Herbert Leads from The Front – Results from the 2024 Senior Women’s Championships
Wednesday 7 February, Rotorua Golf Club
Photo of Lisa Herbert with her mother and aunty - at the 2023 Womens Masters, Otaki
Lisa Herbert (nee Aldridge) made short work of her first-round match winning 9 and 7 over Michele Reardon (Nelson), shooting 3 birdies to be 3 under the card when she finished the match on the 11th hole.
The Manawatu left-hander a past New Zealand representative on 12 occasions during a golden period for international women’s golf in this country winning the Queen Sirikit Cup twice and highly placing in the world amateur championships – the Espirito Santo in both 1990 and 1992. The 1999 version of the Queen Sirikit was played at Paraparaumu Beach and finishing tied with Chinese Taipai. It was Aldridge that broke the deadlock on the first playoff hole with a memorable birdie.
Herbert is one of the six-person team that will go onto Taupo next week to compete in the 2024 Trans-Tasman Cup. Winner of the Senior Women’s Curtis Cup for her round of 75 in yesterday’s Stroke Play Championship, she now advances onto the quarter finals in top form.
Herbert will now face Jacqui Morgan in the first quarter final tomorrow. Morgan a regular senior visitor to New Zealand, and who has played in all four Trans-Tasman Cup’s, bet Jill Morgan (Cambridge) 4 and 3.
Gillian Lees (Mount) took out the prize scalp of Helen Pascoe, the Australian Trans- Tasman Captain. Pascoe led all the way on the front nine, turning 2up. Lees rallied with a birdie on the 11th and a par on the par-4 12th, when Pascoe bogeyed – match all square. The players traded the lead on holes 13 and 14, then halved the next 3 holes to be all square on the 18th. Par to Lee, bogey to Pascoe and a win for the Kiwi.
Lees will now play Diana Syer (Hastings), another player due to head to Taupo next week to represent New Zealand. Syer, steady all day won 5 and 4 over fellow team mate Robyn Pullar (Invercargill).
Big win also from the defending Match Play Champion, Nadene Gole (nee Hall) who won 7 and 6 over Geraldine’s Ginny Bolderston. Gole, a previous professional, carded two birdies, never letting Bolderston get a look in, taking a one-shot lead on the 4th with a birdie, a lead she never relinquished. Gole is one of Australia’s team members competing next week in the Trans-Tasman.
Gole was crowned the world’s No. 1 Senior Women’s Amateur player in 2023, while also creating history in Australia. In one year, Gole won all six available state senior championships for women in the same calendar year, as well as the Australian Senior Amateur.
Experience came through in an exciting match between the Kiwi Captain, Robyn Boniface (Queens Park) who took all 18 holes, but who was victorious against Alison Glover (Ngaruawahia). Boniface was 2 down at the turn but held her nerve when Glover started to bogey on the back nine. Boniface was only one over on the back nine and will now face the world amateur champion, Nadene Gole in tomorrow’s quarter finals.
Louise Mullard – who won the NZ Women’s Mid Am in 2019, won 6 and 4 over Rahira Ellison (Hastings). Mullard will now take on Robyn Pellow (Ngaruawahia) who needed all her experience and guile to beat Tracy Bary (Rarangi).
All square on the 18th, the ladies traded bogey’s on the 1st and 2nd play off holes in what can only be described as ‘nervous putting’. It looked like a Pellow win on the 3rd play-off hole when Bary spewed her 2nd down a tricky bank short of the green. 3rd shot into the bunker, but then an up and down gutsy play out followed by a impressive putt and the pressure was back on the Waikato player. Short chip and then two putts later by Pellow, and onto the 4th hole. Finally Pellow with a huge sigh of relief managed a par to Bary’s bogey. Well done for the Kiwi rep.
All play is being hosted by the Rotorua Golf Club known as Arikikapakapa with quarter finals to tee off from 8.30am Thursday 8 February. Semi-finals in the morning of Friday 9th February with finals due to tee off at midday.
Full results and all seven divisions timescan be found on www.parnz.co.nz/whatsontour with the Senior Veterans Challenge Cup tee times as below:
8.46am Lisa Herbert (Manawatu) vs Jacqui Morgan (Australia)
Louise Mullard (Australia) vs Robyn Pellow (Ngaruawahia)
8.54am Gillian Lees (Mount) vs Diana Syer (Hastings)
Nadene Gole (Australia) vs Robyn Boniface (Queens Park)
Tee times Thursday 8 February
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