The Halls Head Western Open, also known as the Mandurah Classic, was a golf tournament in Australia.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Halls Head, Western Australia |
| Course(s) | Mandurah Country Club |
| Par | 72 |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour of Australasia |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Final year | 1983 |
| Final champion | |
| Bob Shaw | |
| Location map | |
  Mandurah Country Club Location in Australia  Mandurah Country Club Location in Western Australia | |
History
editThe tournament was founded in 1979 as the Mandurah Classic. The event was held at Mandurah Country Club in Halls Head, Mandurah, Western Australia.[1] The event was managed by Tuohy and Associates, a golf management group run by Bob Tuohy, a former professional golfer.[2] In the inaugural event, local resident Terry Gale came from behind in the final round to match the course record with a 66 (−6) and win by five shots.[3] The following year, Gale repeated as champion.[4]
In 1981 and 1982, the event became part of the PGA Tour of Australia. The purse increased significantly to A$30,000.[5] The first two rounds were a neck and neck struggle between Bob Shaw and Colin Bishop with Terry Gale close behind.[6][7][8] In the third round, however, Bishop and Shaw "faded" with over-par rounds. Gale, meanwhile, scored four consecutive birdies on the back nine for a five-under-par 67.[9] He suddenly led by seven shots.[10] In the final round, Shaw recorded a number of birdies on the back nine to reduce Gale's lead to two. However, he bogeyed the 17th and Gale finished two strokes ahead.[11] It was his third consecutive victory in the event.[12] The following year, Gale was among the favorites,[13] and held the lead after the first three rounds.[12][14][15] However, in the final round he failed to make a birdie, and Mike Cahill took advantage, shooting a 70 to win by a stroke.[16] In 1983, Bob Shaw, who had been runner-up in both 1981 and 1982, won by a stoke from Peter Fowler after having a two-stroke penalty applied for replacing a tee marker on the final hole.[17]
Winners
edit| Year | Winner | Score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up | Purse (A$) |
Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mandurah Classic | |||||||
| 1979 | Terry Gale | 283 | −5 | 6 strokes | Stewart Ginn | 9,000 | [3] |
| 1980 | Terry Gale | 10,000 | [4] | ||||
| Halls Head Western Open | |||||||
| 1981 | Terry Gale | 281 | −7 | 2 strokes | Bob Shaw | 30,000 | [11] |
| 1982 | Mike Cahill | 279 | −9 | 1 stroke | Terry Gale Wayne Grady Bob Shaw |
35,000 | [16][18] |
| 1983 | Bob Shaw | 285 | −3 | 1 stroke | Peter Fowler | 35,000 | [17] |
References
edit- ^ "Mandurah Country Club". Go Golfing. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ "About Us". Tuohy Associates. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ a b "Gale by 5". The Age. 13 August 1979. p. 28. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Golf: Gale's WA open". The Canberra Times. 1 September 1980. p. 21. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Trove.
- ^ "Bowling along with a star of yesterday". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 May 1981. p. 36. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Shaw's 66". The Age. 8 May 1981. p. 34. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Webster, Jim (8 May 1981). "Smooth Shaw sets a blistering pace in first round". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 30. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Webster, Jim (9 May 1981). "'Bridesmaid' Bishop may ride in style". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 76. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Golf: Gale takes big lead after three rounds". The Canberra Times. 10 May 1981. p. 5 (Sport section). Retrieved 25 February 2023 – via Trove.
- ^ "Gale set to win Western Open golf". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 May 1981. p. 72. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Gale sweeps in—but just". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 31. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ a b Grant, Trevor (14 May 1982). "It's Gale: here he goes again". The Age. p. 26. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Webster, Jim (13 May 1982). "Golf battlers chase gold in a $250 'bomb'". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 26. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Webster, Jim (15 May 1982). "Gale widens the gap to four". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 64. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Webster, Jim (16 May 1982). "30-yard chip child's play to Gale". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 86. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Webster, Jim (17 May 1982). "Cahill takes title on the rebound". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 23. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b McCormack, Mark H. (1984). Ebel World of Professional Golf 1984. Springwood Books. pp. 192–193, 412. ISBN 0862541123.
- ^ "Sports summary – Golf: Halls Head Western Open". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 May 1982. p. 19. Retrieved 26 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.