Nailbiting playoff decides 2022 WBC Champs

For the second consecutive year, a sudden-death playoff provided an exciting finish to a massive week of golf and fun at the 2022 William Buckley Classic.

Played at the Moonah Links Resort on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, with a tournament record 42 players in the field, the 17th running of the WBC was contested under sunny and warm conditions - perfect for a golf weekend (and better than the rain-soaked east of the country!)

Day 1 ("The Ambush") saw our 21 teams of Bushrangers tee it up at the world-famous Open Course, designed by legendary Australian golfer Peter Thomson as a venue to host the Australian Open. Our two-person Ambrose teams (which were, as usual, all feeling a bit shaky following Friday evening's festivities in the Moonah Links Academy) battled the challenging course as they scrambled for a spot on the leaderboard. When the final putt was drained after day one, The Sullivan Bay Gingerbread Men (Richard Fellner and Wayne Ball) found themselves atop the leaderboard with a massive 42 points. But in one of the closest first-day leaderboards in event history, a massive 11 other teams were within 4 shots of the lead!

Day 2 ("The Assault") saw all 21 teams battling hard to reach the podium. Played on the more "lenient" Legends Course, our teams (which were now feeling the full effects of two full nights of the post-golf festivities) worked their way around the beautiful course.  As always with our Majors, the tee sheets were a seeded draw, meaning that the last-placed teams teed off first, while the leaders teed off last.

When the final putts were holed, and the scorecards tallied (and re-tallied), the leaderboard was seriously jammed at the top -- with the top 10 teams all within 4 shots! It also became apparent that a sudden-death playoff would be required to determine the champions!

PLAYOFF!

The second-ever play-off in WBC history featured drama, action and good-natured fun. Two teams took the stage in Alternate-shot (Foursomes) action as the gallery watched on.

The two teams, The Point Addis Bashers (Ian Steer & Cam Thompson), along with The Cascades Gatekeepers (Michael O'Sullivan & Rob Fuleky - travelling all the way from Bright, Vic) teed off on the first hole of the Legends Course.

After a few nervy tee shots, fairway shots and approaches, both teams found themselves on the edge of the long par-5, with each shot piling the pressure on both the opposing team, but also each other's playing partner!

Showing true grit and determination, both chips/putts found the putting surface, though the Gatekeepers had a slight advantage, being within a few feet of the hole. After valiant efforts by both of the Bashers players fell just short of the hole, Rob Fuleky drained his putt to seal the victory for the Gatekeepers.

See below for Final team scores, video and photo gallery. (or click here to see detailed round-by round scores and stats on our Golf Genius Portal)

Thanks to all who played - it was an exciting and memorable weekend of fun! And thanks to our amazing partners/sponsors: Srixon-Cleveland, Garmin, Heathcote Winery, TCN Gift Cards and Drummond Golf.