Palmerston women and men rule the roost at NT Pennants Titles

Palmerston Golf Club have retained their mantle as the Territory’s premier club following both men’s and women’s winning Pennants Titles.

Palmerston Women's team won their second Pennants Title in a row, defeating the Darwin Frillnecks 3-2 in the final. Picture: Contributed.

Palmerston have retained their mantle as the NT’s premier golf club, winning another Pennants Title following a nailbiter of a finish.

Hitting their way to a second premiership in as many years, the Palmerston Women’s team battled through the dreary conditions and fierce competition.

It came down to the 19th in a tie-breaker that ultimately sealed the silverware for the women from Palmy.

“The final as a whole was intense,” Palmerston captain Sue Kennedy said.

“It was drizzling rain for three of the four games, so it really wasn’t the most ideal of conditions for a day of golf.”

With a 2-1 game lead and requiring 3/5 for the title, Palmerston and Darwin were neck-and-neck till the final putt.

“We had two games still going that both went down to the 18th hole,” Kennedy said.

“Frillies got one of the wins to make it two-all, and the final match was tied.

“So they had to keep going.

“It actually came down to the 19th hole as they were level.

“And Amanda Fredericks held her nerve and secured the win for Palmerston.”

An underdog win following their third place finish on the ladder and not so smooth regular season, Kennedy described the victory as a great achievement.

“I would rate this win as better than the first time,” she said.

“We had to fight a lot harder this season with limited players.

“We all bonded and had such good camaraderie which made it extra special.

“It was very much a team effort over the season by all team members to get us to the final.”

Palmerston’s winning team was made up of: Sue Kennedy (C), Erica McMaster, Lucy Morrison, Amanda Fredericks, Kezia Tilley, Tracy Woodroffe, Wanda Bielefeld, Emma Jolly and Tia Clohesy.

Men’s Final + Women’s Preview

Palmerston Golf Club are staring down the barrel of a dynasty after securing their fourth NT championship in as many years.

Despite finishing third on the ladder, Palmerston found form when it mattered, cruising their way to another Golf NT Pennants title.

Palmerston club president Wayne Bodkin said his side played a great game when they beat old foes Humpty Doo 4 ½ to 2 ½.

“The format of the competition is changed all the time and despite us not having it all our way, we were able to still get the win,” he said.

“We ended up finishing in third on the ladder and probably had a less dominant season than previous years.

“We beat Jabiru in the semi and faced off against Humpty Doo for the third time in four years.

In the final, Greg Woodbridge was superb, so was the captain Chris Coleback.

Other players were Shane Kapitula, Justin Moulds, Michael Petherick-Collins, Dennis Puckett, Nathan Roche and promising 16-year-old Jacob Rowlings – who already is sponsored by Titleist.

Palmerston Golf Club won their fourth Golf NT Pennants Men's title after defeating Humpty Doo in the final. Picture: Golf Australia.

“We have a team that is made up of the best performers through the year, based off our internal tournaments,” Bodkin said.

“We had two B-grade, three C and three D-grade players in the side for the regular season, alongside the eight A-grade players in the 16-man team.

“It’s not a requirement to have the spread of players but it’s something we’ve done for the past four seasons and it has again helped us win another championship.”

The Palmerston women’s side are also into the final, playing off for their second title in a row this weekend when they take on regular season minor premiers Frillies.

“We are so excited to have a shot at going back-to-back,” Palmerston women’s captain Sue Kennedy said.

“We’ve had such a great side all year and have put together a solid season that ended with us finishing second on the ladder.”

Scraping into the final by the skin of their teeth, the women need to win their last regular season game by scoring 4 ½ out of a possible 5 points.

“It was tense and some of us were in tears after we thought we’d lost on a countback.

“It wasn’t until the next morning when the results were confirmed that we found out we made the final, winning 4 ½ to ½.”