Horsham Golf Club's Jeremy Schmidt proved victorious in the high-quality men's competition, defeating Stawell's Tim Coffey in a playoff on the 37^th hole of the day.

Following still and mild weather for the first 18 holes in the morning, afternoon wind and rain made things difficult for competitors on the second 18 at the Stawell Golf Club.

Manfully battling through the conditions, Schmidt and Coffey shot identical scores of 74 and 77 off the stick, sending the men's competition to a playoff.

Both players hit errant tee-shots on the playoff hole before Schmidt claimed the championship with a bogey.

"It was a bit hard to come out and play the hole when we had an half-an-hour wait since finishing the 36 holes," Schmidt said.

READ MORE:

"I had already kicked my feet up - I was in the clubhouse and I was having a beer with the boys when I found out that we had the same score.

"So the playoff hole was a bit rough - I won it with a bogey - but I was happy to win it. It was pretty surprising."

Schmidt, who plays off a handicap of one, said he was glad to play in the event for golfers with a handicap of less than 10.

"It's normally in winter when I play footy, so I rarely get to play," he said.

"It's definitely a great event. It's great for the region to get all these golfers together."

The ladies competition also had its fair share of drama, as reigning champion Libby Lacey fell in the car park and hurt her elbow prior to the event.

Tournament organiser Jo Donnelly said Lacey manfully battled on before the pain became too much.

"She went out there and played about four or five holes or something, before she came in and said it was too much," Donnelly said.

"She had scans later and it turned out she had actually broken bones in her elbow.

"It was an incredible effort from her to even try to play."

Horsham's Sue Walter won the women's championship, shooting 84 and 85 off the stick to beat out Stawell's Jo Orr by seven strokes.

Tania Dignan won the 36-hole net competition while Shannon Tate won the men's net competition.

Donnelly said 88 people competed across the day in what was a magnificent event.

"The Stawell Golf Club were fantastic hosts and we were so appreciative of all the people there that helped out," she said.

"The course looked amazing and the turnout was fantastic, despite the crazy weather.

"Considering this was all thrown together in a month (following the easing of COVID-restrictions), it was fantastic."

Donnelly said the event would also consider a permanent move to a summer or spring competition, rather than its regular timeslot in May.

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Stawell Times-News. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the region, sign up here.