The Hunter River Times

BY ALEX TIGANI

Shanelle Thomas could not help but smile when she won this year’s Club Cup.

In many ways this victory was 60 years in the making for the daughter of the late Mary Petrie, one of the greatest golfers within the walls of the Singleton Ladies Golf community.

“My mother joined here in 1962 and joined me up as a junior that same year but I wasn’t going to chase a little white ball around the paddock,” she told The Hunter River Times.

“So, I started in 1982 and it has taken all these years to win it.”

Her mother had won the title six times in Singleton after moving from Camden and her daughter Felicity Pearce brought the family tally to seven in 2013.

Now all three generations will have their names on the honour board by year’s end.

“I am getting too old for golf so I didn’t think I would ever win it,” she continued.

“You have a one in 100 flood, well I had a one in 100 game.”

Make no mistake, the popular educator has been a terrific golfer for a long time having won ten business girls championships while all three generations had also won the McCrae Cup.

She also participated in the NSW Fourball with her son in law Rodney Pearce while next year will mark 20 years since she travelled to the Royal Pines on the Gold Coast to participate in the Holden Scramble with Singleton golfers Michael Kirkpatrick and Luke Smith.

Yet last month’s victory proved to be the sweetest.

“Mum was a good golfer who won it six times and her name was on the board lots of times,” she concluded.

“So when she died two months short of 99 this year I was determined I was going to win it.”