the back of victories at Yeppoon and Town of 1770, the wins are not only timely confidence-boosters for Andre, ahead of the Staysure Senior PGA Championship in Scotland next month but a nice addition to the bank account.
The SParms PGA Legends Tour continues to head south ahead of the Urangan Smash Repairs Fraser Coast Classic at Hervey Bay Golf and Country Club this weekend.
Hockey
Bundaberg had four players chosen in the Queensland teams for the 2023 Australian National Championships in Hobart from 28th September-4th October after finishing a notable third at the Hockey Queensland Under-13 Girls Division 1 State Championships in Buderim from 2nd-5th July with Courtney Kendall a match-winner with a hat-trick of goals in a 4-3 victory over Cairns I in the Bronze Medal match.
Bundaberg won three of their four Pool games, losing to Toowoomba I 2-0 first-up, before defeating Brisbane II 5-2 with doubles to Courtney and Silvana Powell, Brisbane III 5-0 with two goals to Silvana, and Gold Coast I 4-0 with Sophie leading the charge with a two-goal haul.
They then claimed a famous 4-3 victory over ultimate champions Brisbane I with Sophie sealing the deal with a fourth quarter double, but were then beaten by Cairns I 2-1, before bouncing back to turn the table on Cairns I a day later to clinch Bronze, coming back from a two-goal deficit in the second quarter with Courtney striking in the 20th, 28th and 35th minutes, and Silvana also goaling in the 32nd minute.
Courtney wound up equal-second on the Goal Scorers list for the tournament with seven, behind Toowoomba I’s Savannah Patterson, with Sophie and Silvana each finishing with six.
Courtney was selected in the Queensland Cinders side, along with team-mate Ameilia Law, while Sophie and Silvana were named in the Queensland Embers.
Goal-keeper Chardonnay Barritt was also acknowledged for her excellence, taking out the Rising Star Award at the final presentations by Hockey Queensland.
In Bundaberg Hockey fixtures, Raiders/Rovers claimed the Division 1 double against Waves/Cities last week, with a Jasmine Fagg double clinching a 2-1 Women’s victory, and club stalwart Dean Wightman also a hero with two as their Men got home 3-2.
Arrows/Athletics also did the double against All Blacks, with Bridget Stehbens scoring both goals in their Women’s 2-0 triumph, and father and son Paul and Harry Gardiner both scoring as their Men ran out 3-1 victors.
Tomorrow, Cities are up against All Blacks, with their Men at 3.20pm, and Women at 7.20pm, and Arrows sharpen up against Raiders/Rovers, with the Women at 4.40pm, and Men at 6pm.
Last week’s results:
U11s
Waves Cities won by forfeit from Raiders Rovers
All Blacks 2 (Brayden Sinnamon 1, Eamon D’Albret 1) defeated Arrows Athletics 1 (Daniella Hodge 1)
U13s
Waves Cities 3 (Sophie Aitkenhead 1, Cooper Pashley 1, Ruby Potter 1) defeated Raiders Rovers 2 (Molly Crow 2)
Arrows Athletics 5 (Hamish Cook 1, Darcy Reeves 1, Nate Pegg 1, Brock Green 2) defeated All Blacks 0
U16s
Waves Cities 4 (Gabrielle Aitkenhead 1, Sophie Aitkenhead 1, Indianah Fidock 2) defeated Raiders Rovers 0
Arrows Athletics 3 (Tully Dorgan 1, Bridget Stehbens 2) defeated All Blacks 0
Division 2 Women
Raiders Rovers 2 (Kassie Pyke 1, Silvana Powell 1) defeated Waves Cities 0
Arrows Athletics 1 (Natalie Ferguson 1) defeated All Blacks 0
Division 2 Men
All Blacks 1 (Bayley Fagg 1) defeated Waves Cities 0
Division 1 Women
Raiders Rovers 2 (Jasmine Fagg 2) defeated Waves Cities 1 (Cavannah Deller 1)
Arrows Athletics 2 (Bridget Stehbens 2) defeated All Blacks 0
Division 1 Men
Raiders Rovers 3 (Colby Zahn 1, Dean Wightman 2) defeated Waves Cities 2 (Adam Harradine 2)
Arrows Athletics 3 (Tully Dorgan 1, Harrison Gardiner 1, Paul Gardiner 1) defeated All Blacks 1 (Dale Veivers 1)
Rugby League
With two rounds to go in the Bundaberg Broadcasters A Grade Premiership, there is now just one point between the top three sides after last week’s results, Past Brothers, Wests Panthers, and Waves Tigers, with the battle for the minor title set to go right down to the wire.
Brothers retained poll position on 19 points despite suffering their second straight loss to Waves 24-16, with the Tigers moving to 18 points, along with Wests, who notched their seventh victory in a row, defeating a brave Easts Magpies 30-24 with mercurial fullback Chris Robinson racking up 14 points with one try and five conversions.
Tomorrow will feature a rare triple-header at Salter Oval, with Wests, Waves and Brothers all favoured to win against Wallaroos at 2.45pm, Hervey Bay Seagulls at 4.30pm, and Easts at 6.15pm respectively.
The Panthers pounced on Roos 36-10 when they last met at Salter Oval on 3 June, but they were beaten by them 18-10 in their first clash of the season in Maryborough on 22 April and while Wallaroos have not won in Bundaberg since May last year, long-serving Wests coach Corey Tanner rates this as “definitely a danger game”, and he has warned his players against complacency.
Another win is likely to set up a last-round battle for the minor premiership with Brothers, who will host them, with Salter Oval to be rested next Saturday, ahead of the NRL showdown between Canterbury Bulldogs and Redcliffe Dolphins on Sunday July 30.
The Panthers currently have a superior nett points’ differential to the Tigers of 232 to 146, but that could be eroded away with the sky the limit for Waves tomorrow against the fallen and battered and beaten reigning champions.
Meanwhile, Brothers claimed the outright lead in the Reserve Grade Premiership, downing Waves Tigers, who had been in a three-way tie for the lead with them, 20-18, on Saturday, while Easts, who had also been in that bracket, were beaten by Wests 38-14, with Ilaiasi Pongi starring for the Panthers with a hat-trick of tries.
Highlights in Bundaberg Junior fixtures on Sunday included lock Kaleb Mauloni racking up 40 points with six tries and eight conversions as Brothers White thrashed Hervey Bay 48-16 in Under-13.
In the Northern Districts Senior Men’s Premiership, centre Chris Wicks was at his vintage best, chalking up five tries as Isis Devils clinched the minor premiership with two rounds remaining in their comeback season with a 58-6 home demolition of Gin Gin Hawks at Childers Showgrounds on Saturday night.
Earlier, Avondale Tigers shored up second place ahead of South Kolan Sharks, edging them out 32-30 with six individual try scorers.
In the Women’s League Tag, two-times defending champions Gin Gin Hawkettes whitewashed Avondale 64-0 with sisters Jessica and Gabrielle Galea cutting loose with four and three tries respectively, and Ruby Tobin increasing her lead over Jessica in Top Points Scorer standings with 20 from two tries and six goals.
Second placed Agnes Water Marlins accounted for Isis 12-6 with a double to Molly Weldon.
This Sunday’s penultimate round will be at South Kolan, and in the Men’s, the Tigers will go on the prowl against Hawks at 1.15pm, before the Sharks go on the attack in their last fixture game of the season against the winless defending champions Miriam Vale Magpies.
In the Women’s League Tag, the winless Avondale may do it tough again when they suit up against Marlins at 11.15am, the Devils meet the might of the Hawkettes at 12.15pm.
Saturday’s NDRL results:
Women's league tag
Gin Gin 64 (R Tobin 2, G Galea 3, J Galea 4, J Bust, S Rohdmann, M Molisi tries; R Tobin, 6, J Bust 2 goals) d Avondale 0
Agnes Water 12 (M Weldon 2 tries; S Moran 2 goals) d Isis 6 (M Menchin try; C Jackson goal).
Men
Avondale 32 (M Chapman-Dyne, A Chapman, S Taqabale, J Brown, I Tamani, P Sevuloni tries; J Brown, N Leather 3 goals) d South Sharks 30 (J Rokoua, D Broome, A Mason, S Rokovuki, C Chapman, T York tries; C Rohdmann 3 goals)
Isis 58 (C Wicks 5, L Silupe, J Murray-Bryant, R Felgate, B Kimber, J Thompson 2 tries; Z Dann 2, B Hass 5 goals) d Gin Gin 6 (D Fischer try; R Sutton goal).
Basketball
The youthful Bundaberg Autobarn Bulls gave it their best shot in the Basketball Queensland State League 2 Men’s semi-finals against minor premiers Moreton Bay Suns Fire at South Pine Sports Complex on Saturday, but they were magnificent in a 97-85 defeat.
Raging Bulls Jesse Lomax and Luke Iacobucci led the scoring across the both teams with 24 and 22 points respectively, while Aiden Potter (13) and Bailey Jenkins (10) were each also in double-figures.
Jesse landed four free-throws, four two-pointers, and four three-pointers in another outstanding display.
Coach Andrew Bainbridge was extremely proud of his team in their first year in the competition, and he is looking forward to even bigger and better things in 2024.
Southern District Spartans outgunned Logan Thunder 104-90 in the other semi, and they will now meet Fire in the Grand Final tomorrow afternoon.
AFL
Corey Taylor kicked three goals as hosts Waves Eagles tightened their grip on second place in the AFL Wide Bay Senior Men’s Premiership with an 11th Round 10.11 (71) to 3.8 (26) victory over Brothers Bulldogs in their Local Derby at Frank Coulthard Oval on Saturday, reversing a 70-point drubbing by them when they previously met on 27th May.
Meanwhile, Reigning premiers Hervey Bay Bombers surged on unbeaten with a 15.8 (98) to 11.4 (70) over an improved Bay Power in their showdown.
The Eagles also marched on in their Takalvans Senior Women’s Premiership with a 4.8 (32) to 3.4 (22) dispatch of the ever-improving Bulldogs, while Power defused Bombers 2.3 (15) to 0.2 (2).
Tomorrow, it is mission improbable for Bulldogs’ Men when they host Bombers at 3.15pm, but their Women will be favoured against Bombers at 1.45pm, while the Eagles are away to Power with their Men out to maintain their perfect record against the Baysiders, and their Women set for a top-of-the-table tussle.
Football
Bryce Hibberd and Zacharie Nicholas hammered in three goals each as Across The Waves whitewashed cellar dwellers SC Corinthians in their McDonald’s Football Queensland Premier League Wide Bay Men’s catch-up game on Tuesday night to also retake the outright lead on the ladder.
That was after they had also shut out KSS Jets 5-0, led by schoolboy sensation and Golden Boot leader Preston Cox with three of the best, at Fraser Coast Sports Precinct on Saturday, when second placed United Park Eagles (UPE) also outclassed Doon Villa 4-0 at Martens Oval with another double to their inspirational captain Josh Adcock, and third seeds Bingera edged out their hosts Fraser Flames 5-4 with two goals to their also prolific scoring Irish craftsman Gary O’Donnell.
But Corinthians were also on the receiving end of an 8-2 beating by Sunbury Blues at Martens Oval.
Tomorrow, Waves host Doon Villa at 6pm, UPE are away to fourth placed Blues, and the winless Corinthians also travel to play Jets in a bottom of the table stoush.
There are no Bundaberg teams in action in the McDonald’s Women’s League this weekend.
Netball
Three times defending champions Waves Gold were again far too strong for Brothers Cyclones in their Warren Family Homes Division 1 Premiership clash at the Superpark on Saturday, powering home 80-28.
But second placed Brothers Hurricanes struck against Alloway Blue 56-30, and Natives Magpies swooped on Waves Blue 56-33.
Tomorrow at 5pm, Waves Blue go head-to-head with Hurricanes, and Cyclones will be keen to strike down Magpies, before at 6.30pm, Waves Gold are expected to glisten again against Alloway Blue.
Horse racing
Bundaberg champion King Klaus found a second wind to take out the 1050m Open Handicap in Rockhampton on Saturday, re-establishing a 50% winning record in taking his record to 14 wins, five seconds and one third from 28 starts, for $284,475 prizemoney.
Humping a mammoth 63kg, the Gary Clem-trained rising eight-year-old led from the start and looked beaten when headed halfway up the straight, but he fought back like a caged lion to prevail by 0.53 lengths.
More sport news: Matt a hard man to stop
