A pair of Scots won the John Smiths Trophy at Brean Golf Club.

A PAIR of Scots in the shape of Graham Foy and Stewart Garrett survived the luck of the draw to win the John Smiths Trophy at Brean.

The trophy is played as a blind pairs Stableford and was re-arranged after being washed out last November. The duo combined with cards of 31 and 32 points in some severely windy conditions to win by two from Ian Adams and Richard Triscott.

The unluckiest man on the day was Steve Jones, who produced an amazing score of 39 points in horrendous conditions, but was drawn out alongside his uncle Eric, who could only muster 21 points to leave them third.

To make matters even worse, the random card draw was conducted by the club captain and Steve’s brother Paul Jones.

Steve, however, was rewarded with a handicap reduction back to 12 as he continues his resurgence in form. The only two on the day went to Chris Payne, who birdied the 17th to scoop the pot.

On another tough day for scoring, the January Stableford saw two players beat their handicaps and they both came in Division 2. Paul McLanaghan and Simon Baunton both handed in 38 points each, with the countback going in the favour of McLanaghan.

In Division 1, Stuart Wills was the victor on 35, ahead of the Broom cousins both on 34, with Dan edging out Tom for second place. In Division 3, it was a new name to the winner’s enclosure as new member Tony Bissett won with 30 points by two from Gordy Wheelaghan.

Barrie Yearsley won the opening seniors’ Stableford of the year in some testing conditions. The competitors endured a hefty downpour early in their rounds, followed by a cold wind and eventually some winter sunshine as they battled their way around the course.

Not one player matched his handicap and Yearsley’s winning total of 34 was even good enough for a three-point victory margin. Runner-up to Yearsley was Roger Phillips on 31 and Ian Welch claimed third spot with 30.

WITH the first Saturday of the New Year a washout, the first tee on the Sunday saw long queues form as players vied for their weekend fix.

This delayed the start of the latest round of the mixed winter greensomes, with the organisers kindly allowing the tee to clear before commencing the competition.

Despite the previous day’s incessant rain, the course played well, which is testimony to head greenkeeper Tim Needham and his staff.

The conditions were very much to the liking of Sam Hewlett and Paul McAdams, who romped home with an amazing 49 points. They were clear winners over the pairings of Pam Burnell and John Ratajczak, and Jan Simms and Merv Kinch, both teams scoring 44 points. The next round is scheduled for February 8.

SEVERE winds greeted the first men’s Stableford of the year at Weston.

The course was presented in excellent condition considering it was early January, with all greens and tees being played. Sixty players took part, the winner coming in with 37 points was Nick Giuffrida, followed closely by Gerry Taylor also on 37. Lee Walsh was third with 35, followed by Steve Burrough also on 35 points.

The highlight of the day was a hole-in-one with a wedge by Nick Bohin.

A New Year’s Day social golf event at Weston was supported by over 50 players enjoying the course, followed by a great meal in the clubhouse.

The winning team was Neil Urch, Steve Thomas, Aussie Denison and Adam Royle. Runners-up were captain Roy Schubert, ladies’ captain Tessa William, junior captain Harry Turner and Melanie Rossi.

THINGS were getting back to normal after the Christmas break at Wedmore, with a couple of Stableford competitions.

The seniors were first off in fairly benign conditions, so benign that John Sims was able to amass an amazing 47 points. This won him Division 2 by a clear seven points, easily the best round of the day.

Martin Peakman took second place with 40 points, with Chris Donald just taking third place on countback from a group of players on 39. A tight finish in Division 1 saw Peter Laney edge out Ivor Monelle on countback after both scored 40 points. Tony Glover was a shot further back in third place.

There was a blanket finish in Division 3 with three players all finishing on 39 points. Countback gave first place to Dave Bees by the narrowest of margins from Gordon Summers, with Bernard Abbott taking third place.

There were less benign conditions for the club Stableford which made the score of 45 points from Steve Smith to win Division 2 all the more remarkable. This was six points better than Simon Moore in second place, with Kevin Osman a further shot back in third.

A close finish in Division 1 saw Dom Smith edging out new captain Mike Garbutt after both scored 38. Paul Sloman was a shot back in third. In Division 3, Tony Phelps returned to something like his old form to win with 41 points. Brian Fry was runner-up, beating Liam Cann on countback after both scored 38 points.

The ladies are still to start their own competitions for 2015, but a good number turned out at the weekend. Best score came from Claire Biggs who started the year on a high note with 38 points. Betty Norman was second with 32, while new captain Ann Adams led the way in bronze division with 28.