Sandra Schultz has had a memorable return to the Wagga Country Club Ladies Championship nearly 30 years after she dominated the event.
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Schultz went into Thursday's final round with a seven stroke lead over reigning champion Lyn Stewart and calmly closed out a memorable seventh win in the event.
"It means a lot because my last championship here was 1994 before hubby and I left to go to Orange, so we've been away nearly 30 years. So it does have a bit of sentimental value," Schultz said.
"It's been a long time. I've won a few here, along with my mum, so it's just been a long time between drinks."
Schultz was Ladies Club Champion in 1986 and then for five years running, from 1989 to 1993.
In her time away from Wagga, there were 13 club championships at Duntryleague in Orange, and multiple championships at Oatlands and Richmond in Sydney.
Schultz had a final round 82, to Stewart's 85 to win by 10 strokes. She put the win down to a strong third round on Tuesday.
"Today was okay. The first two rounds were pretty ordinary but my third round I had 78 off the stick, which was better. Just a few putts - as the girls will probably attest to, they slid by the hole, I just didn't drop them - which were gettable. But that's golf," she said.
The highly accomplished Schultz, who's last two rounds were a 14 stroke improvement on her first two, said nerves weren't a factor.
"I just concentrate on playing the course. I don't play my partners. Sometimes (earlier) I've got caught up in that and paid the price of trying to beat someone. The course is the one you've got to beat so that's what my focus was," she said.
Schultz has been back in Wagga for almost 18 months and will value this victory highly.
"This was where I was a junior. My parents played out here. Mum won a lot of championships as well. They got me into it and I followed on from there," she said.
"It is special. It does mean a fair bit."
Stewart's effort meant she had a top-two finish for the third straight year, after claiming back to back wins in 2019 and 2020.
Kim Van Der Rijt was the division one nett winner by two shots from Gemma Bromham.
The four-round women's championship was played over the last two weeks.
A busy month at Wagga Country Club will continue this weekend, as the club hosts the City of Wagga Open.
The 36-hole event will see golfers competing for close to $10,000 in prizes across Saturday and Sunday.
Reigning men's club champion Luke Chisholm and three-time winner Bart Carroll will be among the players to watch.