Today’s field was a bit like a honeymoon, there were a few ins and outs. But we still managed to get thirteen members to the blocks, together with three guests, making a fairly respectable field for the day. Warren and Diesel put in their second cards, and, if they can just eliminate a few of the ‘wild ones’, they both could soon be a force to be reckoned with. Raj also brought along a friend, Pravesh, who is out here from Bombay for a few weeks, and, who might even join us again before he heads back to India. If anybody is planning a trip to India, Pravesh said he would be more than happy to organise a round or two. He obviously likes his golf, as he was proudly sporting a cap and jacket emblazoned with The Old Course, St Andrew’s, acquired courtesy of visits to his daughter in England (with a side trip to Scotland). The radar watchers correctly predicted the short shower at seven, but completely missed the downpour that hit after about three holes. Water was running freely in places, and greens were casual water for a time. That was the worst of it, and the umbrellas were eventually furled, but it took until about halfway through the 16th for Harry’s hands to start working to a reasonable degree.
The round of the day went to Brendon, who finished a pretty respectable six over the card off the stick, and plus one, considering the conditions that prevailed at times. Gordo’s game was obviously much improved by the coaching from his caddy in Thailand, and he produced a minus one score line. Ryan took a couple more strokes than Brendon to complete his round, and the bottom line was minus two points. This was more than enough to maintain his first round lead in the event, and he was the proud recipient of the David Ford Autumn Cup. Or he would be, if we knew where the trophy is. The prime suspect is SOS, who was last year’s winner. The swag of points for the win has pushed Porks into the narrowest of leads in the Championship Table. Brendon’s topping round today allowed him to slip into second place for the event.
As one of those thought to be in with a chance at the beginning of the day, Raj could only manage a single plus on his card today. A very healthy tally of squared holes helped to produce a score good enough for third place. Harry’s total was helped no end by several long putts that found the hole, compensating, to some degree, for the shorter ones that missed. One, in particular, ran as true as you would like, stopped at the edge of the hole for a moment, that seemed like an age, before dropping in with a satisfying ‘plunk’. When the announcements were made, Craig and CJ both declared that they were too embarrassed to accept Championship points for their event totals of -11. As it turned out, they were saved from that embarrassment by a points calculation error on Andrew’s card, which relegated him to fifth place instead. Craig and Chris did get points in the Seniors though.
The ProPin was on the 15th, and Prez was a bit cheesed that his ball had rolled about 20mm too far to qualify for a spot on the card. He needn’t have worried, because AndrewV easily collected the shrapnel with a shot to 3.08m. However, Prez was tasked with setting the NTP holes to be contested, and he nominated the 7th as the first BallPin. Wouldn’t you know it, but he got onto the green and won the ball. The regular BallPin on the 18th didn’t attract too much competition, and it was left to Warren (Wazza) to get a ball onto the green and to put his name on the card. This marked the end of a bit of a finishing flurry, with par on the last two holes. However, the highlight of his round was a birdie scored on the 4th hole. Unfortunately, that does not add to the member’s tally for the day, and, so, we were restricted to a paltry three between us.
The Birthday Birdie has to do a flutter to Gordo’s place during the week, when he will leap another ten year hurdle. Today also marked the day that Gordo played his 900th game with the Club. With the amount of travelling that he has been doing in recent times (and presaged for the future), it could easily be a while before he reaches the next Club milestone. The 15th provided its share of interest today. Targe sprayed one into the trees, and was deemed gone for all money, only for the ball to appear ‘seconds’ later, landing in the middle of the fairway. Almost as if it had been picked up and thrown back in, except that there were only trees for miles. Chris chipped onto the green and left it fairly short. Craig followed from almost the same spot, and his ball came to rest touching Chris’s. Harry putted from just off the edge of the green, hoping to finish somewhere near the hole. His ball hit Craig’s which cannoned into CJ’s. What were the odds?
There was the usual second round barbecue after the event, and the fare on offer went down a treat. Particularly the caramelised onions, twice cooked with a dash of balsamic and virgin sugar. At least, that is what Chef O’Sullivan claimed. One might doubt the veracity of that claim after the barbecue almost failed to go ahead when Chef O’S couldn’t get the barbecue connected to the gas bottle. After several failed attempts, trying both right hand and left hand turnings, somebody pointed out that there was still a plastic plug in place inside the fitting.
Results for Saturday, 17 May 2025
1st Ryan Porker (+3, -2, + 1) 2nd Brendon Mitchell (-6, + 1, -5) 3rd Rajesh Mahto (-1, -5, -6) 4th Harry Boughen (-2, -5, -7) 5th Andrew Vogan (-2, -6, -8)
Seniors Results: 1st Harry Boughen (-2, -5, -7) 2nd Andrew Vogan (-2, -6, -8) 3rd Chris Priems (-4, -7, -11) 3rd Craig Cameron (-8, -3, -11)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 15th Andrew Vogan BallPin No 1 – 7th Robert Priems BallPin No 2 – 18th Warren Capes