Wee Waa Golf Club co-captain Ty Baker claimed his second Wee Waa Open victory in three years on Sunday as a one-over-par score of 73 saw him win the event by one shot.
There were 60 golfers in action at the annual 18-hole event, with more registered to play but several pulling out on the day due to rain early in the morning. The rain did stop about 30 minutes before the golfers teed off at 10am and the course was a bit slower than usual as there was not as much run on offer.
Baker, who has served as one of the club’s two co-captains alongside Dave Avery since 2022, started his day on the second hole and performed quite consistently throughout.
The 31-year-old Wee Waa man who currently plays off three was on track to register a par score or potentially even go under, but a bogey on the 18th, which was his 17th hole of the day, saw him go into his final hole one over. He then parred the course’s first hole to finish the day with a one-over-par 73. That was a shot better than the two-over-par 74 he scored in 2022 to win the event.
The 73 saw him get the job done for the second time in three years as Narrabri golfers Roland Eather and Ricky Hannaford finished one back on 74. They had a playoff for the A-grade gross winner and it was Hannaford who got the job done on the third hole of that playoff.
Baker was also in the mix last year when he shot a four-over-par 76 but fell three shorts short of 2023 champ Luke Flood, who defeated Avery in a playoff. Flood was in attendance on Sunday but could not defend his title.
Baker told The Courier he was proud to have won his hometown open once again.
“I’ve done it two years out of three now, and I never thought I’d win one of them let alone two, so it’s a pretty awesome feeling,” he said.
“I was striking the ball well today, which always helps.
“I’ve been pretty consistent across the last 12 to 18 months, but it’s been around the four or five over mark, not as low as today. I was petty surprised at how today went to be honest.
“I didn’t have too many bogeys. It was mostly pars. Maybe two or three bogeys and a couple of birdies. I did leave a few out there, though, with a couple of bad putts. In a perfect world, I would have shot two under today, but I’m definitely not going to complain about one over.”
Baker played alongside his father Kevin, fellow Wee Waa golfers Luke Humphries and Ben Russell, and Scott Lamb and Will Brooks from Narrabri. The Open winner said that it was an enjoyable day going around with those men, and he added that everyone who played on the day enjoyed their time at the Wee Waa Golf Club.
Results from the day are as follows:
Open champion: Ty Baker with 73.
A-grade: Gross winner after a playoff – Ricky Hannaford with 74, gross runner-up after a playoff – Roland Eather with 74, nett winner – Matt Swansbra with 70, nett runner-up – Anthony Thurston with 71.
B-grade: Gross winner – Steve Jones with 74, gross runner-up – Brendan Robinson with 80, nett winner – John Dawson with 67, nett runner-up – Tony Nott with 71.
C-grade: Gross winner – Charlie Milford with 92, runner-up – Jason Smith with 94 (countback), nett winner – Jackson Humphries with 73, nett runner-up – Ben Wilson.
Nearest to pins: Ninth all in ($550 prize) – Brendan Robinson, 5th /14th – Ty Baker (A-grade), David Cruickshank (B-grade), Jason Smith (C-grade).
Long drives (age divisions): Under-50 – Matt Steiger, 51 to 64 – Steve Jones 65-and-over – Bill Lang.
