Good week for Weston teams

WESTON A visited early season pace-setters Taunton Vale for an important Avalon League Division 6 match.

The opening game saw Jonathan Latham and Iain Hall-Scott behind most of the way, and with only four holes to go the pair were three down. However, some brave putting over the final holes saw Weston gain a valuable halved match on the final green.

Ryan Peacock and Aussie Denison, who rose from his sick bed to play, were also behind for much of the game, but managed to turn things around for a one-up victory. The usually reliable pairing of Ian Lock and Ian Hudson had a rare off day, and went down in their game 3 and 2.

Nigel Browne and Dave Twigg had a close game against their opponents. All square with four to play, Nigel holed a 15-foot putt on the 15th to inch one hole ahead, and then another 15-foot putt on the final green to stay one up and win the match.

Weston's final pairing of Simon Collier and Dave Ward appeared to be heading for defeat with a few holes to play, but some good play from Simon brought them to the last hole only one down. Dave then produced an outstanding "up and down" par save under great pressure on the final green, but unfortunately it was not quite enough and they lost one down. The overall result was 2.5-2.5 with valuable away points secured for Weston.

Weston played Vivary Park in the first round of the Somerset Bowl, with the pairings of Tim Rees and Dave Rowland, Rob Brenchley and Kevin Lane, Gary Homer and Paul Lund, Nick Cook and Dan Broom and Graham Hicken and Mike Brueford all securing wins for a truly outstanding 5-0 victory in difficult conditions.

With Weston Bristol and District first team also in action, it was an extremely busy day for Weston teams. They hade a fantastic 5-0 home win against local rivals Clevedon, rounding off an excellent day for the Weston golf teams.

The Avalon B team suffered their first defeat of the season away, losing 3.5 to 1.5 to Isle of Wedmore.

Ed Stephens and Andy Zanelli were overpowered by their opponents and lost heavily 6 and 5 in the opening match. The experienced duo of Andy Fernley and Gavin Somers lost 4 and 3 in the second match.

Newcomers Steve Ham and Chris Rimmer won two-up in a closely contested match in which Steve Ham holed a 2-foot putt to go ahead on the 17th hole and secure the only winning match.

Team captain Andy Balcombe and Graham Chicken lost 2 and 1 in a close match in which Andy and Graham lost control in the rain after leading until the 15th.

Finally a determined Steve Corrick and Gary Homer managed to get a half on the last hole after being one down with one to play, keeping their unbeaten pairing record intact.

For the seniors' section St George Trophy, a change from the weather over the past weeks saw 61 golfers start with overcast skies and a brisk SW breeze, with a new flag flying from Uphill Church, thanks to Tony Willis.

By midday all had changed, a sea mist rolled in and Worlebury Hill disappeared and the River Axe estuary looked spooky. An hour later, brilliant sunshine.

One player shone above all others though, Ray Chambers who won the Trophy with a 62 nett followed by Jim Ness 67 nett and Graham Tripp 69 nett

Around 50 lady golfers attended Invitation Day at Weston, playing a four ball better ball competition. A shot gun start at 12 noon was followed by an afternoon of competitive golf in glorious sunshine with a presentation and meal in the clubhouse afterwards.

S Mardell and S Spokes were the winning pair with a score of 41 points, beating partners S Garrett and L Pope also with 41 on the back nine. In third place with 39 points were D Brown and J Waplington.

Nearest the pin competition on the day was won by visitor A Search and longest drive by G Latham.

BREAN saw Stewart Garrett maintain the winning habit on Sundays as he recorded his second successive victory on the day at Brean.

Last week he topped the Super Series event with 42 points and this week he repeated the score as he claimed top spot in the Pro Shop Stableford. As a result of these scores his handicap has been reduced accordingly.

The Monthly Stableford was played for on the first day of the Bank Holiday weekend and no one in the field reached the 40-point barrier. The nearest player to it was Barry Tucker as he took first place in Division One with 39 points. This was seven better than Craig Popham in this division which had a smaller entry due to an Avalon League match taking place.

Division Two honours went to Wayne Barrett as he warmed up nicely for his trip to the National Pro Am Regional final at Saunton with a card of 38 points. Hopefully that form will continue for him next Wednesday when he plays alongside David Haines for the opportunity of a trip to the Bahamas for the grand final later in the year.

Tony Groves edged out Chris Fairchild on count-back for second after they both had 36 points. Vince Ford came out on top in Division 3 with 38, one ahead of Tim Durbin.

Shelia Rouse obviously liked the taste of success as she won another Stableford event. This time a card of 35 points was enough to claim the May Stableford in the Ladies' section and saw her handicap reduced by another shot. Debbie Windmill took second ahead of two others on 31 points.

The Avalon A team had a good result in their away match at Vivary Park. They managed to tie the game 2.5 apiece thanks to a strong finish from captain Steve Bateman who won the closing two holes to gain a half in his match. As the away team the result gained them more points than the hosts in the league table.

The seniors had a mixed week in the two matches they played. After beating a strong Minehead Warreners team at home in the sunshine by 5 games to 1 they were on the receiving end of the same scoreline the following day at Woodspring.

On a miserable wet day the only bright spot for Brean was a victory for Jeremy Savill and Cliff Crawford.

David Haines had to settle for fourth place in the G and S PGA Order of Merit after finishing in sixth spot in the final event of the season. In the 36 hole championship played at Enmore Park, in the same wet conditions as the Seniors endured, he saw his level par total of 142 finish four behind the winner on the day, Daryl Kelley from Filton. Fellow Brean professional Andrew March had a disappointing day on a course he knows well as he finished down in 11th on the day and in 10th place overall in the Order of Merit.

WESTON are holding the Captain's Annual Charity Day on Wednesday next, May 12, helping to raise funds for Weston Hospicecare.

The competition will be a Bowmaker f or teams of four with the best two scores to count. Entry fee is �140 per team of visitors, �120 per team of members, to include Buffet.

For terms and conditions and entry forms, please contact the club on 01934 626968 e-mail: wsmgolfclub@eurotelbroadband.com or visit the website: www.westonsupermaregolfclub.com.

WORLEBURY Ladies Jan Simms and Isabella Swift are congratulated on winning the Somerset Ladies' Past Captains Greensome event at Taunton and Pickeridge with a score of 38 points.

The winners of the qualifying round of the Daily Mail Foursomes with a nett score of 71.5 were Helen Clarke and Lisa Griffiths. We wish them success in the next round.

WEDMORE golfer John Sanderson has enjoyed something of a purple patch in the last three months.

Back in February he set a new seniors' record for the winter course with a gross 70 and followed this up with a win by six clear shots in atrocious conditions at the Away Day at Lyme Regis.

It was no surprise when he shot another tremendous round of gross 72 to win Division 1 in the seniors' medal. Off his handicap of eight, this gave him a nett 64 which was two shots clear of Bill Griffin who pushed Chris Adams into third place on count-back.

Despite this, he did not have the best round of the day. This honour went to newcomer Michael Munns who crushed the rest of the field in Division 2, recording a nett 62. Bernard Abbott was seven shots distant in second place while Dennis Howard took third, one shot further behind.

After the long spell of dry weather, it was disappointing for the Ladies to run into the first rain for weeks for their medal on Thursday. Various trips to other clubs diminished the field but the competition was still competitive.

The silver division players came out best in the conditions with both Shirley Turner and Judy Cutter coming in below par, Shirley finishing one point ahead. Jane Midgley (74) came in third. There was a tight finish in the bronze division with three players all scoring a nett 75. The final order on count-back was Hilary Crandon ahead of Hazel Gough with Maggie Dommett third.

The seniors continue to struggle in their matches, losing two friendlies this week but are sure to turn things around with a few home games coming up.