Commonly known for it’s sensational whale watching at this time of year, the Fraser Coast has delivered one of the tournaments of the year with Hugh Dolan winning the inaugural Fraser Coast Legends Classic.
With the likes of Ossie Moore, Rodger Davis, Wayne Grady and Roger Merrick teeing it up, the Hervey bay Golf and Country Club was in magnificent condition with some the quickest greens the PGA Legends have played on in 2010. “Being the first time up this way for many of us, we have all been really impressed with the layout and the condition of the course and there is no doubt we will all be back next year” said former European Tour player David Good.
After Hervey Bay Head Professional Gerry Taylor and Mackay professional Greg Carroll opened the tournament with 2 under par rounds of 68, it looked like the locals may use their knowledge to their advantage. That being said though the three round format usually helps bring the cream to the top and so it seemed with Jim Lapsley, Garry Merrick David Good and none other than Wayne Grady all moving into contention in the second round sitting at 1 over par for the tournament. It was Hugh Dolan though that would take a one shot lead into the final round from that group of players after rounds of 71 and 69 left him at even par.
With the greens getting harder and faster due to the blustery conditions, birdies were hard to come by in the final round but Hugh Dolan was the person who remained the most patient through the front nine. Heading to the back nine Dolan turned 1 under par, two ahead of Grady, Good and Lapsley.
The back nine on Sunday is where all tournaments are won though and after paring his way through to the 14th Hole, it looked as if Dolan was going to streak ahead with victory. It wasn’t to be the case though with Dolan making bogies on the 14th, 16th, 17th and 18th to finish with a round of 73 setting a total of 3 over par. After Lapsley and Good also made bogies on the way home, the stage was set, with Wayne Grady needing a birdie on the last to beat Dolan. It wasn’t to be though with pin tucked behind the bunker on the last hole and Grady hitting an aggressive second, he proceeded to make bogey to hand Dolan a one stroke victory.
It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Dolan who recently took out the Gold Coast Senior Open at Helensvale. “The last couple of weeks have been great for me and to be honest, I can’t put my figure on why but I think in this game, if we just stay positive and don’t berate ourselves too much, the form will always turn around - it’s usually just a case of how long.” Said Dolan
When asked about the course, Dolan offered an insight into his success “The course has played beautifully this week. It offers someone like me that doesn’t drive it as far as some of them a chance, because it all happens around the greens here and I was lucky enough to miss it in the right places, but then take advantages of the holes where birdies could be made”
The EZ-GO Legends Tour now takes a well deserved break until the end of October when they will play the $50,000 Australian Legends Classic at the Willows Golf Resort in Townsville. Rodger Davis will hold a comfortable lead of more than $3,000 in the Order of Merit but with more than $600,000 in prizemoney still on offer before the end of the year, the Order of Merit is still anybodies.