Halls Head Western Open

The Halls Head Western Open, also known as the Mandurah Classic, was a golf tournament in Australia.

Halls Head Western Open
Tournament information
LocationHalls Head, Western Australia
Course(s)Mandurah Country Club
Par72
Tour(s)PGA Tour of Australasia
FormatStroke play
Final year1983
Final champion
Bob Shaw
Location map
Mandurah Country Club is located in Australia
Mandurah Country Club
Mandurah Country Club
Location in Australia
Mandurah Country Club is located in Western Australia
Mandurah Country Club
Mandurah Country Club
Location in Western Australia

History

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The 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

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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

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  1. ^ "Mandurah Country Club". Go Golfing. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  2. ^ "About Us". Tuohy Associates. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Gale by 5". The Age. 13 August 1979. p. 28. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "Golf: Gale's WA open". The Canberra Times. 1 September 1980. p. 21. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Trove.
  5. ^ "Bowling along with a star of yesterday". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 May 1981. p. 36. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Shaw's 66". The Age. 8 May 1981. p. 34. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Webster, Jim (9 May 1981). "'Bridesmaid' Bishop may ride in style". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 76. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Golf: Gale takes big lead after three rounds". The Canberra Times. 10 May 1981. p. 5 (Sport section). Retrieved 25 February 2023 – via Trove.
  10. ^ "Gale set to win Western Open golf". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 May 1981. p. 72. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b "Gale sweeps in—but just". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 31. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Google News Archive.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Webster, Jim (15 May 1982). "Gale widens the gap to four". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 64. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ a b McCormack, Mark H. (1984). Ebel World of Professional Golf 1984. Springwood Books. pp. 192–193, 412. ISBN 0862541123.
  18. ^ "Sports summary – Golf: Halls Head Western Open". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 May 1982. p. 19. Retrieved 26 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.