By David Tease

It's a three-way tie at the top in the men's, while in the women's, reigning Australian Senior Women's Amateur champ Sue Wooster is the pacesetter after the opening round of the NSW Senior Amateur at Tuncurry Golf Course. Wooster, from The National in Victoria, holds a one-shot lead over the current NSW Mid-Amateur champion, Gemma Dooley of NSW GC, with four shots separating them for the chasing pack, led by Nadene Gole of Victoria Golf Club. The reigning Women's Senior Amateur champion was at her impressive best on a morning perfect for golf. Carding four birdies and only two bogeys to card an opening two under par 71. Starting on the 10th, Wooster was into her stride early with a birdie on the par-five 12th. Her playing partner, Gemma Dooley, grabbed the early lead after back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th. However, a double bogey on the short par three brought the Mid-Amateur champ's run to a halt. After dropping the 14th, Wooster immediately birdied the 15th before disappointingly dropping another on the par-4 17th. That was the last shot Wooster would drop for the day, and with her confidence up, she went bogey-free on the front nine, adding birdies on the third and fifth to finish at two under. In the men's senior, Hawks Nest's Warren Gorton and Port Macquarie club mates Terry Davis and David Bagust hold a one-shot lead from the chasing pack. In second place are John Osborn of Mudgee, and Steve Hunt of Glenmore Heritage, with another four players at two over par. Bagust, the 2020 NSW Senior champion, was the man they were all chasing for most of the day. After an opening front nine of seven pars, a birdie and a bogey, Bagust spent the better part of the back nine on top of the leaderboard, courtesy of a birdie on the par-five 11th. The clubhouse lead looked like it was his alone until an unfortunate dropped shot on the tricky par three 16th, which saw him fall back to level par for the day. Davis was a model of consistency, his two bogeys covered with birdies on the fifth and 11th. Like Bagust, Davis could have been sitting on the clubhouse lead alone if not for a messy bogey on the par-three 16th. Hawks Nest's Warren Gorton, who came so close to claiming the crown in 2021 at Shoalhaven Heads and Nowra, joined the leaders late in the day. Unlike Bagust and Davis, Gorton's opening round effort was a bit of a roller-coaster. After dropping three shots in his opening seven holes, Gorton went on a tear, dropping birdie putts on the 8th, 9th, 11th and 15th to get into red figures. Sadly like his co-leaders, the 16th proved to be his nemesis as well, and a tough bogey brought him back to earth.