One swing at the 17th
Graeme Smith stood on the 17th, a par 3, and did the thing every golfer has rehearsed in their head a thousand times. One swing, and the next thing anyone knew the ball was in the hole. A hole-in-one, confirmed, and drinks presumably accounted for.
It carried him to 4th on 37 points, his first top-10 of the season. Some Saturdays the game takes. This one, for Graeme, gave.
Winner Story
The only 40 on the property
Avery Ellis posted 40 points off 33, a full 10.6 clear of a field average of 29.4, and still only had one to spare over Phil Moreton's 39. That is the top of this board in a sentence.
It wasn't spotless either. A 7 at the 4th was worth a single point and there was a pickup on the card. Ellis just out-scored the damage, took 4 points at the 14th, and came home in 21 after going out in 19.
Leaderboard
11 July 2026 · Balgowlah GC · Stableford
Top 10
PosPlayerPts
1
Avery Ellis
hcp 33
40
2
Phil Moreton
hcp 21
39
3
Stu McPhail
hcp 7
38
4
Graeme Smith
hcp 13
37
5
Ross Humphreys
hcp 8
37
6
Andrew Revill
hcp 10
37
7
Jodie McPherson
hcp 29
37
8
Nic Andrews
hcp 10
37
9
Corin Bartley
hcp 10
37
10
Chris Hall
hcp 42
37
Ross Humphreys makes it back-to-back top-10s, 3rd last week and 5th this time. Nobody is talking about him yet, which is usually when it matters.
Field Map
One up top, a crowd in the low 30s
The cut fell at 30 and 46 of the 88 starters got inside it, eight of them sitting right on the number.
40+ pts
1 · a party of one
35–39 pts
16 · knocking on the door
30–34 pts
29 · the safe middle
25–29 pts
24 · one shot shy all day
Under 25
16 · one to forget
DNF
2 · did not finish
Cut Line
This week the cut fell at 30 pts.
Top half of field plus ties · 8 players survived right on the number
Survived on 30 pts
C. SimpsonC. FoleyJ. MaxwellJ. ThorburnM. FisherM. PribicevicP. DownsS. Thomson
Cut · 30 pts
Missed by one · 29 pts
A. RedmondB. BeardJ. RoebuckJ. Gibbons
Jackson Roebuck finished one point outside the cut, and he'll be thinking about the 16th, where a pickup cost him the very hole that would have saved it.
Villain Hole
You have to play the 6th twice
The card calls them the 6th and the 15th, but it's the same argument twice, and the course won it both times. The 15th was the hardest hole on the property at 1.27 points a man with 21 wipes, and the 6th ran second at 1.31 with 21 wipes of its own. The 3rd did its usual quiet work with 18 wipes, and this week that was only good for third.
Villain #1
Hole 15
Par 4 · SI 2
Avg stableford pts
1.27
Wipes
21
Villain #2
Hole 6
Par 4 · SI 1
Avg stableford pts
1.31
Wipes
21
Villain #3
Hole 3
Par 3 · SI 3
Avg stableford pts
1.33
Wipes
18
Chaos Card
↑ Recovery
The back nine staged a rescue
Chris Johnson made the turn on 13 points, a 6 at the 9th the low-water mark, and the day looked like a write-off. The back nine went for 21 and dragged him all the way up to 18th on 34. Same golfer, different nine.
Front Nine
13
Back Nine
21
Final Result
34 pts
↓ Collapse
The podium was right there
JP Polito turned on 20 points with every reason to start thinking about the top of the board. Then the 15th took an 8 off him and the back nine gave back just 12. He still made the cut on 32, which is the kindest thing anyone said about that back nine all day.
Front Nine
20
Back Nine
12
Final Result
32 pts
Birdie Counter
34
birdies made this week
252 birdies across the season so far
B. Raynsford and N. Andrews led the field with 3 apiece, Raynsford's coming at 2, 9 and 11, Andrews' at 10, 14 and 17.
Quietly Noted
Stats that stood out. Things that went unannounced.
6→84
Tim Plunkett was 6th last week. This week he was 84th. The game remains undefeated.
21-14
Josh Chambers turned on 21 points and came home on 14. He still finished 17th, which tells you everything about that front nine.
2 & 11
Steve Thomson birdied the 2nd and the 11th. Same hole both times around. Find the one you like and keep ordering it.
Form Watch
The bankers
Stu McPhail has now made eight cuts in a row, the longest run going, and did it this week with the steadiest card in the field, 19 out and 19 back for 3rd on 38.
Andrew Revill, the Episode 6 winner, backed it up with 6th on 37. The win is starting to look less like a visit and more like a residence.
The Notice Board
Names from across the field. The week's milestones and season threads.
Grant Birse's three-cut run ended on 28. A thread to pick straight back up next Saturday.
James Matheson-Macdonald put up a season-best 34, well clear of his previous best of 27, and banked a cut with it.
Chris Hall picked a fine week to turn up for the first time, 37 points and 10th on debut.
Final Word
Avery Ellis, 40 points and one clear. Everyone else spent the day negotiating with the course. Avery didn't ask.
Same place next Saturday, and the 6th will be waiting. Twice.
Know a golfer who'd get a kick out of this?
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