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Denis Dale wins SA seniors golf title

Posted on November 5, 2009, 8:08am

With a cool nerve and a steady eye, the country’s third ranked player yesterday won the South Australian Seniors Australian Golf Championship.

Denis Dale from the NSW club, Asquith, overcame an overnight deficit of one stroke to turn victory his way in an ideal preparation for next month’s Asia Pacific Championships in Malaysia, where he will help form a six-man Australian team.

Dale fired a final round 76 at Mount Gambier’s Attamurra course to reel in Royal Queensland’s Chris Coates who had led from the opening 18-holes on Monday.

Dale drew level with Coates at the opening hole, despite making bogey. Coates’ double bogey opened the door for what would prove to be an enthralling battle to the end.

Dale and Coates traded blows for the next four holes before the Queenslander regained his lead with a par on the sixth.

Playing in the final — seeded — group, Dale and Coates were involved in a pseudo matchplay battle, while fellow playing partner, Dave Morrison (Coolangatta) who was third overnight, kept chipping away at their heels, but couldn’t make any solid in-roads.

The margin blew out to two shots at the end of the outward nine while Morrison was a further stroke back from Dale.

Coates held his lead till the end of the 14th before the big swing came.

A bogey on the 444m par five 15th from Coates was blitzed by a Dale birdie, giving a two shot swing to the New South Welshman.

Dale went one further ahead of Coates when he made a rock solid par on the par three 16th, with the latter missing the green to the right and failing to get down in two.

The margin was blown out to three strokes when Coates failed to capitalise on a Dale mistake on the 17th.

Both players had driven to the heart of the fairway, but Coates followed Dale’s approach shot into the greenside bunker.

Coates took three to get down and Dale was superb in his recovery for a par four.

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