LEADING senior golfer Stefan Albinski has won the inaugural Australian Senior Amateur Ranking System Gold Medal.
The Sydney golfer cemented his place at the top of Australian senior amateur men’s golf by taking the title, which is a year long competition including 15 events that has replaced the old Australian Senior Order of Merit (AUSOOM) system.
The new system, introduced by Golf Australia last year, includes over six categories of players and determines Australia’s best Men, Women, Boys’, Girls’, Senior Men and Senior Women golfers.
Albinski won six events in the Senior section (over 55), including four state titles and culminating in his victory at the Australian Senior Matchplay Championship last month. That win saw him take the overall title from Queenslander Grahame MacDonald.
Albinski has been dominating senior amateur golf since he qualified and began competing in 2008, winning the Australian Senior Amateur Championship in April that year at his first attempt.
Silver medal winner MacDonald also had a great year, winning the Northern Territory Seniors, placing second in the Australian Seniors Championship and regularly finishing inside the top ten.
His selection in the Australian team for the Asia Pacific Championships in December capped a memorable 12 months.
Third place and the bronze medal went to popular NSW golfer Denis Dale who was also consistent all year with a win in the Grange Seniors and a top ten in every event contested.
Dale had won the gold medal in 2006 and 2007 before being runner up in 2008.
Donohoe wins Women’s Senior Medal
The NSW south coast dominated the women’s senior ranking with the recently crowned Australian Senior Amateur Champion Sylvia Donohoe from Narooma taking the top title.
Lynne Townsend from Wollongong was second while Queenslander Josie Ryan from the Headland club took third.
The Super Senior Section, for players aged 65 years and over, also went to Queenslanders, in Fay Payne and Ian Read.