THE competition was almost as hot as the weather at the 30th Murray Downs Reciprocal Golf Tournament.
In more than 50 teams from across the state, 220 players made up the field.
A group of four women won the local members’ competition, Bev West, Judy McMahon, Kerry Gammon and Jenny Lynas scoring 209 points.
They just pipped a team made up of Murray Downs golf captain James McLean, Matt Lenton, Lleyton McLean and Noah Starrs on 208.
James McLean said the winning team showed that Murray Downs’ ladies “can give anyone a run for their money”.
“It’s a great thing for our club,” he said.
“There were only three ladies’ teams in the competition, so they had the odds up against them based on the numbers.
“It’s just awesome to see.”
The winning visiting team was made up of Clifton Springs members Wayne Hinchcliffe, Conrad Bassett, Blair Hodgkinson and Jay Sims, on 215 points.
Just three points behind and hailing from Bendigo, Rod Doak, Nick Haintz, Daniel Irwin and Geoff Viney were the runner-up visitors.
McLean said that while the win was the visitors’ first, that it was far from their first reciprocal tournament.
“It might be the first time they’ve got the win, but I think they’ve been up many times before,” he said.
“We have a lot of people coming over for our events, who consistently come back every year.
“Obviously for the club and the resort it’s a really good thing, but all of the other local businesses benefit from having a large event like this one.
“I’m sure people will be going away and be speaking to their friends and family about how great the course is, as well as how great our community is, too.
“Just seeing the clubhouse full is a really pleasing thing.
“It’s really great to walk in and see people everywhere and how busy it can get. It really adds to the whole atmosphere of the weekend.”
The event kicked off on Friday afternoon, with a 4BBB competition won by Heath Jaensch and Andrew Yanner.
The pair got the win over runners-up Andrew Heath and David Pritchard with 45 points.
With the mercury surging past 40 degrees on Sunday, McLean said only one team had to make the unfortunate decision to withdraw.
“It’s an event that is quite often played in the heat,” he said.
“It’s not uncommon weather, and people are usually pretty aware of what kind of weather Swan Hill has in store for them.
“The team in the pro shop had organised a second drinks cart that was constantly moving around the course, so that there was one on each side.
“At the start of everything we made sure that everyone understood how important hydration would be on a day like Sunday.
“It’s always a lot nicer playing underneath clear skies, when you compare it to having to play in the cold, wind and rain.”
