Benalla Golf Club Women's Champion Poppy De Winne with Men's Champion Daniel Symes.
Benalla Golf Club is proud to announce Daniel Symes and Poppy De Winne as the winners of the 2026 Club Championships.
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After three weeks of stroke play qualifying, followed by match play semi-finals, Symes and De Winne faced Jason Moran and Marsha Watson, respectively, in last Sunday’s Championship Finals.
Followed by a large crowd of members, family and friends, both matches were hard fought and played to an exceptional standard.
Symes secured the Men’s Championship on the 33rd hole, while Poppy de Winne claimed the Women’s Championship on the 31st hole.
Spectators were treated to outstanding golf throughout more than six hours of play, including impressive drives, remarkable chip-ins and clutch putting from all four finalists.
In conjunction with the Championship Finals, Benalla Golf Club also determined the 2026 Grade Champions using aggregate stroke scores across the three qualifying rounds.
Men’s Championship Grade Winners
Nine-year-old Oli Symes claimed both the D Grade Club Championship and the Junior Net Championship, while also taking out the Founders Cup.
A Grade winner was Luke Macfarlane with a score over the three rounds of 214, while the B Grade winner with a score of 215 was Terry Perus.
C grade winner was Ben Van den Akker with 223 and the D grade winner was Oli Symes, the nine-year-old son of club champion Daniel Symes, with 202. This score also gave Oli the honour of winning the Founders Cup (Best Overall Nett).
Additional men’s trophies presented were for the Vets, played on a Thursday over three weeks, being the total of the best two scores in stableford.
Super Veterans Champion (70+) - Kevin George, 76 pts
Women’s Championship Grade Winners
Women’s A Grade winner was Poppy de Winne, with Sally Sykes runner-up after only five shots separated their aggregate scores across the three rounds.
Chelsea McKinnon claimed the B Grade title following an outstanding third round net 67, while Nola Jensen secured the runner-up position.
C Grade produced one of the closest finishes of the championships, with both leading players recording net 66 in the final round. Tammy Braddock narrowly defeated Debra McKinnar by a single shot to take the title.
Tammy Braddock also won the prestigious Beryl Roe Trophy for the best aggregate net score overall. Beryl and her late husband John were long-time supporters of the club, and Beryl was delighted to present the trophy and prize voucher in person.
Additional women’s awards presented included the Masters Trophy, sponsored by Anne Thomson, won by Gay Morton, while Julie Roberts was recognised as the Women’s Medal of Medallists. Grade runner-up vouchers were kindly sponsored by Maureen Symes and Wendy Walker.
Junior Awards
Junior Gross Champion Cooper Richardson with Men’s Captain Col Milligan.
Benalla continues to have strong representative in all fields this year, with several coming close second to grade winners.
We would like to congratulate our junior gross champion, Cooper Richardson with a score of 229, and our Junior Net Champion, Oli Symes with a score of 202.
Benalla Golf Captains Colin Milligan and Sue Oakley thanked referees Beth Dobson and Norm Cook for their excellent efforts throughout a long day of championship golf.
Award winners also acknowledged the work of the grounds staff for presenting the course in outstanding condition, along with the support of volunteers, family and friends who contributed to another successful championship series.
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