A fine winter’s morning greeted the 110 players who contested the 2026 Jamberoo Men’s Open, part of the Illawarra Open Series.
A sincere thank you goes to our major sponsor, Steve Oppert from Oaks Automotive, for his continued support of Jamberoo Golf Club and our premier men’s event.
We were delighted to welcome visitors from Antill Park, Kiama, Worrigee Links, The Links Shell Cove, The Grange, Port Kembla, Catalina Country Club, The Ridge, Highlands, Wollongong, Shoalhaven Heads, Nowra, Gerringong, St Georges Basin and Russell Vale. Joining them were 77 Jamberoo members, making for a quality field that embraced the championship conditions.
The overnight winds had dried the course beautifully, with the fairways presented in excellent condition. The greens, however, proved a real test, running at an estimated 14-plus on the Stimpmeter and demanding precise touch throughout the day.
As always, there were plenty of stories to emerge.
Ron Hewson wondered whether he should have claimed the longest drive on the 14th hole—despite eventually realising it was actually his tee shot on the 15th!
The official longest drive belonged to Jamberoo Club Champion Joe Neilson, whose impressive 255-metre drive set the benchmark for the day.
The popular Super Shot competition was again well supported, with $1 from every entry going towards the prize pool. The $100 jackpot was claimed by Nitchell Austin from The Grange, whose shot finished an incredible four centimetres from the hole.
Major sponsor Steve Oppert also provided one of the day’s lighter moments. After finding the water four consecutive times on the 16th hole before finally clearing the hazard with the last ball in his bag, his playing partners were quick to suggest new nicknames such as “Aquaman” or “Captain Nemo.” An expensive adventure that unfortunately spoiled an otherwise excellent round!
Humphries Takes the Title
Outstanding golf was played throughout the field, with Dylan Humphries from Antill Park Country Club crowned the 2026 Jamberoo Men’s Open Champion.
Close behind were Joel Willoughby (The Links Shell Cove) and Archie Hollands (Kiama), who both returned rounds of 72. Jamberoo’s Noel Laman and Steven Hailstone (Port Kembla) followed with impressive rounds of 73.
Further quality scoring came from Ben McEvoy (The Links Shell Cove), Dane Edwards (Jamberoo), Ben Howchin (The Grange) and Anthony Humphries (Jamberoo), all recording rounds of 74.
Nett Competition
The nett event was won convincingly by Tom Zimmermann, who made the most of his local knowledge with an outstanding 63 nett. He finished ahead of fellow Jamberoo members Jack Morris and Windradyne Crockford, who both returned excellent scores of 66 nett.
Grade Winners
A Grade
Gross: Archie Hollands
Runner-up: Steven Hailstone
Nett: Dane Edwards
Runner-up: Noel Laman
B Grade
Gross: Angus Pinkstone
Runner-up: John Anthony
Nett: Ron Chilby
Runner-up: Bernhard Kreet (Catalina CC)
C Grade
Gross: Windradyne Crockford
Runner-up: Wayne Griffiths
Nett: Jeremiah Welsh (Worrigee Links)
Runner-up: Oliver Wright
It was wonderful to welcome so many familiar faces, including several past champions, all contributing to another successful staging of the Jamberoo Men’s Open.
Thank you to all 110 competitors for your support, to our volunteers and sponsors for making the event possible, and congratulations to all of our prize winners—especially 2026 Jamberoo Men’s Open Champion Dylan Humphries.
Full Jamberoo Men’s Open Results
Jamberoo Open & Gross Winner: D Humphries (Antill Park) $400 67 Runner Up: J Willoughby (Links Shell Cove) $250 72 (c/b)
Nett Winner: T Zimmerman $400 63 Runner Up: J Morris $250 66 (c/b)
Due the Golf Connect outage on Saturday, some issues arose concerning player gradings. These have now been resolved and the results below are correct. Jamberoo Golf Club apologises for any inconvenience caused by the issues with Golf Connect.
A Grade Gross Winner: A Hollands (Kiama) $100 72 Gross Runner Up: S Hailstone (Port Kembla) $50 73 (c/b)
B Grade Gross Winner: A Pinkstone $100 81 Gross Runner Up: J Anthony $50 82
C Grade Gross Winner: W Crockford $100 89 Gross Runner Up: W Griffiths $50 90
A Grade Nett Winner: D Edwards $100 67 Nett Runner Up: N Laman $50 68
B Grade Nett Winner: R Chilby $100 70 Nett Runner Up: B Kreet (Catalina CC) $50 69
C Grade Nett Winner: J Welsh (Worrigee) $100 67 Nett Runner Up: O Wright $50 70
A Grade NTP 15th: J Willoughby (Links Shell Cove) 421 cm B Grade NTP 9th: A Bosanquet 695 cm C Grade NTP 7th: J Welsh (Worrigee) 265 cm
Monster Drive on Fairway 14th: J Neilson 255 m
Supershot 3rd: N Austin (The Grange) ($100) 4 cm
Prize vouchers are available on request from the Office
Congratulations to all Winners on a course that was presented by Nick and his greens staff in top condition. I would also like to give thanks to our volunteers in the starters shed, Judi O’Brien in the morning and Peter Young in the afternoon. A credit to them, single handed on their shifts, had all participants off the tees on time and serving in the shop and bar and also looking after Champagne nine and social players…..All players were winners on the day by participating on a fantastic day…