How lucky were we. Fifteen took their chances after a band of rain and showers went through over-night and cleared the area in time for tee-off. There were even some sunny patches and it all stayed dry (and reasonably warm) until the last group was in. Then the temperature started dropping noticeably and as the last of the stayers were leaving the club-house the next rain event arrived. So, all who stayed at home under the doona missed out on quite a good day for golf though not necessarily a day for good golf.
The man who did have a good day out there was the new kid on the block, Simon who followed up his win on the ProPin last week with a comp win this week having carded a mere 39 points. And he let a few get away, so the handicap damage could have been worse than it was. The 13th was the nemesis for Simon and perhaps it was just hubris after a small bit of bragging on the previous hole or two about how well he was going. Still he was well pleased with the result and so he should have been after showing fine touch with his approaches and putting. Came close to chipping in on the 8th on the second bounce but it was just a little high and fast and the pin dropped it just outside the hole.
Pepsi didn’t have his impending birthday celebrations to distract him this week and he put together one of his (not quite) regulation rounds. He did par the back and scored a couple of birdies though he didn’t improve his eclectic. He actually went back a bit with the cut to his handicap and his lead in the event is now only two strokes. Nobody else made much of an impression on the table as there were only 5 birdies for the day.
The podium was remarkably uncrowded today and another to stand on his own in third place was Chrispy who played a very steady round and just squeezed in under his handicap with 37 points. He reckons he was a bit disappointed as he was hoping to get his handicap out more for the Fred Howe. Just a little secret Chris, you should have started working on that a lot earlier. And, no, we won’t be taking it easy on you and Rob (especially you) over the next two weeks, you’ll have to win it in your own right – so there.
Mehmet has been doing a lot of placing this year and he is the highest ranking in the Championship Table without a win to his name this year. Come on Mehm, pull your socks up and get a few more than 35 points and get a number in that first place column and you could be right in there with a chance (specially if it is a double header). Somebody has to catch Stefan and there was very little inroads made this week. Perhaps if you can win the Fred Howe even your mother will love you!
The last point of the day went to JohnQ a couple of points back on 33. Perhaps John can be forgiven as he was also embroiled in the last of the Matchplay semi-finals with David. It was really an off-the-stick event as they both lay claim to the same handicap and the first couple of holes went both ways but then John found his swing (or his putting stroke perhaps) and reeled off four wins in a row to set up a handy buffer. David won a couple back but was not able to maintain the rage and the four hole margin remained more or less in place until the 15th where the result was decided 4 and 3.
So, the Matchplay Championship play-off will be between our incumbent, CraigS and JohnQ. The playoff for second runner-up will be between David and Goliath – errr – Zimmer. These matches are scheduled for 01 August so cast off all thoughts of skiing, soccer matches and other past-times likely to result in injury, hangover or just tiredness and schedule yourselves to fight it out to the death on the green, green jousting grounds that are Ivanhoe Public.
As well as coming second in the comp today, Pepsi cleaned up in quite another way. He won both the Nearest the Pin for a ball on the 4th and the ProPin for the dosh on the 12th. Simon, Harry and Taner collected the points in the Seniors today although Simon was a little bemused at being included in the Seniors comp. He says it makes him feel older than he really is. And while on the topic of ages, Graham Forbes will be celebrating a milestone in the coming week if the Birthday Birdie is to be believed.
Even though the numbers on the course were small, there were enough players to get a result in all matches although the poor old Magpies did have to rely on Targe for their score-line today. As a result, they were comprehensively beaten by the Tigers who remain at the head of the table. The second draw of the season was played out between the Bulldogs and the Saints and the shared points did not do much for either team’s standing in the table. The Hawks/Blues match was a close run thing with the Hawks getting up by a three point margin.
Not sure what it is about the 15th but it seems to result in a rather disproportionate number of draughties and the victim of the hex today was Harry who left the ball on such a steep slope that it was deemed to be too dangerous to attempt to play and therefore unplayable. The replayed shot was ‘parred’ which resulted in a single point for the hole. ChrisV chipped in on the 11th when the second bounce hit the base of the pin and the ball dropped into the hole. A little bit either way and it was anybody’s guess where the ball might have finished it was travelling so fast. Craig also had some experience with over hit shots when he was noticed playing back to the 10th green from well down the 11th fairway.
Taner must have been keeping his eye on Chrispy’s style as he was making good use of the fortuitous ricochet on a number of holes although it must be said that there were one or two that were not quite so favourable. David also had some tree problems while playing the 10th though he was on the 13th fairway at the time and didn’t look too pleased with the outcome.
There was a straw poll relating to the members attending the proposed Challenge Weekend at Numurkah in August and by the looks of it there will be a pretty healthy roll-up. The Mustard Jacket that is up for grabs is likely playing a big part in this enthusiasm. Or maybe not. Whilst, most names were recorded and the list will be sent to Gordon, it would be a good idea to e-mail/ring Gordon to confirm your intentions rather than rely on the note taker. If your name is on the list Gordon will be dunning you for your deposits by next Saturday. Also, indicate your willingness (or otherwise) to share a room (hopefully not a bed as well) so that the accommodation allocations can be worked out and extra sought if necessary.
Don’t forget, the next two weeks are the Fred Howe Winter Cup and given the recent passing of Fred, this will be a special and moving event for all Club members and in particular for Chris and Robert. A good turn-out and a fierce competition will make for a couple of weekends to be enjoyed and remembered.
Results for Saturday, 11 July 2015
1st Simon Powell(39) 2nd Andrew Petricola(38) 3rd Chris Priems(37) 4th Mehmet Akdag(35) 5th John Quinlan(33)