Sports reports: Brett Altschwager takes golf club crown in epic final

This story includes contributions from Michael Potts and Daniel Irvine.

In one of the best play-off finals for many a year, Brett Altschwager has produced a withering finish when all seemed lost to snatch the trophy out of courageous runner-up Keith Durham's hands on the first of the tie-breaker holes – the 37th – to claim his maiden Murray Bridge Golf Club championship.

It was expected to be a fiercely contested final over the marathon 36 holes between highly talented rising star Altschwager, who had disposed of the brilliant Aaron Zrim in the semi finals, and tough as nails but more experienced former champion Durham; and so it proved to be.

A well drilled match play golfer, Durham was desperate to win his second title after knocking out more highly credentialled opposition in Anthony Edwards and Mark Bolton along the way.

Under cloudy skies and in chilly conditions, Durham burst out of the blocks, taking advantage of his opponent's early nerves to work to a handy lead before Altschwager settled into his work and found his rhythm.

In a high-standard affair, he clawed his way back into the match and when the heavens opened for an hour or so, making life tricky and a bit greasy, he finally took the lead as Durham started making a few errors.

When the rain cleared great golf was shown by both players as the second round of 18 holes produced par after par.

The par four 10th hole – 28th for the match – was a classic as both players drained long-range birdie putts to halve the hole.

The experience of Durham shone through as he played some brilliant golf and worked his way to a two-hole lead with the holes running out.

He could smell his second title when he reached the 35th hole two up and just needing to halve one of the last two holes for victory.

If there were any nerves from either player, they certainly weren't showing as Altschwager sunk an eight-foot putt for birdie on the par three 35th to narrow the margin to just one hole with one to play.

Both players drove to near the mound on the right of the par four 36th hole, and Altschwager then lobbed his approach shot onto the back left of the green but a good 25 feet from the pin.

Durham, meanwhile, had an awkward position, further into the mound and with trees ahead of him; but with nerves of steel he produced a sensational pitch onto the green to about 10 feet from the flag.

Needing to win the hole to stay alive, Altschwager lined his putt up from every angle before rolling his ball across and down the green, slap bang into the middle of the cup at perfect pace to the roar of the gallery as well as sportsmanlike applause from Durham.

Durham still had his chance to win the match but it just slipped past the hole and the match was tied.

It was off to the par four first hole for the third time on the day to try to find a winner, and everyone held their breath as both players drove long and straight down the middle.

Durham's approach shot found the left-hand bunker but Altschwager produced a dart to hit the green about 12 feet below the hole.

Drama ensued as Durham's bunker shot took one bounce and cannoned into the flagstick before ricocheting four feet away.

Altschwager had his chance to wrap things up, but there was more drama to follow as his perfectly weighted putt was all but in before the ball decided to do a 360-degree spin around the hole and stop on the edge.

It was a lifeline for Durham, who considered his knee-trembling four-foot right-to-left slider across the green, but his ball narrowly missed on the low side and it was the match and title to Altschwager after a wonderful 37-hole contest.

Congratulations to both players for a wonderful spectacle but particularly to Altschwager, who is now a club champion.

The women's club champion is Mary Langsford, who defeated Lisa Hancock.

Men's grade winners:

• Men's B grade: Corey Dahlitz defeated Shane Aldridge 8-7
• Men's C grade: Fred Carter defeater Patrick Secker 2-1
• Men's D grade: Dean Wright defeated Mark Lewis 19th
• Men's veteran winner: Deane Pannell, runner-up Grant Brightman
• Junior boys: Levi Ashton, runner-up Lucas Ackland

Women's grade winners:

• Women's B grade: Wendy Baker defeated Heather Fromm
• Women's C grade: Cathy Thomas defeated Fran Hentschke

Greg Traeger takes home rifle trophy on countback

A small number of members braved the wintery conditions on Saturday to compete in the Murray Bridge Rifle Club’s annual Three-Range Shoot.

The handicapped shoot of seven shots over three ranges was shot this year from
400 metres, 500m and 700m.

The weather was challenging at times and a couple of very light showers threatened, but competitors stayed mostly dry and were generally able to post some respectable scores.

Top-off rifle shooters for the day were David McDonald in F-class and Greg Traeger in target rifle, both of whom only dropped a point for the day.

However, the delicious trophy from Beerenberg is awarded on handicap so fortunately for Traeger, his score translated into a handicap win of just over a point ahead of Daniel Irvine.

McDonald was less fortunate, finishing second by half a point to new member Brett Larwood, in his first trophy victory at the club.

Katrina Davis, another new member, was only another half point behind in third.

Next week the club will shoot for the Patron’s Trophy from 800m.

Murray Bridge trainers produce winners across two states

Over the past fortnight, strong performances at Balaklava, the Mount Gambier Cup Day, the Spry Civil Construction Country Race Day at Murray Bridge and Mildura highlighted the continued consistency of the region’s horsemen and women.

At Balaklava, race two delivered a thrilling finish as Mick Huxtable’s Safe Bet, ridden by Alysha Warren, narrowly held on to score.

Michael Hickmott’s Impact Storm, partnered by Todd Pannell, stormed home to finish just 0.04 lengths from the winner, more a nose-hair than an actual nose.

The race showcased the strength of the Murray Bridge training ranks, with local trainers filling the first five placings in the event.

On Mount Gambier Cup Day, Gary Boyce opened the Murray Bridge winners’ tally in race two as Gazelle, ridden by Alysha Warren, produced an impressive 3.85-length victory.

Stephen Theodore added another success in race five with Hard Leaf, which fought on strongly under Harry Grace to score by 0.22 lengths.

At Murray Bridge, Dan Clarken and Oopy MacGillivray claimed race three with Like a Drifter, ridden by Tala Hutchinson, narrowly prevailing by just 0.06 lengths in one of the finishes of the day.

Nicole Irwin added another winner to her consistent season in race six as Real Deluxe, partnered by Stacey Metcalfe, scored by 1.15 lengths.

Across the border, Jessica Tzaferis secured victory in race four at Mildura with Everythingisautumn, continuing the mare’s strong run of form.

Nicole Irwin’s Redwinelover finished second in race five, while Tzaferis added another placing in race six with Volkano running second.

In race seven, Stephanie Lacy’s Lady Lupara finished third, with Ashvin Goindasamy making the trip to Mildura to take the ride.

Ballarat also saw a local winner with Andrew Clarken’s result on Sunday, with Pico Bella storming home with a 0.2 length win.

• More photos: Country Race Day

Basketball grand finals contested and end-of-season awards handed out

Congratulations to the MVP of Murray Bridge men's division one basketball, Ashton Harradine from United, and runner-up Matthew Hartman from Falcons.

Both players had exceptional seasons and were recognised for their consistency, leadership and impact on the court throughout the year.

In the men's division one grand final, Falcons Nori came away with an impressive 50-29 win over United Kangari, with Hartman named best on court.

In the senior women's grand final, two teams from Falcons battled away, with Falcons Pondi 51 overcoming Falcons Kungari 36.

Season runner-up for MVP and best on court in the grand final went to Amiah Kartinyeri, with the season MVP Award going to Nellie Kowald.

In other divisions:

• Men's division two: Saints Lightning defeated United Kukai 49-34, best on court Clarence Delos Reyes (Lightning), season MVP Cordell Giles-Karpany (United), runners-up Evan Clarke (Galaxy) and John Paul de Jesus (Saints)
• Under 16 girls: Saints defeated Saints Bomber 50-42, best on court and season MVP Indii Garrett (Saints), runner-up Azalea Baker (Saints)
• Under 14 girls: Falcons Thukabi defeated Galaxy Suns 39-23, best on court Jetta Harradine, season MVP Elena Hartmann (Saints), runner-up Emilee Hartmann (Saints)
• Under 12 girls: Galaxy Comets defeated Galaxy Suns 21-20, best on court Ruby Mason

Congratulations to all the winners, players, referees, officials, parents and volunteers who keep community basketball thriving in the Murraylands and beyond.

Black Swans sit on top of rugby league ladder

After a crushing 44-14 win over South Adelaide last Friday, the Black Swans sit atop the SA Rugby League men's ladder after eight rounds.

Three of the top four try-scorers in the competition are club members, with Michael Holland leading the way on 17 tries.

Joseph Elkington and Kane Goulding have scored eight and six tries respectively, with Joshua Huey and Chol Chol rounding out the top 10 with four each.

The Swans have only lost one game so far to the Eels, but will have to wait a bit longer to reverse that decision as they have the bye this week.

Murray Bridge United Reserves move to next round

By a 3-2 margin, Murray Bridge United's reserves have progressed to round four of a reserves knock-out cup competition.

Their win over Greenacres United featured goals from Ricta Judy (34') and a double to Jimmy Rocky (40' and 64').

The club will celebrate its 70th anniversary this August.

Murray Bridge Table Tennis season gets underway

Congratulations to the winners of the recent tournament heralding the start of a new season.

• Handicap winners: Matt and Mav, runners-up Jarrod and Tyson
• Division 1-2: Mark and Shane, runners-up Tyson and Jarrod
• Division 3-4: Bob and Tim, runners-up Shylyn and Azizi
• Division 5-6: Josh and Machai, runners-up Peter and Derek

Murray Bridge Table Tennis Association is a friendly group which is always looking for new members so please get in touch if it's something you'd like to do.

• More information: Search for Murray Bridge and District Table Tennis Association on Facebook.

Finalists for the Tailem Bend Golf Club championships settled

The final four in each grade who will tee off for the club championships this weekend have been settled, with some interesting match-ups to determine the winner:

• A grade: Paul Baxter v Ash Hensel and Glen More v Craig Hogben
• B grade: David Linde v Con Jones and Jason Kiddie v Peter Phillips
• C grade: Gary Clasohm v Dean Jones and Bob Neil v Jason Dunkin

The winners in each division will play off for their respective titles.

River Murray Football League results

• Ramblers 13.9 (87) defeated Tailem Bend 19.7 (67)
• Southern Mallee 9.12 (66) lost to Mannum 12.7 (79)
• Jervois 10.15 (75) defeated Imperials 7.8 (50)
• Mallee 11.9 (75) defeated Mypolonga 7.13 (55)

River Murray Netball Association results

• Mallee Storm 41 lost to Mypolonga 45
• Imperial 58 defeated Jervois 28
• Tailem Bend 49 defeated Rambler 34
• Southern Mallee 38 lost to Mannum 55

Send your sports reports to jane@murraybridge.news. To express an interest in sponsoring this regular feature, email the same address.