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Golfers going great, 20 November 2008
The Academy's golf program winds up in a few weeks but the squad players are showing the benefits with some splendid results in recent competitions.
Following her second place in the girls' U16 Victorian Championships, Reanna Matthews has been selected into the Victorian Junior State Squad. Reanna joins a squad of 12, from which 6 will be selected to represent Victoria in next year's Junior Team. Selection will depend on tournament performances, which includes some specified events. During summer Reanna will also train with the State Squad.
Last weekend Reanna played the Long Island Country Club's Annual Tournament. She made a great start with an eagle on the second, holing the ball from 135 metres out. Reanna was disappointed with her later game but, nevertheless, she still played well enough to win the open ladies scratch trophy.
Last weekend Harrison Savage and his partner won the Sale Golf Club's Mixed Foursomes Championship by 13 strokes. The Championship is a Sale Club honour board event, and the winning margin was one of the largest ever at Sale.
Harrison also played at the recent Aaron Baddeley Australian Junior Australian Tournament, where Geoffrey Drakeford won the U16 section (see previous story). Harrison, also U16, finished eighth, which is outstanding against some of Australia's best.
James Blair came third outright in the Phillip Island Club Championships which was four rounds held over the last two weekends. James had a close battle with one of the former club champions and was only narrowly behind him at the end. James comfortably won the junior section.
One of the most prolific competitors in any sport, Mark Ferguson has completed 36 golf tournaments in the last 6 months. During October Mark won open tournaments at Trafalgar and Heyfield as well as a junior event at Mirboo North.
November was a quieter month for Mark, with a stroke medal win at Trafalgar but also a whole weekend off to watch his brother in another tournament. During the year Mark has pulled his handicap down from 14 to 8, and thanks to this improvement he is competitive whenever he lines up in an open Gippsland event.
After the disappointment of a knee injury Anthony Mills has returned to competition and is hoping to quickly regain his form. The injury prevented Anthony from competing but he was able to maintained his short game practice. Last weekend Anthony tested his knee in a club tournament at Morwell and finished second in the junior section. Now confident of being fully recovered, Anthony's next major event will be the Stuart Appleby schools tournament this weekend.
Over the current training squad season most players have made significant improvements in their game and are playing consistently better in tournaments. With a string of important school and junior events coming up over summer we can expect to hear more good news from all the Academy golf squad players.
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Geoffrey wins world title trip, 10 November 2008
It was third time lucky for Geoffrey Drakeford, one of the Academy's most promising young golfers.
At last week's Aaron Baddeley Junior Australian Tournament, he won the under-17 section and finished third outright against uner-19 players. As a top-four finisher, Drakeford has won automatic selection to the Aaron Baddeley International Junior Championship which will be held later this month in China.
Baddeley himself was a top junior who was a nationally ranked amateur while still a teenager. He created the Junior International Tournament, with qualifying events in many countries, as a way of giving junior players the major tournament experience which he missed. The Tournament now has the status of amateur junior world championship.
This year is the third time Geoffrey Drakeford has played at the Australian Aaron Baddeley Tournament. Each time he has won his age group but each year Drakeford has also had older players ahead of him. In 2008, as an overall top-four finisher for the first time, Drakeford has now secured a spot in the Australian squad.
To add to the aura of the event, the Australian team manager will be Ron Baddeley, Aaron's father, and he will initially lead the squad during their warm up event, next week's Chinese Amateur Championship.
The following week the focus will shift to the Aaron Baddeley International itself. Teams from 15 countries are expected, along with individual invitational players, making a total field of 90. There is also a junior women's tournament.
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Nail-biting golf final for Reanna, 29 September 2008
Reanna Matthews finished second in a thrilling matchplay final of the girls U16 Victorian Golf Championships last Friday.
After two consistent opening rounds of strokeplay at Commonwealth and Woodlands early last week, Reanna qualified third out of four for the matchplay finals.
In the semi-final rounds at Kingswood last Thursday Reanna was successful and secured a place in the final, the following day, to be held at Metropolitan.
For the final Reanna (handicap 6) faced Jacinta Brideson, a graded pennant player (handicap 3) with much more experience. However, Reanna played the match to a nail-biting 18th hole conclusion before her rival took a one stroke lead and clinched the title.
Reanna has been in excellent form after having recently won a Gippsland open women's' title. Her commitment to training and technical improvement last season had resulted in Reanna being Awarded the David Drane Encouragement Award by the Academy. Last year she also brought her handicap down from 14 to 7. Reanna's dedication is now paying off and her game has further improved during this season.
We look forward to more news of this promising young golfer.
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Academy golfers prominent in Boys' titles, Geoff Ogilvy Trophy, 26 September 2008
Academy golfers made a great start in the opening rounds of the Boys' Championship of Victoria, the Geoff Ogilvy Trophy.
After rounds at Rossdale and Churchill Park, Geoffrey Drakeford's 77 and 74 put him in the lead of the U18s and second overall. In the matchplay finals, Geoffrey won at Kingston Heath but was narrowly defeated in the semi-final round at the Kingswood course.
Harrison Savage was lying 13th after his first round score of 78 and tantalisingly close to the leaders. While he may not have been happy with his second round 83, a number of boys ahead of him succumbed to the pressure and Harrison improved his place to 11th. Unfortunately Harrison was still four strokes away from the matchplay cutoff.
Nathan Doyle and James Blair each played extraordinarily well and finished just one and two strokes respectively behind Harrison. Over the season both players have made great improvements in their game and they showed great control under the Championship pressure.
All four finished in the top 16 in the U18s strokeplay, a remarkable achievement, and the best ever result for the squad.
In the U16s Mark Ferguson was further afield, but achieved an excellent result in his own right. Despite his tournament inexperience and the big event pressure, Mark played, once again, consistent rounds of 92 and 90 which emphasise his potential for continuing improvement.
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Reanna wins Gippsland golf open championship, 22 September 2008
Last Friday Reanna Matthews won the Ladies All Gippsland Singles 27 holes stroke Championship at Traralgon.
Reanna, just 15 years of age, built up a huge lead over the open field in the first 18 holes. At that point she had scored a 6 over par 77. Reanna said that she lost some of her momentum over the final 9 holes, scoring 42, but she remained in control and finished 9 strokes ahead of the second place-getter.
Reanna also won the nearest-to-the-pin prize for a drive which finished tantalisingly close to a hole-in-one.
“I'm so excited and overwhelmed by winning the event,” Reanna said afterwards. “And I was happy to represent the Gippsland Sports Academy in this event and said so in my long speech.”
This week Reanna is playing in the Victorian Girls' Championships Melbourne. We hope she can play with the same great form.
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Two golfers in Victorian teams, 2 September 2008
Geoffrey Drakeford has just returned from Queensland after playing in the Victorian State Schools Team. Victoria was successful in winning the Foursomes Championship with Geoffrey making an effective contribution toward their success. He also won four out of five of his individual matches in the competition.
Meanwhile Harrison Savage has been selected to play in a Junior VGA State team in the Western Districts Championships from September 12 - 14th. The Championships will be played on the Terang and Barwon Heads courses.
Harrison has recently played in the East Gippsland Championships at Lakes Entrance and the All Gippsland Championships at Trafalgar. He finished second and third respectively in the junior events, but Harrison also played some notable rounds which were competitive with the best senior golfers.
To our list of those honoured by team selection we should also add Reanna Matthews. Reanna is playing in the Senior Country Week Tournament this week. Her selection. at age 15, into a senior event, attests to Reanna's talent and future potential.
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Great performances at inter-academy golf tournament, 23 June 2008
Our golf squad contested the Alex Calvert Memorial Trophy against three other regional sports academies on Sunday, June 15. Those contending were WestVic (Ballarat), South West, Bendigo and Gippsland, with a total of 34 players involved.
The competition used the Stableford scoring system with extremely close results. Bendigo won the competition (32.6 average) ahead of South West (32.4), Gippsland (31.9) and WestVic (30.9).
Despite the loss, there were some excellent performances by the Gippsland squad members. Geoff Drakeford top scored with a 1 under par 71 - an outstanding result for his first time around the course - giving him an equal second best Stableford score.
Nathan Doyle, who has recently made great advances in his game, played at his best with a 3-over 75, the second best off-the-stick result. Ben Matthews was close behind with 79.
Reanna Matthews was equal second female in the Stableford score, although her 81 was well ahead of her rivals.
Mark Ferguson and Anthony Mills, both new to the Academy this year, played consistent games. It was their first tournament with the Academy and they can expect to gain from this experience.
The competition was the second day of the combined academies' SuperCamp. The Saturday was a day of training under the auspices of VIS and PGA coaches at the Sandhurst PGA Learning Centre. Players benefited from specialised coaching and sophisticated technical analysis not normally available to them. They finished their first day with an instructive evening which included Australia's top amateur, Matt Griffin, telling how he balanced his academic and golf pathways to achieve his desired outcomes.
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Golfers in major tournaments, 24 January 2008
Harrison Savage and Geoffrey Drakeford played in major golf tournaments last week.
Harrison played in the NEC Master of the Amateurs tournament at Yarra Yarra and Geoffrey in the Victorian Junior Masters at Waverley.
Harrison was only one of two Victorians to qualify for the NEC Masters in another event last September. The tournament earns world amateur ranking points and has usually been a stepping stone into professional ranks for most past winners.
In open age international company Harrison finished 49th in a field of 75. Harrison is also the youngest to have ever played in the tournament.
Geoffrey, in the Victorian title, and playing against an interstate field, was well down after the first round. However, he consistently improved each day as he became more familiar with the course. Geoffrey's last round was competitive with the leaders and he finished in 20th place.
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Drakeford tries for World Junior golf selection, 8 November 2007
Geoffrey Drakeford played well at the Aaron Baddeley Australian final last weekend, but not quite well enough to secure a spot in the Aaron Baddeley World Junior Championships (for U18s) in China later this month.
Drakeford won the U16 age group, but his overall score placed him just outside the top four position needed for qualification in the international championship.
Drakeford's recorded a good first round and was close to the leaders. However weather conditions caused a shortened course to be played on the second day, so his hopes of pulling back the leaders were diminished.
Nevertheless, Drakeford can take heart that he played far better than last year when he finished third in the U15s.
Although not representing Australia, he will represent Victoria in two weeks' time in a country competition against New South Wales.
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Academy golfers at Vic Country titles, 8 October 2007
Gusting winds made conditions difficult in the Victorian Country titles at Cranbourne last week.
For Academy juniors Geoff Drakeford, Harrison Savage, Nathan Doyle and Ben Matthews, there had an additional disadvantage of playing older and more experienced golfers in the junior, under 18, category.
Nathan Doyle's first round 77 was exceptionally fine, putting him just two strokes behind the leader and one ahead of team mate, Geoffrey Drakeford. However Nathan could not maintain the momentum in the second round and fell away to finish 18th.
Geoffrey Drakeford played a strong second round to finish up fourth. Harrison Savage placed 18th, and Ben Matthews was 22nd. Drakeford was subsequently selected to play in the Victorian Country Team against NSW Country late next month.
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Geoffrey Drakeford wins Vic Golf Title, 1 October 2007
In gale-force winds and rain Geoffrey Drakeford won last Friday's iPrimus under 16 Boys' Golf Championship of Victoria at the Yarra Yarra Golf Club. He defeated his friend and fellow Junior State Squad member, Nick Roper.
The Championship win was a dramatic one as Geoffrey was down all day and by the 11th hole the chance of a win, with four shots down, was becoming unlikely. But some excellent shots over the next few holes put Geoffrey back with a chance.
Tied at the 18th, the match then went to a tense sudden death pay-off, with Geoffrey snatching the victory.
In qualifying rounds earlier last week Nathan Doyle finished 19th in the U18s and Harrison Savage was 16th in the U16s.
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Great result in Aaron Baddeley title, 13 September 2007
Alexandria Bantock finished 2nd in the women's section of the prestigious Aaron Baddeley qualifying event at Peninsular Golf Club recently. The best two from the event qualify for the Australian final, but unfortunately Alex was pipped by a girl in a younger age group.
Geoffrey Drakeford narrowly missed selection as well, his 77 being just one stroke behind the winning score. He was the best of the U16 players.
The Aaron Baddeley event is an international U18 series where the best four men and best two women from competing countries play in an international junior championship. This year, it will be held in China at the end of November.
Reanna Matthews, Harrison Savage, Ben Matthews and Simon McLennan also played in the qualifying event. However, they were not so successful on the very tough course.
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Harrison continues to climb, 10 September 2007
Harrison Savage notched up another golf win last Friday, at the NEC Master of the Amateurs Qualifying Round.
Harrison faced a quality field of 50 A-grade amateurs at Peninsula Golf Club and scored 76 off the stick which placed him equal second. His nett 71 was the best on the day.
Harrison's win has qualified him for the NEC Masters of the Amateurs Championship at Yarra Yarra in January. Further qualifying rounds will be held in other Australian States and New Zealand over the coming months.
The Championship itself is a R&A world amateur ranking event, and Harrison is the youngest golfer to have ever qualified.
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Great effort by Harrison at title event, 20 August 2007
Academy Golf Squad player Harrison Savage finished in a close fourth place behind the place-getters at the Victorian Junior Sandscrap Championships at Elmore on the weekend.
Harrison's 78 on Saturday was just 2 strokes behind the leader. However, he lost a little more ground yesterday, 84 strokes to the winner's 80. Nevertheless, it was an impressive result for someone who had never played on sandgreens before.
Harrison can console himself that he was the top placed under 16 player, and also that his technical skills helped him to overcome his inexperience.
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Academy pair tussle for Gippsland Title, 20 August 2007
Nathan Doyle snatched the title from his more fancied team mate, Geoffrey Drakeford, in the Gippsland Junior Golf Championship at Lang Lang yesterday. Nathan's outstanding 76 and 74 rounds put him one stroke ahead of Geoffrey at the finish.
Ben Matthews played a wonderful first round to be in touch with the leaders, but could not maintain his form in the second. All the same, Ben has given notice of his future potential.
Simon McLennan struggled with an injury but we expect that he will be back in shape soon and in good form for the forthcoming spring and summer competitions.
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Harrison in Championship Team, 14 August 2007
Harrison Savage,15, has been selected in the six man Victorian team to represent the VGA in the Victorian Sandscrap championships at Elmore next weekend.
Harrison is currently a member of the Victorian Under 16 State Squad and has distinguished himself when he recently won the Victorian Under 18 and Under 16 Handicap titles in Melbourne.
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Victorian title to Academy golfer, 4 July 2007
Harrison Savage won the Victorian Junior Handicap Championship yesterday. Playing at Yarra Yarra on Monday, Harrison had rounds of 76-83, then 80-73 yesterday at Northern.
Harrison won the Junior Handicap Championship, and in doing so picked up the Under 16 Handicap Championship as well.
In a field of 72 of the State's top junior golfers, Harrison's overall 6th on stroke reflects his consistent game improvement.
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Inter-Academy Tournament Report, 26 June 2007
by Peter Brown
On Friday 15th June our golf squad of 9 players headed off to Warrnambool to compete in an inter-academy tournament involving the Southwest Sports Academy , the Sunraysia Sports Academy , the Bendigo Sports Academy and ourselves. We arrived in Warrnambool and walked some of the more challenging holes on the Warrnambool course to familiarise the squad with what they would be facing early the next morning.
On Saturday and the squad were ready and breakfasted an hour before daylight as the first groups hit off at 7.30am in icy-cold conditions. After slow starts most of the squad finished with respectable scores after the first 18 holes with Nathan Doyle shooting a fine 78 off-the-stick (nett 71), Laura Reid returning 90-16-74 nett to lead the girls handicap competition and Alex Bantock returning the best girls scratch score of 86.
On Saturday afternoon we drove to Port Fairy where, due to lack of time, the competition was shortened to 9 holes and Geoff Drakeford proved his capability in playing links-style golf by returning a 2 under par 34 with Harrison Savage and Jayden Doyle both shooting 36 off the stick. Simon McLennan showed glimpses of his potential with 41 off-the-stick and Reanna Matthews, who recently broke her handicap to single figures, was the best performed girl with 44 off-the-stick to help the team make up some lost ground on the South West Academy team who had performed better on their home course at Warrnambool in the morning.
It was another daybreak hit-off at Warrnambool on the Sunday morning. Ben Matthews proved the standout of the round, returning a fine score in the tough conditions of 77 off-the-stick closely followed by Geoff Drakeford with 79. Nathan Doyle showed great fighting qualities to recover from a 52 on the first nine to shoot 32 on the second nine.
The result of the inter-academy competition was decided on average nett scores of all players over the 45 holes played and the South West team beat Gippsland by the slender margin of 0.4 of a stroke, which proved the adage that every shot counts when you are playing in a team competition!! Team scores were as follows: South West 194.1, Gippsland 194.5, Sunraysia 195.8 and Bendigo 201.0.
Individual results of squad members were as follows:
Geoff Drakeford - 1st scratch, boys
Ben Matthews - 2nd scratch, 2 nd handicap, boys
Reanna Matthews - 1st scratch, girls
Laura Reid - 2nd handicap, girls
Overall the trip was a great success with all squad members learning much about handling different conditions and course types, as both courses played were vastly different to those encountered in the Gippsland region. Many strengths and weaknesses were exposed throughout the weekend and each player had the opportunity to use recently acquired knowledge of technique, sports psych, preparation and pre-shot routine under competition conditions. All members of the squad proved great ambassadors of the Academy and should be proud of their achievements over the weekend.
Other recent achievements:
Geoff Drakeford - selected in the Victorian State Junior Squad (under 18) of 12 players, to be reduced to 6 players prior to the inter-state series at Easter, 2008. Geoff won 4 out of 6 matches in the VGA Colts Pennant competition (under 21) playing for Commonwealth Golf Club.
Harrison Savage - selected in the Victorian Under 16 Development Squad, a member of the victorious Sale Division 1 Pennant team for 2007.
Jayden Doyle - member of Cranbourne's Golf Club's Under 21 Colts team that won their division of the 2007 VGA pennant.
Darren Cole (Head Coach) - appointed as assistant coach of the Victorian Institute of Sports Golf Squad.
Alexandria Bantock - won the Mirboo North senior club championships for the second consecutive year.
Reanna Matthews - at the age of 14 years broke her handicap to 9 over the past month.
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Ex-Academy Golfer in PGA event, 22 February 2007
Anthony Brown, one of the early members of the Academy’s Golf Squad, competed in the Australian PGA Tour’s Jacob’s Creek Open earlier in the week.
Brown finished 7 strokes behind the winner, Scott Sterling of the USA. It was a closely contested event, and Brown, 5 under par, finished in equal 17th place.
Brown was an early member of the Academy's Golf Program, which started in 2000. He is one of the most successful graduates and is now a regular on the professional circuit.
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