We went close to having a misty start this morning. The cloud appeared to hover just above the tree-tops, and, although the jackets and neck-warmers were out, there were hopes that the sun would eventually break through. It didn’t, and the jackets and neck-warmers were still in evidence at the end of the round. There were fourteen members present, and Charlie (who was accused of not having any friends) brought along his Dad, Steve, and Raj brought his good buddy, Richard, as guests. The ground staff had been busy during the week and had sanded the greens with a particularly sticky batch of sand, that, with a bit of moisture, stuck like you know what to a blanket. Which might go a little way to explaining why we could only rattle in 3 birdies for the day.
After last week’s effort of taking out both the outside and inside comps, Raj had a bit to say about the fact that he had lost a stroke for inside as well as for outside. Perhaps he was inspired to show off in front of Richard, but he did manage three double bogies in the course of the front nine. He then put his head down and bolted for home, recording par on seven of the remaining nine holes. A minor explosion on the 13th for a triple meant that he finished the half, four over the card, to produce a final tally of 67 net. This was enough to break the heart of Prez, who had been clubhouse leader for some time, and Raj was the clear winner of the May Monthly Medal. And he will be able to have something to say again next week about losing a stroke (with us, at least) off his handicap.
Now, Rob was all keen to get a win up his sleeve, only to be foiled at the last minute. Not only because he was beaten by Raj, but also because he was tied by JQ. Their scores of 69 would have necessitated a countback to determine the winner of the Medal. It didn’t come to that, but, between you, me and the gatepost, Rob would have prevailed. They both had birdies to their name, so it was mostly a little blow up by JQ on the 13th that made the difference. Bob started his round with a par on the 1st, and immediately declared it a bad omen. The next couple of holes turned out OK, and then he lined up on the 4th, muttering that this hole always brought him undone. The tee shot finished on the down slope at the front of the tee box, inducing more muttering about the injustice of it all. Despite this, he kept producing his fair share of bogies and doubles, and capped it off with a couple of pars in the home stretch. His final score of net 70 brought him home in third place, and top spot in the Seniors. SOS managed to put together a pretty fair front nine, that was helped to some degree by a chip-in for par on the 2nd, which is no mean feat, although the whites were not back on the bank. The back nine was not quite so spectacular, but he also finished net 70, to tie for third with Bob.
Craig has been using a cart as he recovers from his recent indisposition, and, today, he was sharing with Targe. At the end of the round, they were still speaking and there were no (visible) scars, so all seems to have gone well, although the did complain about being cold and wishing the sun had come out. Probably, the lack of exercise. Craig managed to come home with a net score of 72 to grab a couple of points for 4th place. He did admit to having a bit of assistance on the 18th, when his drive finished on the top deck to the hole on the bottom deck. Very conveniently, an earlier player had putted from the same spot and the track down the slope was still visible. Using this as a guide, Craig’s ball rolled straight towards the hole, but stopped, an agonising 50mm short. Craig wasn’t sure whether to bless or curse the sand build up, for if it hadn’t happened, the ball could easily have finished off the green. Adam has been AWOL for a few weeks, and he was claiming a bit of rust as he lined up on the first. It must be said that the first shot of the day did not inspire confidence. However, he did manage to scramble for a bogey, and put together a bit of a mixed bag for the rest of the round, and he also finished with 72 for a couple of points as well.
Blighty put in a bid to become an honorary Priems after making use of trees to keep his ball in play on at least four occasions. Whether this happened on the couple of holes where he had quads was not revealed, but, despite this, he still managed to bring home a net score of 73 to slot into 5th place. He did have at least one worthwhile shot on the 4th, where he put it on the green close enough to win the Jackpot BallPin. Brendon left himself some long putts today, often the result of less than well executed chips. It was speculated that he was doing it on purpose after he had rattled in several long’uns early in the round. He was particularly pleased with his putt to get birdie on the 5th. Eclectic, says Brendon. And it does bring him within easy striking distance of the lead. There was a Double Jackpot ProPin on the 15th, which went close to becoming a Triple, if it hadn’t been for Raj in the last group, who snuck one in to 4.0m to collect the pool on offer. On the 18th, the only contender for the BallPin was Adam.
There was a result in the Matchplay determined today, although it could hardly be called a match. Harry had to take on Bob, with thirteen shots to be handed to Bob. As it turned out, Bob only needed ten of them. Bob got an early start with his par on the 1st, and Harry managed to hold on to some hope by squeaking in squares on the next five holes. Equal scores on the 7th gave Bob two holes and an OOB for Harry on the 8th kiboshed his chances there, and they reached the turn with Bob three holes to the good. A double run in with the penalty area on the 13th and a double figure score for the hole made the match dormie 5. Faced with pushing you know what uphill, Harry was not able to win even the 14th, and the match went to Bob, 6 and 4.
CJ reckons he was playing under duress today with a condition that he doesn’t want publicised. However, it did not stop him cutting some disco moves on the 15th green as he tried to exert some ‘body English’ on the results of his putt. The boogie bug seems to have been contagious, as brother, Prez, was also moved to try the technique. People were keeping a wary eye on Harry today as he turned out with a brand new WMD (weapon of mass destruction) in the form of a motorised buggy. Despite a couple of hairy moments, there was no damage or injuries inflicted on man nor beast. He was a little disappointed, though, after a number of people had commented during the week about how much using one had helped their game. The Birthday Birdie has a little flutter today to wish a happy one to Geoff.
Second Major of the year coming up next week – David Ford Autumn Cup. It is a Par competition, but don’t let that put you off. It isn’t any more difficult than any other format. Another good reason to take part is that there will be a Club barbecue for lunch after the second round on the 18th. And remember, if you aren’t in it, you can’t win it!
Results for Saturday, 04 May 2024
1st Rajesh Mahto (67) 2nd Robert Priems (69) 2nd John Quinlan (69) 3rd Bob McDonald (70) 3rd Stephen O’Sullivan (70) 4th Craig Cameron (72) 4th Adam King (72) 5th Andrew Blight (73) 5th Brendon Mitchell (73)
Seniors Results: 1st Bob McDonald (70) 2nd Craig Cameron (72) 3rd Andrew Blight (73)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 15th Rajesh Mahto BallPin No 1 – 4th Andrew Blight BallPin No 2 – 18th Adam King