BELMONT Golf Club president Lyn Cooper says hosting this year's final NSW Open qualifier helps make up for losing the Lake Macquarie Amateur Championships and she remains committed to finding a permanent replacement for the time-honoured tournament.
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The March 22 event, a "last roll of the dice for those who haven't made it yet", pops up three days before the state's top competition at Concord (25-28).
"We haven't had a NSW Open qualifying event here before so we're excited," Cooper said.
"It means a lot for the club because our members were pretty upset at losing the Lake Macquarie Amateur [last held in 2016] so any tournament that showcases the course is good. We had a successful Pro-Am here in January and we're in talks about a permanent tournament to try and replace the Lake Macquarie Amateur."
Fields have yet to be finalised for the upcoming qualifier at Belmont with the South Coast Open at Moruya, the last of the 2021 regional series, wrapping up this week.
The NSW Open, which began in 1931, has previously been held at Newcastle, The Vintage and Horizons.
* CHARLESTOWN'S Jye Pickin has already booked a spot at the NSW Open following recent showings at Dubbo and Queanbeyan.
The 20-year-old was the highest-placed golfer from the state's high performance team, seeing him secure the single position available for Concord later this month.
Pickin now eyes off the Sydney leg of The Players Series at Bonnie Doon from Thursday, having been one of the amateurs invited along.
He'll be joined at the Braith Anasta-hosted competition by fellow Hunter players Andrew Dodt, Jake Higginbottom, Blake Windred, Aaron Townsend, Robert Hogan and Brayden Petersen.
* NEWCASTLE district's A-grade pennants race will go down to the wire with three teams pushing for two final spots in the last round.
The Newcastle, Waratah and Merewether clubs have all won three games each this season and now face different opponents at Charlestown this Sunday.
Only individual matches separate the men's sides with Newcastle and Waratah (22) level. Merewether are 17.
Waratah start off against the hosts, Newcastle then meet Toronto and Merewether finish with Pacific Dunes.
It comes after title holders Newcastle, playing the penultimate round at home on the weekend, easily defeated previously perfect leaders Merewether (7-1) in a replay of the 2020 decider. Waratah beat Toronto (6.5-1.5) and Charlestown edged out Pacific Dunes (4.5-3.5).
* JOSH Fuller, 19, has continued his run of form by recording back-to-back victories, shooting four sub-70 rounds to claim the Tasmanian Open on Sunday.
The Muswellbrook product, who works at The Vintage, finished five clear at 14 under after carding 68, 66, 69 and 67 across the tournament at Kingston Beach.
"Something just clicked for me last week," Fuller, who won the Concord Cup last month, told Golf NSW media.
* FATHER-SON combination Mark and Hamish Ellison have taken out the Foursomes Championship at Waratah, recording a two-round score of 143 and finishing six ahead of Brian Carmichael and Chris Jardine (149).