Popular captain’s charity day held at Weston

The captain’s charity day at Weston drew in the crowds, with 156 players taking part.

The course was presented in outstanding condition after the long wet winter and cold spring.

In first place with 90 points were A Disney, N Watkins, N Farrant and J Neary, followed by D Richardson, A Northern, T Leonard and S Thomas. Taking third place were M Acland, I Ramus, D Baker and P Skinner.

Nearest the pin prizes went to Alysia Rees for the third, Jonathan Webb for the seventh, Sam Clark for the 11th and David Blackhurst on the 16th. Longest drives were Lee Walsh on the ninth and Pete Fryer on the 10th.

Refreshments were served at the halfway house by captain’s wife, Mandy McAvoy.

It’s been a good week for the Farrant household with Nick in the winning team on charity day and Kath winning the ladies’ Stableford with an impressive 40 points. Gay Long was the runner-up with 35, followed by Julie Ward with the popular score of 33 taking the third spot on countback from June Phillips and Jade Cope respectively.

The ladies Rogers Cup team played Worlebury at Long Sutton and won 6-2, taking them through to the next round.

It was a hectic week for Worlebury ladies’ captain Michelle James, as the moved centre stage.

It started off with the mixed section vying for the Gertrude Johnson Trophy. The format was medal foursomes with which some of the field struggled. Bucking the tend, however, were Julie Stafford and Mike Knight, who, having finished runners-up last year, went one better and just edged out Maxine and Paul Gardiner to win by the narrowest of margins.

The following day Michelle hosted lLadies’ invitation day, which was a great success and enjoyed by all. The course was set up beautifully and the weather was kind if not a tad breezy.

Judy Nicol and her guest Helen Clarke (Mendip Spring) won with 51 points. The other prizewinners partnering Worlebury members were all from Weston. Cheryl Saunders and Chris Reed were runners-up, pipping Julie Stafford and Sally Irlam on countback, both pairs scoring 49 points.

Nearest the pin prizes: Lynne Johnson and Pam Hudson, with twos being notched by Sally Irlam, Alysia Rees, Claire Bayliss and Jill Walker.

Michelle thanked her committee for making the day possible, the players, particularly the guests, for their participation and everyone’s generosity in raising £175 for the captain’s charity.

The following day, the two clubs crossed swords in the Rogers Cup at the neutral venue of Long Sutton, with Weston winning comfortably. Despite local rivalry, the relationship between the two sections is very good and plans are afoot to arrange a social match and meal later in the season.

It has been an equally hectic and successful time for junior captain Ryan Thrupp. After a solid performance in the Jubilee Cup when his two rounds of 37 points saw him finish just outside the prizes, he played excellently to win the nett event in the junior open and led his team to a winning performance in the Junior League at Taunton and Pickeridge.

The open was a huge success, attracting junior golfers from across the region. The winner of the competition and the Evans Trophy was Ollie Brimfield from Mendip Spring, with an excellent gross score of 75. As the winner of the competition, Ollie will be included on The Telegraph Junior Championship leaderboard.

Ryan came second in the gross and won the nett competition with scores of 76 and 64 respectively. Davina Xanh from Mendip Spring won the prize for the best gross score in the under 14 years section.

Despite the team being one short due to exam revision, the four Worlebury juniors Alix Kew, Dominic Williams, Ryan Thrupp and Alex Chandler all put in great performances finishing consecutively in third, fourth, fifth and sixth places in the latest round in the Junior Golf League at Taunton and Pickeridge to record another victory.

A great effort again from the Worlebury team, who find themselves at the top of the league table with two league matches remaining.

Going along equally well are the Avalon Royals who cemented their place at the top of Division 6 with another stellar performance against high-flying Minehead.

They were in a commanding mood and had emphatic wins in four out of the five matches. The Royals were bolstered by calling upon the experienced pairing of Terry Bradley and Mick Keen, who were rarely in trouble in dispatching their opponents 3&2.

Captain John Melwani and Ben Main continued their excellent partnership winning 5&4. Craig Young and Terry Santo’s strong partnership showed no signs of faltering with a 6&5 demolition of their opponents, the latter weighing in with four birdies.

Vice-captain James Marshall and Tom Main maintained their 100 per cent record with a resounding 7&6 win. Mark Puddy and Jamie Crandon came up against plucky opposition and were made to work hard for a half on the 18th.

By comparison, Graham Hewlett’s side in Divison 3 suffered another heavy defeat, this time away to Stockwood Vale and things are beginning to look ominous for them. Most of the matches were close, but local knowledge and good fortune saw the home side win 4-1.

Worlebury’s sole win was achieved by Martin Green and the experienced Steve Taylor, who made a welcome return to the Avalon fold after a lengthy absence.

The seniors were able to allow their old bones to rest this week as they only had one social match. In perfect conditions for golf, they won an entertaining tussle at home to Tall Pines 6-2. The opposition, whilst heavily defeated, went home having enjoyed the course, a sumptuous meal and excellent company.

A bright, but chilly day greeted the Ladies at Wedmore, each of whom had invited a guest to play with.

They clearly had chosen their guests well because the scores were excellent. Fourth place went to Liz Hill with Ann Weston scoring an excellent 42 points. June Smith and Julie Ward went one better with 43 in third place.

This was still one point behind runners-up Sue Painter and Diane Ramsey. The winners though, scoring a truly remarkable 46 points, were Saybria Sims and Stephanie Bristow, winning by two clear shots.

There was a good turnout for the monthly Stableford, including a better than usual number of ladies. Saybria Sims scored 35 points, but this was one behind Chris Simpson on 36. Best score from bronze division came from Mary Gillies with 34, one better than Ann Adams.

Best score of the day amongst the men came from David Bennett, winning Division 3 with 43 points. This was three clear of second placed Ian Sentance with David Bedford a further point back in third.

There was a close finish in Division 1 where a strong back nine of just two over par gross was enough to give first place to Graham Sugg on countback from James Vowles after both scored 39 points. Chris Norris was third on 38.

Marcello di Mascio was another player to rack up 40 points, winning Division 2 by two points from Mark Higginbottom with Tom Bennett third on 37.

Barrie Yearsley was the first June winner in the senior section as he secured the monthly Stableford with a 37-point score.

He ended the day one point clear of Mike Porter, who in turn had a two-point buffer over third place. This was decided after a multiple countback was completed with seniors’ captain-elect Ray Byatt prevailing. Porter score the only two of the event as he birdied the short par three second to scoop the pot.

After losing out on a countback to Steve Eley in the previous midweek event, Pete Barton made no mistake as he claimed a comfortable victory. His impressive 43-point total was four better than anyone else could manage and saw Barton’s handicap reduced by another stroke.

A countback was required for the runners-up spot with Tony Higgins edging out John Ham on the back nine after they both returned 39 points.

Tony Groves backed up his excellent score of last week to win his second pro shop Stableford in two days. His card of 44 points won by five from Tony Richards and he also trimmed a tidy five shots off his handicap over the weekend.