Seniors take part in 666 event at Weston Golf Club

SIXTEEN teams took to the course for the Weston Golf Club seniors’ 666 competition.

Heavy showers and strong winds faced the competitors, which kept scores low, but the course was playing to its full potential, with superb greens.

Mike Dyer, Gerald Taylor and Neil Watkins came in first place, closely followed by club captain Roy Schubert and team-mates Dave Garrett and David Andow. Christopher Kelly, David Rowland and Philip Eastman took the third slot.

The winner of the seniors’ match play competition played over the summer was David Cummins, with Eddie Langford as runner-up. The Plate competition was won by Michael Latham and Iain Hall-Scott was runner up.

The lady past captains set off optimistically in dry weather for their annual Stableford, but rain caught up with them halfway round the course.

However, spirits were not dampened and they all completed their round. The most recent past captain, Di Walker, organised the event and hosted the evening dinner and celebrations.

Sally Irlam won the competition and was awarded the Rosebowl Trophy. In second place was the present captain, Tessa Williams and Diney Costeloe was third.

The ladies’ Stableford was won by Kath Farrant with 35 points. Close on her heels was Jan Bishop scoring 34.

Fifty golfers who had played in mixed matches throughout the year, got together for an end of season Texas scramble. In first place were the team of Luke and Miles Bliss with Ty and Hannah Watson.

Matt Brosnan, Andy Skinner, Tessa Williams and Caroline Poole followed close behind in second place. Coming in third were Dave Garrett, Di Brown, John Morgan and Sue Radcliffe.

Match captain Carol Harris thanked everyone for supporting the club throughout the year and presented the prizes followed by a superb carvery.

A TEAM of six Worlebury juniors travelled to Cumberwell Park for the semi-final of the Home Nations Inter-Club Championship.

Although they returned an identical score to the regional qualifier, which they won, the opposition was much tougher and they finished down the leaderboard.

The winners, East Berks, representing Thames Valley, had a team of single handicappers, the highest of which was seven and they narrowly won the event to advance to the national final, beating teams from Worthing (West Sussex) and Wrag Barn (Wiltshire).

With the season drawing to a close, a number of the summer knockout competitions were played. The games were all competitive, of the highest quality and played in a very good spirit.

First up was the scratch final which saw the evergreen Paul Simmonds take on the youthful, Zac Shelford. The morning round was tight with Simmonds going into lunch one up. In the afternoon round, his experience shone through and he won comfortably 6&5.

The Petty Cup saw two seasoned campaigners, Stuart Lock and centenary captain, Steve Rowlands locking horns. Rowlands finished the morning session three up. In the afternoon, Lock stated to chip away at this lead, but eventually ran out of holes and Rowlands held on to win one up.

The Commemoration Cup saw the experienced Dave Pope and Richard Brown take on the youthful Ryan Jones and Jack Partridge in the four-ball final.

The old hands got their noses in front in the morning session and led by two holes. Try as they might, Jones and Partridge could not cut the deficit and gradually Pope and Brown pulled away taking full advantage of their handicap allowance to win 6&4.

Finally, the competition for higher handicappers, the Tolladine Cup, was won by Lee Jones who beat Jason Dean 2&1. This match fluctuated throughout, but Lee’s strong finish saw him home on the 17th.

It has also been a hectic week of social activity at Worlebury. The annual dinner dance was well attended with quality food and entertainment provided by local duo Lipinski.

The clubhouse rocked once more when club member, Jock McCracken, celebrated his 50th birthday in style. Kick the Cat, a Bristol-based eight-piece rhythm, blues and soul showband played a quality set with the first half, a Blues Brother tribute act, particularly well received. The week concluded with Uphill Castle Cricket Club holding their annual dinner.

If you would like to know more about holding a social event at Worlebury, please contact Andy Horsburgh, managing secretary on 01934 625789 or email Secretary@worleburygc.co.uk

THE last of the summer knockout finals was completed this week at Wedmore, with captain Brad Ruddick taking on John Wormald in the 36-hole final.

Ruddick took an early lead and was three up after 9 holes, but Wormald struck back and his win on the final hole of the first round took him one up.

Ruddick was soon back all square, but missed his chance to go one up after Wormald drove out of bounds. It remained tight until the turn, but then Wormald won two holes in a row and with Ruddick suffering from sciatica, the match came to a premature end on the 14th tee with Wormald winning 5&4.

There was some compensation for the captain when his team triumphed over the vice-captain to win the Barron Midgely Salver by 5½ to 4½, with Ruddick leading the way with a decisive win over vice-captain Mike Garbutt.

The seniors held their captain/director challenge, a four-ball betterball supporting the captains’ charities. The biggest beneficiaries were Tony Hoskings and Dave Bees, who amassed 48 points to win by five clear points from Bob Jackson and Phil Rogers, with Chris Donald and Peter Searle a further point back in third.

The captain’s pairing had a creditable 41 points and more than £80 was raised for charity.

The ladies’ medal produced a close finish with Jenny Brown and Joan Peck both coming in with nett 72s. A par on the final hole from Brown was enough to give her first place on countback.

Sue Hughes and Carol Pinks were just a shot back in third and fourth place with countback giving third place to Hughes. Ladies’ captain Ange Webber took fifth place on 74.

WHEN both Andy Thomas and Barry Fisher’s partners pulled out on with illness and injury, it looked that they would be unlikely to feature in the pairs aggregate Stableford prize winners at Brean.

However, they were paired up and romped home to a five-point win. Thomas was the bigger scorer of the duo with 40 points, but Fisher weighed in with a more than respectable 37 point haul.

Countback was needed to decide the runners-up, with Simon Baunton (41) and Tom Marshfield contributing the other 31 to the total. Third spot after losing out on the back nine scores went to captain-elect Stuart Wills and Martyn Cahill with 38 and 34 respectively.

Two other players matched Baunton’s best of the day 41 point cards, but neither of Mo Sanders or Mike Porter’s partners had days to remember.

The new winter league campaign got underway and Mark Hatfield produced a stunning level par round of 70 to win by some distance. The practice he has put in over the last week paid off as his card showed three birdies and three bogies on his way to 44 Stableford points.

Second, third and fourth spots all had 38 points with John Mardon taking second ahead of Trevor Pitt and Mel Brown.

After five rounds of battling through varying weather conditions, the seniors have concluded their annual eclectic competition. The winner was Barrie Tucker who managed an overall nett 52, helped greatly by his 62 in the fourth round last week.

Runner-up on nett 53 was Mike Drayton and third place went to Dai Wood with 54.

Tied fourth on 56 were Barry Fisher and Ken Ponter, while Roger Phillips rounded out the top six on 58.

The seniors winter league got underway with the Bloodsome event and this format is a great way to lose friends as playing partners choose which ball their colleagues should play.

The winners with a score of 74 were Ken Ponter and Barrie Tucker, who take an early lead in the table. Second place was secured by Ian Welch and Andrew Smith on 79, ahead of two pairs who scored 80.5. Ray Byatt and Tony Roper were the best of the two scores and they were awarded third in front of John Sherwood and Bill Griffin.

Brean PGA pro Andrew March regained top spot in the Total Triumph Gloucester and Somerset PGA Medal when his fourth placed finish moved back ahead of Giuseppe Licata.

His round of 72 was two shots behind the leading duo and this week travels to Bristol & Clifton Golf Club to defend his lead.

THE time was right for a Cheddar golfer when he scored a hole-in-one during a recent club competition to be rewarded with a limited-edition Boss watch as recognition for the achievement.

Brian Webber, aged 67, scored his ace on the 153-yard, par-three 11th with a nine-iron at his club, Isle of Wedmore, and the 15-handicapper was rewarded with membership of the exclusive Boss Watches H1 Club and a specially-commissioned, commemorative timepiece.