As the sun rose (an hour earlier by the clock than in previous weeks after the daylight saving change) a beautiful morning presented itself for the first round of the 2024 Priems Cup.
The Priems brothers were pumped for the contest, with Team Chris’s seven (Chris, Dan, Craig, Steve, Stan, Peps and Harry) taking on Team Rob with Charlie, Brent, Raj, Targe, Porks and Michael. Johnny Q was in the field but as the last to get himself on the list (did he forget to register again?) was the odd 15th man and missed out on a spot in either team. Dom, a mate of Charlie and Dan’s also joined in the fun.
Charlie and Dan, both playing off the same handicap (18) lead the teams out in the first group. Prez Priems, joined Charlie on the first tee to wish him well and they looked a picture as the hot air balloons drifted over the course taking in the action. Rob had enjoyed a big Friday night and he was blowing some very pungent hot air of a different type all day long, which might explain the look on Charlie and Dom’s faces.
As it happened both Charlie and Dan struggled big time on the front 9 with Charlie (13 points) gaining the slimmest advantage over Dan’s 12 points. By the end, the situation was reversed thanks to a big finish by Dan with three 3 pointers and 30 points for the round to Charlie’s 29. It set the stage for a close contest right to the very last card counted. Advantage Team Chris by 1.
In a contest where every stableford point counted, would Dan’s point over Charlie be decisive? There would be a few twists and turns before this cliffhanger of a Priems Cup was decided and as it turns out, Dan and Charles were centre-stage throughout and the result was not fully decided until a meeting of the Club Stewards took place behind closed doors some 48 hours after the event.
Brent from Team Rob and Craig from Team Chris both had good rounds going, turning on 19 points. Brent then hit the accelerator on holes 10-14 with 3 pointers on the 10th, 13th and 14th, before a few 1 pointers slowed him down to a total of 37 points. This was two better than Craig’s 35, to put Team Rob in the in the lead by 1.
Raj, playing for Team Rob was very disappointed with his 27 points. His form seems to have nosedived since Michael started sledging him about his handicap and his succession of second placings as he raced up the championship leaderboard without losing any strokes. Michael has agreed to cease and desist with the sledging in future and hopefully Raj will find his mojo again soon. Steve from Team Chris was equally disappointed with his 29 points, but being 2 points to the better of Raj meant Team Chris was now back in the lead by 1.
Targe and Stan seemed in a race to see who could finish with the least points, with 12 each on the front 9 and more than a few of the dreaded gashes between them on the back. When the points were tallied, Stan was 4 points to the good of Targe and this extended Team Chris’s lead to 5.
Peps from Team Chris rallied late after a bad three hole patch early on the back 9. His 3-3 birdie, par finish saw him finish with 32 points, two to the better of Porks. So with Peps helping extend the lead, Team Chris was starting to look very comfortable as the last group of Chris, Rob, Michael and Harry came in.
However, the lead changed again when Michael from team Rob, despite another bout of nervous wobbles over the closing holes, managed 37 points to equal Brent for best score of the day and with Harry only managing 27, the 10 point turnaround from the latest edition of the Harry-Michael show put team Rob back in front!
It all came down to the brothers Priems! Chris had been Mr Steady on the back 9 with shades of the year Nick Faldo won the British Open with 18 pars in the last round – 9 straight 2 pointers. By contrast Rob had a couple of gashes but then rattled in a long putt for a spectacular 4 point birdie on the 17th for 17 points on the back 9. With Chris’s better front 9, his 33 points bettered Rob’s 29 by 4. Was it enough?
Well if you were there on the day, the answer was no. Team Rob’s lead was calculated at 5 and Chris beating Rob by 4 was one shy of what he needed for a tie and a chip-off. After a bit of sighing, a few stories were shared, including Chris’s graciousness in agreeing to correct Rob’s score for the 11th (when Rob had scored a 4 but he and Chris had recorded it as a 5) even through the error wasn’t picked up until a few holes later.
Chris while disappointed, conceded that Rob really did have a 4 and while he was gutted to lose the day by a stroke, what’s fair is fair etc. As it happened, two days later in the Stewards room, Team Chris would end up with the win and it all goes back to Dan and Charlie. On the day when the points were tallied, Dan’s score was recorded for Team Rob even though he was playing for Team Chris and Charlie’s score was recorded for Team Chris even though he was playing for Team Rob. And when the scores went to the right team, Dan beating Charlie by a point made all the difference. The official winner is Team Chris by a point!
Just as well your blog writer insisted on a whole group photo. If we went with a winner’s photo, we’d have had the wrong team!
For those of you who couldn’t make it to this Priems Cup, including those gallivanting around the courses of Vietnam, put the next Priems Cup 2024 date in your diary, 9 November. It is always a fun event.
In and amongst all this, the day’s 15th man, Johnny Q, got into the points action despite not being in a Priems Cup team, playing well again for 35 points to share second place points with Craig. JQ now sits atop the table for the prestigious Vardon Trophy (best points average per game played). Brent and Michael shared first place points, with Chris third, Peps fourth and Porks and Dan sharing fifth.
Meanwhile guest Dominic (Dom) playing in the first group made all the running for nearest the pin on the 18th and won the ball on offer there. Porks took out the ball on the 15th (and made the birdie) and Chris’s 4.91 metres on the 12th was good enough to cap off his day with some cash, even though he missed the birdie. In fact Chris was spectacularly stiff with his putting all day, with so many near misses that seemed like they were about to drop but somehow didn’t.
This blog is already too long to add in the days best other stories but an honourable mention must go to Peps for his par of the century on the 8th – a power shank off the tea, a tree slammed in the next couple of shots and then a pitch from 40 yards for his fourth shot straight into the hole. Charles is also living up to his reputation as the new Priemsy with 3 or 4 shots off trees back into the middle of the fairway including a spectacular effort with a shanked second on the 16th. It was heading straight into the hazard, hit a tree and finished back in what commentator Jack Newton used to call the Mayor’s Office.
Priems Cup Result for Saturday, 13 Apr 2024
Team Chris – Dan Marie (30), Craig Cameron (35), Steven Gervasoni (29), Stan Blackshaw (23), Andrew Petricola (32), Harry Boughen (27), Chris Priems (33) – Total 209
Defeated
Team Rob – Charles Gibbs (29), Brent Rowley (37), Rajesh Mahto (27), Ryan Porker (30), Targe Mifsud (19), Robert Priems (29), Michael Gourlay (37) – Total 208
Individual Points for Saturday, 13 Apr 2024
1st Michael Gourlay (37) 1st Brent Rowley (37) 2nd Craig Cameron (35) 2nd John Quinlan (35) 3rd Chris Priems (33) 4th Andrew Petricola (32) 5th Dan Marie (30) 5th Ryan Porker (30)
Seniors Results: 1st Michael Gourlay (37) 2nd Craig Cameron (35) 3rd Chris Priems (33)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 12th Chris Priems BallPin No 1 – 15th Ryan Porker BallPin No 2 – 18th Dominic Pollaers (Guest)