The scene was set for a great afternoon outing at La Trobe Golf Club on Thursday 16th May for contestants to battle it out for the coveted Phil Kelly OAM perpetual trophy.
A good-sized field lined up to play with perfect fairways with neatly trimmed greens following annual maintenance. The weather was stunning to say the least with not a cloud in sight a top temperature of 19 C and flags on the greens limp in the absence of a breeze.
Despite all this it was clear we had a mixed field of talent. There were some clearly displaying a standard akin to having a misspent youth and then at the other end of the scale those who hadn’t swung a club since the last Shipping Australia outing in 2023.
Two nearest the pins were played for with Craig Grigson claiming the first and Levi Tanker the second. Equally two longest drives with Craig Grigson claiming the first and Leigh Taylor the second. Overall winner and laying claim to the 8th Phil Kelly OAM Trophy was the Port of Melbourne team made up of Arun Rampal, Bryce Hackett, Heemesh Patel and Andrew Vanderlight with nett score of 55. In second place was Shane O’Hehir, Tony Nelson, Leigh Taylor and Peter Lyngberg with a nett score of 56.
To finish, this event could not be successfully staged without sponsors and our sincere thanks goes out to Adam Rowlison at Engage Marine, Jed Smith at MIRRAT, Port of Melbourne for the provision of first prize, Total Maritime Logistics and Forwarding for the supply of golf balls, Wallenius Wilhelmsen for the Trophy and NPDL for Fiji water.
It would be remiss of us if we did not extend thanks to La Trobe Golf Club for looking after our event so well with attentive service and excellent food. The 2025 Challenge is booked to be held on the first Thursday 6th March save the date.
