Bill retains his title at Isle of Wedmore

IT was club championship weekend at Wedmore which often in recent years has meant wind and rain.

So it proved again this year on Saturday, but good scores were still recorded, most particularly by regular winner Tim Harris who carded a 76 to lead by one from Steve Lockley with John Russell a further shot back.

Don Edmundson was a further shot away which equated to a nett 66, the best nett of the day. Last year’s winner Bill Lander was still in the hunt with an 80.

The weather improved on Sunday and so did some of the scoring. Ben Barwell led the way with a two-over 72 which improved 10 shots on his first round. Lander was also charging, finishing on 74 to equal Barwell’s total.

The last group out were struggling to keep up with this pace, but the dependable Harris was still playing well and a 78 meant three players were tied on 154, leaving the title to be decided in a three hole play-off.

At the the first extra hole, all players played steadily for bogeys. After conservative tee-shots at the next, the first crack appeared when Harris bunkered his approach shot and dropped a shot to the others.

The title was effectively won and lost on the following tee-shots with Lander straight down the middle, but both his opponents out of bounds. A second shot onto the green meant he could afford the luxury of a three putt and still claim his second title in successive years with Barwell second and Harris third.

Mike Snelgrove took the Directors’ Cup for the best nett score with 135, five under par in tricky conditions. Steve Lockley and Nigel Jones took prizes for best gross on days one and two, both with 77.

The winners of the best nett on each day also shared the same score, 66, Don Edmundson, whose round included an eagle two at the third, on day one and Darryl Cornelius, improving dramatically on his first round, on day two.

WESTON seniors held their championship on a sunny, but increasingly windy morning recently.

The championship was won by Craig Kennedy, a fairly recent senior, with a handicap of 12. His 78 gross was a creditable score in not the easiest of conditions. Unusually there was a four stroke gap between the first four and the rest of the 48-man field.

The Captain’s Trophy for the best net score was won by Gordon Summers, who scored a good gross 88 off a handicap of 23, giving him a net 65 which was seven strokes ahead of second placed Ranjit Mal.

Results: Craig Kennedy 78; Dave Rowland 79; David Andow 80; Graham Tripp 81; John Morgan 85; Gary Homer 86; Trevor Knott 86; David Bates 87.

WESTON Golf Club held its ladies club championship, which was won by Glenda Latham (5) with a gross 161 over 36 holes, followed by Sue Radcliffe (16) with a creditable 174.

Winning both the Ruth Alford Trophy for the best nett score over the 36 holes and the Audrey Hirst Cup for the best gross in the bronze division was Jade Cope (21) with 137 (gross 179), followed again by Sue Radcliffe with a nett 142.

Other results: am gross: Sue Radcliffe 82; Sue Andow 84; am nett: Sue Radcliffe 66; Vickie Brewin 68; pm gross: Glenda Latham 77; Wendy Homer 86; pm nett: Jade Cope 66; Reinie O’Reilly 71; 18-hole competition: Linda Papworth 74; Anne Meakin 74.

During the previous week, the ladies’ held a nine-hole qualifier prior to their 36 hole Putting Championship, which was won by Wendy Homer (70) on countback from June Phillips, with Carol Menzies in third with 71 shots.

The nine-hole qualifier was won by Linda Papworth with 23 points, followed by Julie Ward and Di Walker each with 19.

From the gent’s section, James Popham (2) carded 46 points in the midweek Stableford, which amounted to him shooting an amazing gross 62. He was followed by Mark Jenkinson (14) and Mark Short (6), who each returned 39 points.

On Saturday, the Excelsior Cup was won by Aaron Northern (10) with an excellent nett 64 in blustery conditions which saw a CSS of 73.

He was followed in by Steve Burrough (11) and Dan Hewlett (12), each with a nett 70. Division 2 winner was Steve Teale (16) with a nett 72, followed by runner-up Tim James (19) 73 and Neil Watkins (17) 73.

Weston Avalon B team recorded their second win in two weeks with a 3.5-2.5 win over Wheathill C. First out Jack Radcliffe and Mikey Brueford lost 4&3 and with Graham Hicken missing numerous short putts, he and partner Tim James managed to halve.

Next up Steve Corrick and debutant Chris Homer won two up. Chris making an amazing par with a great bunker shot on 16 from a poor lie.

Andy Smith and John Greaves, another debutant managed an easy 4&3 win with some superlative putting from Andy. With Weston needing a half in the final match, Kenton Simpson and Allan Harris duly obliged, despite Allan falling down a rabbit hole and injuring himself.

Weston B travelled to Woodspring for a Division 7 match in the Bristol & District League.

Halfway through the match, it was clear that the result was going to be close with no more than one hole separating any of the games. However, Weston’s first pairing of Jono Rees and Rich Magor lost important holes to lose on the 16th green.

Sam Fernley and Pete Blunden lost their match on the final green. Andy Balcombe and Graham Hicken had a notable victory beating a Woodspring pair including a one handicap golfer by 2&1.

Symon Clifford and Les O’Reilly made their debuts for the team and had a tight match, being all square with three holes to play. However, the loss of the 16th and 17th meant a 2&1 defeat for the Weston pair.

John McGrail and Nigel Browne were two down with four to play, but thanks mainly to some extremely strong play from John, won three holes in a row to come to the 18th one up.

In near darkness, both sides struggled to keep sight of the ball, with Weston holding on for a victory by one up. The final result was another close away defeat by three games to two.

Weston took on Wheathill in the second round of the Somerset Bowl at The Mendip Golf Club.

Weston’s opening pair of Matt Evans and Neil Urch went two down early on, but fought back strongly, only just losing on the 18th. There was never much in the second game, but the Weston pair of Alan Melhuish and Nick Walker lost 2&1.

Aaron Northern and Matt Vann came across strong opponents, and battled bravely, but went down by 5&4. Jono Rees and Nigel Browne were involved in a tight game, but two consecutive birdies followed by back-to-back sand saves bought Wheathill to the final hole one up.

When Nigel found gorse at the 18th the game was up for the Weston pair, losing two down. Roger and Richard Magor were soon four down in their match, but staged a storming comeback to reach the 18th hole one up.

Rich then played the shot of the day, a superb three wood from the tee to within 10ft of the pin to secure a two up victory. Unfortunately, that was Weston’s sole success in a disappointing 4-1 defeat.

AVALON team captain Dave Barthram was the hero of the hour as he birdied the final two holes of the final match to save Brean from a home defeat against Mendip Spring.

Along with his partner Roy Baker, they won their game by a single hole and with it tied the overall score at 2.5 each. The two teams must also meet in the next round of the Somerset Bowl at a neutral venue yet to be decided in what promises to be another close game.

Also played on the same day was the open three-ball competition. A local trio took the first prize with an excellent total of 127 giving them a four shot winning margin. The winners were made up by Dave Lockwood, Brian Read and Tony Groves.

Second place on 131 went to another local team made up of husband and wife Steve and Gail Mason along with Matt Haskins. Visitors filled third spot as Kev Curtis joined John and Bet Gazzard to make their trip from Cotswold Edge worthwhile.

The Super Series event came to an end on Sunday as the quest to gain entry with Brean’s professionals into the Forest Classic was decided.

Yet another blustery day met the players as they started their rounds and Roy Baker coped with the conditions the best as he won with a score of 41, which edged his handicap nearer to four.

Second place on the day went to Tony Romeo, who relegated Pete Dunn to third and Stuart Wills to fourth on countback after they all had finished on 38.

After all the points were totted up, the two qualifiers for the Forest Classic were Baker, who topped the table, and Roger Phillips who finished level on points with Tony Richards, but ahead of him as he had played in more events.

The second round of the seniors’ Captains Cup was held recently and Dave Benjafield threw his hat into the ring for the overall victory with a superb nett 69. He led home Roger Phillips who was second on 70 and Barry Tucker took third on 71.

Brean’s director of golf David Haines battled the wind and rain to finish in a tie for third in the Padbrook Park Pro-Am. He covered the Cullompton course in two over par, three shots behind the winner.

THE seniors’ club championships at Worlebury Golf Club were held in vastly improved weather from the main club championships held the day before.

Results - Wally Hartree Cup (best gross): Frank Hopkinson (77), who included a hole-in-one on the par three sixth in his round. Runner-up was Dave Treleaven (78).

Cyril Morgan Cup (best nett): Brian Eleanor 69; Chris Nelson 71. Malcolm Simpson Tankard (best nett over 70): Frank Lewis (71). Les Marston Cup (best nett 19 handicap and over): D Gosling (72).

The Captain’s Day competition was held as a two-ball betterball format. Winners on the day were Tony Westren and Richard Godwin with 51 points. All money raised on the day went to the captain’s club fund.

The Worlebury seniors’ away day was held at Peterstone Lakes near Cardiff. The putting competition was by won by Dave Green (17). The main event was a Stable-ford over 18 holes for the Cliff Harrison Cup, which was won by Tom Blackett.

The first team hosted Clevedon which ended all square, followed by a Somerset Bowl match against Farrington held at Tall Pines the following day, but came away with a defeat.

The Avalon team were also at home to Burnham, but went down by 3-2.

Worlebury invitation day is on Saturday, followed by the monthly medal and PGA qualifier on Sunday.