Air Force golfers go down swinging

Volume 48, No. 12, July 13, 2006

IT CAME down to the 20th green of the last match for Air Force to bow out of the ACT inter-Service golf series, held in Canberra recently.

Army took the win for the first time since 2000, but it was a close competition, with Air Force hanging on to the end against a determined Navy.

In the first match, Army lost narrowly to Air Force by 5 matches to 6.5. The result could have gone either way with a number of close matches, before the top-seeded match was decided on the first extra hole.

Army needed a large win against Navy to keep its hopes alive in the series, and the team order was reshuffled to help Army record one of the largest wins in the tournament’s history by defeating Navy 9 matches to 2.5.

In the final match, Air Force could secure the title by defeating Navy, and for most of the day Air Force held the upper hand, before a late rally by Navy that sent the second-seeded match to extra holes. AB Glen Petersen, Australian Federation Guard, sank a tricky downhill 7m putt on the 20th hole to give Navy victory over Air Force.

The biggest green-side cheers came from the Army team, however, as Navy’s victory over Air Force (6.5 to 5) meant that Army were the inter-Service champions.

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