The Halls Head Western Open, also known as the Mandurah Classic, was a golf tournament in Australia.
History The tournament was founded in 1979 as the Mandurah Classic. The event was held at Mandurah Country Club in Halls Head, Mandurah, Western Australia. The event was managed by Tuohy and Associates, a golf management group run by Bob Tuohy, a former professional golfer. In the inaugural event, local resident Terry Gale came from behind in the final round to match the course record with a 66 (−6) and win by five shots. The following year, Gale repeated as champion.
In 1981 and 1982, the event became part of the PGA Tour of Australia. The purse increased significantly to A$30,000. The first two rounds were a neck and neck struggle between Bob Shaw and Colin Bishop with Terry Gale close behind. In the third round, however, Bishop and Shaw "faded" with over-par rounds. Gale, meanwhile, scored four consecutive birdies on the back nine for a five-under-par 67. He suddenly led by seven shots. In the final round, Shaw recorded a number of birdies on the back nine to reduce Gale's lead to two. However, he bogeyed the 17th and Gale finished two strokes ahead. It was his third consecutive victory in the event. The following year, Gale was among the favorites, and held the lead after the first three rounds. However, in the final round he failed to make a birdie, and Mike Cahill took advantage, shooting a 70 to win by a stroke. In 1983, Bob Shaw, who had been runner-up in both 1981 and 1982, won by a stoke from Peter Fowler after having a two-stroke penalty applied for replacing a tee marker on the final hole.
Winners YearWinnerScoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-upPurse(A$)Ref.Mandurah Classic1979Terry Gale283−56 strokesStewart Ginn9,0001980Terry Gale10,000Halls Head Western Open1981Terry Gale281−72 strokesBob Shaw30,0001982Mike Cahill279−91 strokeTerry GaleWayne GradyBob Shaw35,0001983Bob Shaw285−31 strokePeter Fowler35,000
References