He may not be a member at the club anymore but there's no doubt Tim White's intricate knowledge of the course played a big role in him claiming his maiden Epiroc Wentworth Open title over the weekend, hoisting the Steve Roach Memorial Trophy as a result.
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White played all his junior golf at Wentworth and won a C grade Club Championship as a teenager, beating out fellow gun junior Ben Findlay in that final, and he also learned the intricacies of the course during a stint as a greenkeeper.
A long-bomber now playing at Duntryleague, White shot an even-par round of 70 on Saturday's first day to trail overnight leader Peter Mitchell by a single stroke and then carded 72 on Sunday to push to the top of the leaderboard.
He ultimately won by three shots from another former Wentworth member now playing at Duntryleague in Craig Stojanovic, also the 2017 champion. Mitchell shot 76 on day two to finish level with Stojanovic, earning a silver lining by claiming the tournament's Senior Championship.
WATCH: Wentworth professional Todd Brakenridge reveals all the winners...
"It was a good score from Timmy and a big congratulations, he's a Wenty junior but playing at Duntry now and he's an ex-greenkeeper so he certainly knows the place pretty well," Wentworth professional Todd Brakenridge said of the 2019 champion.
"Playing at Wenty while I was growing up certainly helped I think and working on the greens for a long time too, it was really good to get the win, I think the last major thing I won was that C grade championship all those years ago. I think Benny and I were 12 or 13 at the time," White said.
"I've been playing reasonably well lately and I've been able to play a lot more, having a bit more time to do so with work. Still, I chipped pretty ordinary last weekend in the (Hahn) Duntryleague Open (Amateur Championship) but worked on that through the week.
"I probably still didn't putt as well as I'd have liked on the Sunday but didn't do too much damage and got away with it, I'm pretty stoked with it."
The club also established another major award for the 2019 edition of the tournament, with Phil White claiming the Brian Mendham Memorial Trophy for the best 36-hole handicap score from a Wentworth member.
With the ladies also playing in this year's tournament, Lee Pickett did what so many of the members haven't been able to do regularly and claimed her home title.
She shot scratch stableford rounds of 32 and 26 points to finish with a 36-hole tally of 58.
He's a Wenty junior but playing at Duntry now and he's an ex-greenkeeper so he certainly knows the place pretty well.
- Wentworth professional Todd Brakenridge, on 2019 Open champion Tim White
This year's open came after a gut-wrenching year for the club, which sadly lost its clubhouse in May's well-publicised blaze, and Brakenridge made a point of thanking all involved for the support despite that lack of infrastructure.
"It hasn't been much fun since May, since the fire. It's fair to say we've had more people coming into the pro shop asking about a clubhouse rebuild than we have buying anything, but a big thanks to [everyone]," he said, with more than 200 in the field.
"To the visitors who came and travelled knowing we didn't have a clubhouse, a big thanks to them, and of course to the members a big thanks, you don't have an event without the members.
"Particularly the ladies, it was one thing to open it up to the ladies and it was another thing for them to come and support it."
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Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
