Where have all the golfers gone? Long time passing. Where have all the golfers gone? Long time ago. Where have all the golfers gone? Young girls have nicked them every one. Oh, When will you ever learn? Oh, When will you ever learn?
With only seven pre-post nominations, the odds shortened early on that the field would be in the points today. Even with a starting gate addition, there was still a feeling about that the field would be fully satisfied. That feeling persisted until the 10th, when CJ spoke out and put the feeling into words when he reached the turn with eighteen points on the card. That confidence had receded a bit by the 13th, when the ‘best chipper in the club’ left one well short on an approach to the green. All in all, the conditions were just about ideal. Very little of the forecast rain had eventuated, and the course was in a fairly benign state. The sun was shining, and the temperature was making its way into the mid-teens. The greens were receptive and clean, so there was little reason to expect that scoring would not be easy.
This proved to be the case, at least for a few players in the field. Just two weeks after pulling off the same feat, SOS and Craig managed to top the field again with a tie on 39 points. Craig was his ultra-reliable self, and had his marker complaining that he had almost forgotten how to score a bogey on the card. There was just one little aberration on the second hole that resulted in a no-score, and also just one singleton on the 9th. SOS had a minor run-in with Mrs Shanks on the 5th that also resulted in a no-score. There were three singletons, but he more than made up for those when he scored a birdie on the 13th after playing a one bounce shot onto the green, followed by a longish curving putt for a four pointer. Another birdie on the 17th helped the team to reach a total of six for the day.
It seems that all of the front-runners just had to have a no-score line on their card. This was certainly true of Brendon, who scored his on the 11th, no less. If he had only made a single point there, he would have made a three-way tie for first, and then the field would have all made points. Of course, things could have come unstuck on the 17th where his power shank off the tee finished just on the verge of the penalty area adjacent to the 18th tee. Unperturbed by Stan contemplating pocketing his ball, Brendon calmly lobbed it across the pond onto the green for the regulation two putts and par.
Steve was absolutely creaming his driver all day. Unfortunately, his close-in game let him down on several occasions. On the 13th, for instance, he went close to crossing the green twice before getting a chance to putt. Despite all that, he did manage to make a total of 33 points for the round, and scored himself a very handy third place. ChrisJ had a pretty good front nine, and he started the back in what looked like being a similar style. A lapse of concentration followed, and three no-scores knocked a hole in his scoring chances on the back. There was another nervous moment on the 17th when his drive was drawing more than somewhat towards the fence, but it did stop on the fairway, and a par was easily done. After having put a hex on himself at the 10th, CJ was feeling a bit despondent when his drive on the 13th disappeared into some rough stuff. SOS helped with the search, and he was soon asking whether CJ was playing with an orange ball. Yes, but it’s yellow, answered CJ. No, this is orange said SOS. And it was – an orange, that is.
When asked how he was going at the 17th tee, JQ responded that he reckoned he’d had six or seven rim-jobs during the round. Now, when you get your minds out of the gutter, he meant that the putts did not want to go in the hole for him (and not that one either!). Still, he was kind of happy to get the last point on offer with his 29 points.
The ProPin today was on the 12th, and there were the usual tales about the tape not being stretchy enough to bring the ‘nearly-almosts’ into contention. Considering the numbers, it was hardly worth winning anyway, and the jackpot to next week will be very welcome. The first BallPin was a Jackpot on the 4th, and Craig managed to put his hand up to collect the pair. On the 18th, Brendon was very hopeful that his tee shot would be in contention, but unfortunately, the backspin took him back off the green and well down the apron at the front of the green. This left it to JQ to collect the ball for his shot.
The Birthday Birdie has to do the rounds again this week, with a couple of visits to wish the best to JQ and Zimmer. Have a great day, old mates!
Results for Saturday, 13 Aug 2022
1st Craig Cameron (39) 1st Stephen O’Sullivan (39) 2nd Brendon Mitchell (38) 3rd Steven Gervasoni (33) 4th Chris James (30) 4th Chris Priems (30) 5th John Quinlan (29)
Seniors Results: 1st Craig Cameron (39) 2nd Steven Gervasoni (33) 3rd Chris Priems (30)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 12th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 4th Craig Cameron BallPin No 2 – 18th John Quinlan