“I didn’t practice at all this year, only played one round of golf, but I drank a lot of beer which really helped,” said Jeff Bood after claiming the low gross at the first ever “Clay Jones Memorial” Men’s Open Golf Tournament at the Seven Hills Golf and Country Club.
Bood had been trying to win the prestigious men’s open tournament for the past 21 years, and after shooting a 143 over 36 holes in two days, he said it was “pretty much the best I’ve ever played in my life.”
He never expected he would win the tournament this year, adding he thought he’d probably “shoot a 183” with a laugh, and then singled out his father, Hank Bood, as his greatest competition on the course throughout the entire weekend. “Mentally he’s always been a bit of challenge for me.”
When asked how it felt to play in the tournament in honour of Jones’ memory, Bood said it “meant a lot — Clay had always shown great support for the club. He was a really good guy who did a lot for the club, and I’m very happy to have won it.”
The other big winner on the day was Macandales owner Dale Dorward, who claimed the low net plaque with a 131 after factoring in his handicap.
Dorward said he shot a 76 the first day, “which gave me a minus four on my net, and then the second day I shot a 75, which gave me a minus five on my net, which put me nine under. That’s my best score, I usually shoot around 140.”
This wasn’t Dorward’s first time getting his name on the low net plaque, either. “About eight years ago I won low net as well,” he said, adding “it’s a really great tournament and I love playing in it.”
Tournament organizer Kenn Oliver was feeling pretty good after all the scores had been calculated, and he was happy to state it was “a very successful tournament — we had a good turnout, people came from down island, a lot of local people showed up, and also people who’ve never played before.”
While the weather wasn’t the greatest, slightly raining off and on all weekend, “it wasn’t too bad,” said Oliver, adding everyone “persevered and had a great time.”
Top ten low gross scores from the Clay Jones Memorial:
1. Jeff Bood - 143 gross;
2. Scott Mitchell - 147 gross;
3. Shawn Zealand - 147 gross;
4. Braydon Demoe - 149 gross;
5. Andrew Laming - 151 gross;
6. Perry Scarlett - 154 gross;
7. Darren Schmidt - 154 gross;
8. Ben Park - 156 gross;
9. Craig Marzoff - 160 gross;
10. Bill Jacques - 160 gross.
Top ten low net scores from the Clay Jones Memorial:
1. Dale Dorward - 131 net;
2. Ron Downey - 132 net;
3. Stan Wong - 132 net;
4. Ryan Sirges - 137 net;
5. Cecil Morton - 137 net;
6. Mike Gossen - 138 net;
7. Tim Demoe - 140 net;
8. Doug McCorquodale - 140 net;
9. Ryan Allard - 141 net;
10. Dino Datos - 142 net.
