A WAIT of over two decades has been brought to an end with Reece Hodson’s success in the Bathurst Open over the weekend.
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Prior to Sunday you would have to go back to Darrell Bourke in 1995 to find the last time a Bathurst player had won the tournament.
Hodson, who is based at The Australian Golf Club, shot rounds of 74 and 72 to win in his first attempt at the Open in seven years.
With his score of 146 Hodson claimed a three-stroke victory ahead of Edmund Brownlow (The Australian), James Walford (Duntryleague) and Martin Hooper (Howlong).
Hodson was thrilled not just to win but to even be a part of the Bathurst tournament after clashes with other events had made him unavailable in the past.
“It was awesome. I haven’t played in it for a long time so it was great to get a start in it. This is something that I’ve been wanting to play in for years” he said.
“It was a good experience. It’s great preparation going into my club champs at The Australian.
“There was definitely a bit of home ground advantage for me. I knew where to hit it and where the spots to avoid were. That definitely helped me towards those last few holes each round.
“I was really impressed with how I was able to play over the last 10 holes.”
Following Saturday’s opening round Hodson was one stroke behind leader Walford but an improved round of golf on Sunday got the Bathurst player a well-earned title.
The opening round could have been one to forget for Hodson but a late eagle would prove to be a decisive turning point.
“I was six over with four to play. I was a bit upset with myself about the round at that point,” he said.
“I had a great birdie on the 15th then missed another birdie chance on the 16th. I then had an 80m chip on the 17th for eagle. That got me back to three over and I was able to par the last hole.”
Bathurst’s Dylan Thompson had the best round of the weekend with a par score of 71 on Sunday. However, an opening round of 79 left Thompson four strokes off Hodson at the tournament’s end.
Tim McKinnon took out the B grade competition over John Curtis following a five-hole playoff.
The C grade title went to Craig Hanrahan, who also claimed a playoff win with success over Stephen Dury.