Good morning everyone, and welcome to Thursday, 23 November \u2013 a date on the calendar that strikes fear into the hearts of golf enthusiasts everywhere, as it was on this day in 1929 that Maurice Flitcroft emerged, pink and screaming, into the world.<\/p>\n
Flitcroft\u2019s place in the annals of golfing history was earned in 1976, when \u2013 despite having precisely zero experience playing the sport \u2013 the former high-dive stuntman and shoe polish salesman blagged his way into an entry for the \u201876 British Open.<\/p>\n
At the time, any amateurs entering the British Open were required to have, and provide evidence of, an official handicap (as in, the golfing kind\u2026 not the \u201cI\u2019m missing a limb\u201d or \u201cI need adult supervision at all times\u201d kind).<\/p>\n
Lacking the required paperwork, Flitcroft simply told organisers that he was actually a professional player, which organisers accepted at face value.<\/p>\n
His place on the roster confirmed, Flitcroft then retreated to his local library to study a ragged copy of renowned expert Peter Alliss\u2019 book, Easier Golf.<\/p>\n
Armed with a set of mail order clubs in an imitation red leather bag, Flitcroft presented himself at the qualifying round of the Open at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, a solid par 70 18-hole course covering some 6.5km of immaculate, rolling seaside terrain.<\/p>\n
There, he rubbed shoulders with the giants of the game, including Seve Balasteros and Australia\u2019s own Jack Newtown, several years before the latter walked into a running plane propeller and sliced himself into some very rough pieces indeed.<\/p>\n
Flitcroft fired off a round of gold that one witness described as a \u201cblizzard of triple and quadruple bogeys ruined by a solitary par\u201d.<\/p>\n
His final score was a record-shattering round of 121 \u2013\u00a049 over par \u2013 earning himself the title of the Worst Golfer in the World, and a lifetime ban from all professional golf events, anywhere, ever.<\/p>\n
He made several attempts to get around the ban \u2013 using things like false moustaches and fake names including Arnold Palmtree and Gene Paycheki \u2013\u00a0and managed to play a few holes here and there over the following years, usually being rudely interrupted by officials when they realised he had no idea what he was doing on the course.<\/p>\n
Flitcroft died in March 2007 of a lung infection, after decades of chain-smoking cigarettes left him with a hole in one.<\/p>\n
A-thank you.<\/p>\n
The lesson here is fairly straightforward, because to my mind, Flitcroft embodied a very Stockhead way of life \u2013\u00a0never mind what the boring old \u201cestablishment\u201d types say, if you\u2019ve got the chutzpah to rock up and have a crack at something, then do it and give it 100% of everything you\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n
And f..k \u2018em if they can\u2019t take a joke.<\/p>\n
But, to do that when you\u2019ve got investments on the line is a big ask, and means you need to be prepared\u00a0\u2013 which is why the Delightful Christian Edwards is bringing us Part 1 of his deep dive into who\u2019s making a killing among the ASX-listed defence stocks<\/a>, and Rob Badman\u2019s dialled up to 11 to deliver a snapshot of what\u2019s happening in the battery metals market<\/a> right now.<\/p>\n Plus, as always, here\u2019s all the fiddly data and digits to get you up to speed this morning as well.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Gold: US$1,989.74 (-0.43%)<\/p>\n Silver: US$23.63 (-0.41%)<\/p>\n Nickel (3mth): US$16,992\/t (+0.24%)<\/p>\n Copper (3mth): US$8,449\/t (+0.22%)<\/p>\n Oil (WTI): US$76.56 (-1.55%)<\/p>\n Oil (Brent): US$77.42 (-6.09%)<\/p>\n Iron 62pc Fe: US$129.84\/t (+0.22%)<\/p>\n AUD\/USD: 0.6545 (-0.20%)<\/p>\n Bitcoin: US$37,422 (+2.31%)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n With red hot Resources flying out the door at the moment, it\u2019s little wonder that the Resources Round-up from Rob \u2018Resources\u2019 Badman piqued some interest on the socials overnight.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n #ASX<\/a> Resources Top 6: Black Dragon Gold, hunting for the yellow metal in Spain, flies up the bourse; Other goldies also glinting: Kula, Ballymore, Westar, Aurum and Forrestania. #gold<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/zA6kTgpS9b<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Stockhead (@StockheadAU) November 22, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:<\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/p>\n WordPress Tables Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Yesterday\u2019s Small Caps highlights were:<\/p>\n Top of the pops on hump day is Westar Resources (ASX:WSR)<\/a>\u00a0 which says that drilling is on at its Olga Rocks Projectout in Western Australia somewhere isolated and desperate, to \u2018test the reinterpretation for potential pegmatite-hosted lithium and also target a prospective horizon for high grade gold mineralisation that is largely underexplored.\u2019<\/p>\n Takes breath.<\/p>\n This is what an excited Westar executive director Lindsay Franker said:<\/p>\n \u201cWe are excited to test the reinterpretation for the discovery of lithium-bearing pegmatites in such close proximity to Zenith Mineral\u2019s recently announced Rio lithium Mineral Resource, and at the same time drill for potential high grade gold over a similar prospective horizon in which Zenith recently announced their maiden Mineral Resource for the Dulcie Far North gold project, just 1.5km along strike from our Project.\u201d<\/p>\n It certainly is true that Olga Rocks is located just 2km from Zenith Minerals\u2019 (ASX:ZNC)<\/a> recently announced \u2018Rio\u2019 Inferred Mineral Resource (11.9Mt @ 0.72% Li2O) and 40km from Wesfarmers (ASX:WES)<\/a> -SQM JV\u2019s operating Earl Grey lithium Mine (Mt Holland Project: 189Mt @ 1.5% Li2O) 2a2b which has a 50-year mine life.<\/p>\n Handy.<\/p>\n Coming in a close second on nothing fresh Rob Badman could locate \u2013 Ballymore Resources (ASX:BMR)<\/a> \u2013 despite the gold\/copper\/silver explorer clocking an easy 30% gain.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the junior Queensland explorer noted that it had conducted soil sampling at the Ruddygore copper project\/system, targeting a \u2018significant magnetic anomaly\u2019 and extending the system by another 2km, to create a 5km long target zone.<\/p>\n The project is an extension of the historic Ruddygore high-grade mine that was operated until 1909, yielding 1,450 tons of copper at a grade of 3.9% Cu & 56g\/t Ag.<\/p>\n Ballymore also had good news in late October, announcing \u201cextremely high-grade gold results\u201d with individual assays up to 2206ppb Au (2.2g\/t) returned from soil sampling program over its Dittmer prospect, some 30-odd km southwest of Prosperine in central Qld.<\/p>\n That prospect includes the historic Dittmer mine and numerous unexplored, historic workings in the local area and the company believes the find confirms Dittmer as a major mineralised system defined by broad anomalies.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks:<\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/p>\n WordPress Tables Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n TRADING HALTS<\/p>\n Roots Sustainable Agricultural Technologies (ASX:ROO)<\/a> \u2013 Pending \u201cit releasing an announcement\u201d<\/p>\n Clean Seas Seafood (ASX:CSS)<\/a> \u2013 In connection with a proposed non-underwritten placement<\/p>\n Equinox Resources (ASX:EQN)<\/a> \u2013 Pending a strategic announcement in connection with the company\u2019s proposed capital raising and project staking initiatives<\/p>\n Sunshine Metals (ASX:SHN)<\/a> \u2013 Pending the release of an announcement to the market regarding material exploration results<\/p>\n Metal Hawk (ASX:MHK)<\/a> \u2013 Pending the company making an announcement regarding the outcome of a proposed capital raising<\/p>\n Bubs Australia (ASX:BUB)<\/a> \u2013 Pending an announcement by the company in relation to a potential capital raising for the purposes of providing funds for its US expansion<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COMMODITY\/FOREX\/CRYPTO MARKET PRICES<\/h2>\n
WHAT GOT YOU TALKING<\/h2>\n
YESTERDAY\u2019S ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS<\/h2>\n
YESTERDAY\u2019S ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS<\/h2>\n