Sport
‘Relieved and happy’: Goodall claims second open club championship, Morris notches 13th
Walking up to the 18th tee box in last Sunday’s Shepparton Golf Club’s open championship, Bailey Goodall had one thing on his mind.
Put his best swing together and land the ball straight down the middle of the fairway.
It is easier said than done; especially when you’re staring at your second club championship in three years.
With an excited crowd watching on — awaiting to see if Goodall or his final opponent Luke Dixon would lift the trophy — the 17-year-old Shepparton teenager nailed his swing.
Searching for redemption following his final defeat last year, Goodall crunched his drive on the 352m par 4 which had him take his second shot 10m down on the slope from the green’s left-hand bunker.
His chip was a touch heavy and skidded to the back of the green, but when you have an abundance of talent and determination like Goodall does, you know you’re always in it.
Goodall went on to sink his long putt from the edge of the green to win the hole and finish two-up on Dixon.
Image 1 of 8
Thumbs up: Luke Dixon. Photo by Megan FisherImage 2 of 8
Line it up: Kim Morris. Photo by Megan FisherImage 3 of 8
Crunch: Alex Odell during the Open women's final. Photo by Megan FisherImage 4 of 8
In the zone: Alex Odell. Photo by Megan FisherImage 5 of 8
Soft hands: Luke Dixon. Photo by Megan FisherImage 6 of 8
Practice makes perfect: Ruth Stephan. Photo by Megan FisherImage 7 of 8
Winners: Stephen Smyth (C Grade), Vincent Chan (B Grade), Bailey Goodall (Open), Angelo Borelli (D Grade) Photo by ContributedImage 8 of 8
Winners: Kim Morris (Open), Ruth Stephen (C Grade), Julie Harris (B Grade), Marcia Walker (D Grade) (front right)The boy wonder spoke about his historic second club championship triumph.
“I’m very relieved and happy,” Goodall said this week.
“Going up to the tee shot on the last I knew I had to put the best swing together to give myself the best chance.
“I felt like everything was okay; nothing was perfect, usually I have one area of my game that does well, but on Sunday it felt like everything was about the same level.
“I’ve been in the final for the last few years now, so I have experienced that pressure before. It’s been a tough few months; I’ve felt like I have been playing well, but it just hasn’t been paying off, so it’s nice to finally get some reward.”
Meanwhile in the open women’s, a familiar name had her name etched on the honour board for a historic 13th time.
Kim Morris now has a record to be envious of following her silverware triumph in the open women’s.
Morris triumphed over Alex Odell with a score of nine-up with seven holes to play.
“That is my 13th club championship, a lot of hard work and a lot of practice has gone in over the years, so I’m very pleased,” she said.
“My mum won the C-grade championship on the same day, which to me, was just as special. It was the second time we have both won in the same year ... this one in particular felt really special.”
Morris credited her fast start to the 36-hole final for giving her the edge over Odell.
“I got off to a really good start and was six-up after the first 18 holes,” she said.
“I had four birdies in the first 18 which helped set me up for the rest of the day.
“It certainly is up there (ranked with the others). Alex is a great competitor and is a former state junior and last year I had a lead, but she fought back and it came down to the final hole, so I knew I had to be on my game.”