On Sunday the 24th of May, Handicap and Scratch concluded for 2026 with the 2nd week of finals at Werribee Park Golf Course. A Dodgy weather forecast early in the week never eventuated with eight finals being played in near perfect conditions.
In the Scratch divisions it was back-to-back wins for both Waterford Valley (Division 1) and Lakeside (Division 2). Waterford Valley has now won three of the last four Scratch 1 finals whereas Brighton has been the bridesmaid the last three seasons. In Scratch 2 Lakeside completed a dominate year where they won all their home and away matches with a comprehensive 7-1 win over Westgate.
In Handicap Division 1, Northcote Gold’s narrow defeat of Yarra View meant that the team that started in Handicap Division 9 in 2016 had made its way all the to the top of the Handicap Pennant ranks in 10 seasons, missing finals only once in that 10 year period and winning 8 of the 9 finals they contested! Unfortunately for Yarra View it was their third finals loss in a row after losing 3.5-4.5 to Northcote Green in 2025 and in a sudden death playoff to Centenary Park in 2024!
In Handicap Division 2 Riverside Essendon missed the chance to earn promotion back into Division 1 after going down to Elsternwick Park Red 5-3. Interestingly that now means that two of the teams that are in Division 1 of Handicap Pennant have less than 45 male members in their clubs!
Ringwood franked their 2025 Division 4 premiership with the 2026 Division 3 premiership with a 5.5 to 2.5 win over Royal Park. In Division 4 Westgate 1 completed an exceptional season for the club taking out their third pennant flag for the season with a narrow 4.5 to 3.5 win over Altona Lakes Lakers. The win followed their Senior Pennant flag won in April and the Handicap Division 8 flag won last week.
After being relegated last year, Tirhatuan earned promotion straight back into Handicap Division 4 with a 5.5 to 2.5 victory over Brighton 1, and in Handicap Division 6 Glen Waverley Red won their third premiership in a row, acting the spoil sports defeating Olinda 4.5 to 3.5 in what is likely to be Olinda’s last season playing Pennant in the VGL with the club likely to be “merged” into Beaconhills Golf Club by the end of the year!
The results were as follows:
Scratch 1 – Waterford Valley defeated Brighton – 5-3
Scratch 2 – Lakeside defeated Westgate – 7-1
Division 1 – Yarra View defeated by Northcote Gold – 3.5-4.5.
Division 2 – Riverside Essendon defeated by Elsternwick Red – 3-5.
Division 3 – Ringwood defeated Royal Park – 5.5-2.5
Division 4 – Westgate 1 defeated Altona Lakes Lakers – 4.5-3.5.
Division 5 – Tirhatuan defeated Brighton 1 – 5.5-2.5.
Division 6 – Glen Waverley Red defeated Olinda – 4.5-3.5.
Congratulations to all the winners on the day!
Special thank you to Peter Frost, Ian McMillan, Greg Lewin, Jeff McAveny, Peter and Judy Kingshott, George and Robin Weaver, Will Williams and Michel Tuomy who made the day run smoothly.
Thank you to Corin in the Werribee Park Golf Club pro shop and staff in the club house for their assistance in the lead up and throughout the day. Finally, a huge thankyou to the ground staff at Werribee Park for once again presenting the course in fantastic condition for both weeks of the Pennant Finals