AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP 2008 - James Rogerson wins Men’s title and Christine Harley the Women’s

The 2008 Australian Matchplay Championships were played in perfect autumn conditions at the Waverley Pitch and Putt Course in Melbourne on Saturday and Sunday, 19 and 20 April.

A disappointingly small field of 23 took part, although the field included the top ranked Australian players in 2007 – James Rogerson and Stewart Genge. Sadly, no internationals took part. NSW, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria were all represented.

Almost equal numbers of men and women took part in their respective divisions. All players competed in three preliminary rounds designed to select the quarter finalists. These produced some predictably close results. As these were not played out beyond the 18th hole, a count back process was used based on the scores from the preliminary rounds.

The playing order of the quarter finalists was randomly drawn from the qualified field. Being unseeded for this purpose, top players could be drawn to play against each other before the final, and this in fact happened in both the men’s and women’s divisions. James Rogerson and Stewart Genge were drawn to play against each other in the Quarter Finals, as were Gloria Hourigan and Marie Hutchison.

James, however, maintained the form that took him to 8 of 9 Australian and State titles in 2007, and won a hard fought battle with Brendon Underwood to become the Men’s Australian Matchplay Champion for 2008 – a title won last year for the first time by James Carroll of Ireland as part of the Australian Triple Crown.

In the Women’s division, achieving a strong victory in the final over Gloria Hourigan, was a newcomer to the Australian Pitch and Putt scene – Christine Harley. From Wagga Wagga in NSW, scene of the 2008 Australian Open Championships next November, Christine clearly demonstrated her potential to become a major force in Australian ladies’ pitch and putt.

The complete results were:

Men: 1. James ROGERSON; 2. Brendon UNDERWOOD; 3. Leon BROWN

Women: 1. Christine HARLEY 2. Gloria HOURIGAN; Leila BRAITHWAITE

by Tim Terrell
For complete results click here.