Houchen Yang from Commonwealth Golf Club is the 2021 Victorian Heart Open Champion, whilst William Riddle from Howlong Country Club claimed the Don Lawrence Trophy. Yang, off a 13 handicap, returned 42 points on The Metropolitan Golf Club layout to finish with the best score of the day. With any of the 84-strong field eligible to win the overall title, but only those players who have had open heart surgery eligible for the Don Lawrence Trophy, Riddle fired 39 points to hold off 2016 Champion Graeme Burns and first-time entrant Dean Amendola, who both returned 37 points. The men’s and women’s Grade Divisions were won by: • Women’s A Grade: Suah Suah (Eastern Golf Club), 32 points • Women’s B Grade: Lish Boadle (Peninsula-Kingswood Country Golf Club), 23 points • Men’s A Grade: Graeme Burns (Lonsdale Links), 37 points c/b • Men’s B Grade: Trevor Eiffert (Belvoir Park Golf Club), 35 points A raffle was held in conjunction, with proceeds going to the Monash Heart Hospital. Over $1,800 was raised for the hospital on the day, with a presentation made at the event dinner updating participants of the hospital’s developments. Once again the four Kerin brothers contested the event, illustrating how special the day is, as well husband and wide pair in Pippa Sampson and Greg Lockwood. The event is a special event for men and women, amateurs or professionals who have undergone a heart procedure (e.g. open heart, bypass, stents, etc). On this basis alone, the event is as much about celebrating life through golf on top of the actual competition that brings together players from mainly across Victoria. The inaugural event was held at the Royal Melbourne and Victoria Golf Clubs in 1989 and has continued ever since. The significant progress in modern medical treatment saw the conditions revised in 2015 to welcome a further range of players that had been the recipients of alternate heart treatments. The 2022 Vic Heart Open date and venue will soon be determined. FINAL LEADERBOARD