Date: January 1, 2026
Course: St Michael’s Golf Club
Tee Time: 8:45 am
Players: Steve Fanale, Daniel Crnkovic, Mitch Van Reyk, Reynold Sciuriaga
Weather: Overcast with the odd sprinkle ☁️🌦️
Conditions: Windy. Relentless. Classic St Michael’s.
The NY Day That Was
There are worse ways to start a year than teeing it up at St Michael’s on New Year’s Day. 2026 kicked off exactly how it should: a golf course, good mates, and a tee time pushed back just enough to accommodate the realities of New Year’s Eve celebrations.
It was a return to the old crew. Familiar faces, familiar banter, and that feeling that nothing much has changed, even though plenty has. The weather threatened rain, but mostly behaved itself. The real challenge, as anyone who’s played here knows, was the wind. When it gets up at St Michael’s, it doesn’t ask questions. It just punishes.
The scoring reflected it. A couple of solid rounds, one very uncharacteristic one, and a tie at the top that came down to a countback. Mitch and I both finished on 33 points, with Mitch sneaking the win, which feels fair given how often he’s on the wrong side of those things. (mmm, where was the pink shirt)
What made the day, though, was catching up with Dan before he headed back to Brazil, reliving stories from the Vegas crew days in 2024, and being reminded that some friendships pick up exactly where they left off. As they say, what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas, but the connection definitely made its way back to Sydney.
A windy, messy, fun start to the year. Exactly how golf should be.
Final Scores
Mitch Van Reyk: 33 points (winner on countback)
Steve Fanale: 33 points
Daniel Crnkovic: 28 points
Reynolds Sciuriaga: 15 points (an unusually rough day)
