The eclipse of the moon didn’t keep too many people away and there were a few extras who turned up, probably attracted by the prospect of a bar-be-que lunch afterwards. There were some who didn’t hang around for the delights of snags and burgers but those that did, hoed in with gusto and there weren’t a huge number going begging at the end of the day. Even Brendon’s kids were persuaded to tuck in (sort of). Twenty one players battled it out for the hope of varying degrees of glory and the weather was very kind with the temperature climbing to ‘strip off jumper’ levels by the end of the round.
The man who didn’t need a jumper at all he was running so hot was none other than Pepsi who carded another handicap breaking round of 38 points to hold off all comers and took out the Winter Cup with an unchanged margin of three strokes. He only managed this by losing a ball on the 17th for one duck-egg which kept company with the one he scored on the 15th for unspecified reasons. Maybe he was just trying to protect his handicap. Pepsi has certainly taken a big jump up the Championship Table and he is now jostling with Damo near the top of the Vardon ratings.
Gordon was also going pretty well today and by about half way through the back nine he was starting to form an opinion that he pretty much well had Pepsi’s measure. Alas, it was not to be and Gordon could only equal Pepsi’s score on the day and so he had to settle for second place in the field. Perhaps Gordon should have been smelling a rat when a somewhat errant drive on the 16th struck something on the ground and nicely diverted back onto the fairway. On investigation, the object did indeed prove to be a very dead rat. Lucky for some!
The other three musketeers from the leaders group all started out as if they meant business and put together scores of 20 or 21 points on the first nine and had matched Pepsi in the process. But, like Pepsi, they all faded just a bit on the back and could only bring their scores up to 36 points for the round. And thus it was that the final placings exactly matched the leaderboard placings for about the first time in living memory. John, Rob and Brendon being the members in question.
However, the round of the day would have to be that put in by Ben. As you know, Ben has just finished getting his handicap back after an extended lay-off. There were gasps of horror at the first when it was made known what the new handicap was but Ben did not disappoint and proceeded to duff his tee shot. The form slump did not last long and Ben was soon filling his card with three and four pointers. Towards the end of the back nine, his conscience got to him and he offered up a couple of duck-eggs just the keep his card at a respectable 39 points. Just think of it as an early Birthday present says the Birthday Birdie.
The BallPin was on the 12th and it was fiercely contested. Damo had put his to four putter lengths of the hole. Harry’s looked closer but a series of measurements by pacing and club measurements by different people were unable to come up with a clear answer. In the end, SOS took pity and awarded two balls for the event. The first ProPin was on the 15th and Dale blocked out (literally) all comers by leaving the ball 1055mm directly in front of the hole. He easily made the birdie and so he helped to bring up the total to 19 for the day. Damo claimed about five of those and helped his Eclectic total along a little in the process. There is a bit of tightness at the head of the table but a few strategically placed birdies can make all the difference even if the leader does have two eagles on the card. The second ProPin on the 18th went begging after Simon was not quite on the green and John forgot to measure and mark his (or so he says).
There were two draughties today and they both occurred on the 15th. John and SOS were the perps on that particular hole and we really only have Porks word that his initial shank into the scrub on the same hole actually got past the red markers. SOS had a lucky escape on the 9th where a near miss apparently went between his legs and hit a tree to bounce to a finish just millimetres in front of the reds.
Pepsi was putting for his par on the 12th and was just starting into his downswing when the timekeepers at the football next door blew the siren for half-time. The startling was startling enough for the putt to miss and there were some dark looks directed across the fence.
Chrispy admitted to a little blasphemy today and said he was a bit embarrassed that he had done so in front of a couple of kids. Some wondered whether he was referring to anybody in his playing group. And while on the subject of kids, Sienna volunteered to take Brendon’s tribe down to take part in the children’s lesson that she was running. It was volunteered that maybe SOS should tag along as well after a less than stellar performance today. If you want to know, have a look at the leaderboard.
A group was teeing off on the 15th when a call of fore was made from the 14th. A second urgent call elicited a comment from Porks, “Tell him he’s dreaming” as Brendon’s ball whistled overhead and finished at the front edge of the tee box. A bit lower and Porks might have been ‘dreaming’.
Even though Whitey did not play last week, he put himself forward with alacrity and did a great job of cooking the bar-be-que with nary a burnt snag or burger to be seen. So wrapped up did he become that he forgot to put his card in until he went to his car and found it still in his bag. There’s dedication for you!
Results for Saturday, 28 July 2018
1st Andrew Petricola(41, 38, 79) 2nd Gordon Hill(38, 38, 76) 3rd John Quinlan(37, 36, 73) 4th Robert Priems(36, 36, 72) 5th Brendon Mitchell(34, 36, 70)
Seniors Results: 1st Gordon Hill (38,38,76) 2nd Harry Boughen (33,30,63) 2nd Simon Powell (33,30,63) 3rd Dennis Ward (33,28,61)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 15th Dale Webb ProPin No 2 18th Jackpot BallPin 12th Damien Lee