FOUR Stawell Golf Club players have represented Victoria at the Volkswagon Scramble, a golf tournament hosted at the Twin Waters Golf Club on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
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Tania Dignan, Deb McSparron, Anna Sullivan and Leigh Johnston finished third in Australia in the 2019-20 Volkswagen Scramble Women's Championship Final as the team played out a "once in a lifetime opportunity".
In 2019 the team progressed to the state final after winning the regional event in Horsham and in November 2020 they went one step further after successfully defeating the competition at Huntingdale Golf Course to win an all-expenses paid trip to Queensland.
The 2019-20 Volkswagen Scramble was affected by many COVID-19 related delays, with the tournament taking place across May 7 to 10, 2021.
Despite the delays, golfer Deb McSparron said the event was incredible.
"It was absolutely magnificent and a once in a lifetime opportunity," she said.
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"We all did our little bit, but it was a bit nerve-wracking.
"When you have to get out there and perform you can just try your best.
"Playing on the beautiful golf course was amazing. There was pristine greens, the fairways were magnificent and there was great scenery that surrounded it."
McSparron has only be playing golf for a few years and said she never expected she could be involved in a tournament like this.
"I started golf lessons in 2018 and that was for a bit of fun, but in 2019 I decided I wanted to take the next step which was to join the Stawell Golf Club and get a handicap," she said.
"I never thought I would be going interstate to play golf.
"It was amazing, and I felt like a duck out of water at times. The professionalism of all the other golfers was great to see.
"Hopefully I can get that handicap down a bit further, that will be my next aim, but also making sure I enjoy it while I am doing it."
Tania Dignan said their team shared many great experiences over the weekend including playing with professional golfers and earning a funny nickname.
"It was a once in a lifetime experience and we met a lot of nice people," she said.
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"We didn't play quite as good as what we could have, but we made the final and that was our aim and we did.
"I think it shows anybody can achieve anything and I couldn't have asked for a better lot of girls to play with.
"We are all friends and that made it better too because we all enjoyed each other's company.
"We also got known as 'The Flamingo Girls'. When they introduced us at the presentation night they called us 'The Flamingo Girls' because we had the Flamingos (skirts) on the Sunday.
"If you were in the top three you also got to play with a touring pro.
"Peter Senior, Stephen Jefferies and Brent Rankin sat on three pars three holes so you could use them on the hole on the final day.
"That was definitely a highlight getting to play with them."
26 teams were involved in the four-person Ambrose event across a men's, women's and mixed division.
Due to family commitments the team couldn't take their previous pro, Ballarat's Daniel Defelice, and instead played with Creswick's Darren Bowman, who helped the team to third place.
The team played well enough across their first two rounds on Saturday and Sunday to make the final cut, and finished 11.4 shots behind the ACT's Yowani Golf Club and 7.4 shots behind Tasmania's Prospect Vale Golf Club.
For finishing third, each team member earned a prize of a new set of customized golf wedges.
The group also would like to thank the Northern Grampians Shire Council who provided each of the team members with a $500 grant for the event, thanks to the Minor grants program.
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