Local golfer Karl Hatfield was crowned the Narrabri Golf Club’s Men’s Open champion for a third consecutive year when he prevailed by two shots in the 18-hole event on Sunday.
The 33-year-old shot a two-over-par round of 73 to take out the 2025 title after he had also won the event in 2023 and 2024.
Hatfield and his family relocated to Narrabri from Queensland’s Redland Bay back in 2021, where he was born and raised and had been playing golf since he was five years old.
The father of three has since become a well-respected member of the local golfing community and is proving to be one of the elite golfers in town.
Hatfield started Sunday’s event on the third hole and was four-over by the end of the front nine. He then went even across the entire back nine and was still four-over as he teed off on the first hole, which was his 17th of the day.
He birdied the first following a solid drive, a classy chip-on, and a fairly comfortable putt, and he then birdied the second with a chip-in after missing the green as he finished strongly and entered the clubhouse as champion.
He ended the day with three birdies in total, including one on the 12th, as well as a double bogey, three bogeys and 11 pars.
The final two birdies ended up being the difference as he prevailed by two shots from fellow Narrabri golfer Brett Browne, who shot a four-over-par 75.
Hatfield told The Courier that it was the first time he had ever won three tournaments on the trot and said he was proud to have won the Narrabri Open once again.
“It felt really good to win it again,” Hatfield said.
“I want to win every event I go into. That’s just my competitive nature, so I was looking to shoot as low as I could and win it.
“Three in a row is pretty special. I’ve definitely never won any golf event three times in a row before.
“I actually played pretty hit and miss. I was four-over after the ninth after starting on three, so that’s through seven holes. At that stage I thought it was going to be a long day. I clawed it back a bit on the back nine. I went even on the back nine. Then on the last two holes, I birdied.
“I think 73 isn’t too bad. My handicap is one, so if I shoot 72 or 73 it’s close to what my handicap is, so it wasn’t a bad day.
“I went around with Brock Smith, Jye Manton and Dave Noble. It was a great day. I play with those guys every week and we have a good time.”
Hatfield will be back in action this weekend, however the scenery will be quite different as he plays at courses on the Sunshine Coast.
He was the winner of the 2024 WTC Charity Golf Tournament alongside teammates Jye Manton, Brock Smith and Lachlan Woolford, and the prize was a four-night golfing getaway on the Sunshine Coast.
Hatfield said he was looking forward to the weekend away with three mates he enjoys playing golf with.
There were 77 golfers in action across three grades at the 2025 Narrabri Golf Club Men’s Open. Results are as follows:
Open champion – Karl Hatfield (73).
A-grade: Gross runner-up – Brett Browne (75), net winner – Jordon Northey (71), net runner-up – Jeremy Thorne (72).
B-grade: Gross winner – John Dawson (82), gross runner-up – Ashley Duncan (83), net winner – Steve Phelps (69), net runner-up – Stanley Capewell (71).
C-grade: Gross winner – Brady Jenkins (90), gross runner-up – Bill Lang (92), net winner – Kaiden Webster (77), net runner-up – Bob Taylor (79).
Nearest to pins: Fifth – Luke Flood, eighth – Jordan Northey, 12th – Brett Browne, 16th – Steven Jones.
Longest drives: A-grade – Jye Manton, B-grade – Harry Rae, C-grade – Jason Smith.
