Weston ladies lose out in county semi-final

WESTON ladies narrowly lost against Taunton & Pickeridge at Burnham & Berrow in the semi-final of the county Rogers Cup.

The seven singles matches were very tight, but in a nail-biting finish, Taunton won 4-3. The final between Taunton & Pickeridge and Lansdown will be played at Weston on September 2.

Well done to all ladies in the Weston squad: Jade Cope, Glenda Latham, Joan Jenkinson, Sue Andow, Alysia Rees, Wendy Thomas, Katrena Thomas, Zena Balcombe, Angela Cook, Diney Costeloe and Kath Farrant.

The Auchterader Quaich, presented to the club by the ladies of Auchterader in Scotland, was won by Wendy Thomas with 36 points. Jan Bishop was second with 34 and Zena Balcombe third with 32.

The ladies’ Alliance B team have enjoyed a great season, but lost their away match at Saltford, meeting strong opposition on home territory. Three matches were halved producing valuable league points. Their next fixture is against Bath at Sham Castle.

The seniors’ Jonathan Latham Trophy was played in windy conditions with sporadic heavy showers. Gerald Taylor won with a nett 70 against standard scratch of 72. Clive Pearce was runner-up with 72, helped by a rare albatross two on the par five eighth hole.

Weston men’s A side put up a gallant fight at Wheathill in the Avalon League. The team lost 4-1, with Steve Jones and John Morgan the winning pair.

One hundred competitors took to the course in sunshine at Weston to celebrate president’s day. In first place with a great score of 43 points were Graham Hicken and Jan Bishop.

Second place with 42 were Keiron Aplin and Andy Gill and in third place, Alysia and Tim Rees also with 42. A taste of Somerset was the menu for the evening meal, attended by more than 70 members and guests.

For the third year in a row, the winners of the Bleadon Bowl were father and son partnership of Nigel and James Browne on nett 72.5. Runners-up also with 72.5 were Andy and Sam Fernley. Thirty-two entrants competed for the trophy on a blustery day.

TWO charity events took place at Worlebury, the club’s annual summer fundraiser and a day in memory of former junior member Mary Collard.

The club fundraiser was organised by professional Gary Marks, raised £500 which was divided between Cystic Fibrosis, club captain Paul Gardiner’s chosen charity and the South West Hospice.

The winners were a team from PRB Fabrications with 121 points (Clive Powell, Alan Hartree, Simon Walker and Steve Jones). It was a close call as it needed countback for them to pip the team of Worlebury members John Dyer, Graham Horrell, Danny Saunderson and Cameron McLeod.

The club also hosted a charity day in memory of former junior member, Mary Collard. It was organised by her parents, club members, Sue and Andy Collard.

It was a fun day with golf and entertainment. Sue and Andy thanked the club and its members for their part in making the day possible and the host of friends and associates who contributed gifts or assisted in the running of the event.

The majority of prizes for the golf competition, raffle and auction were donated, which minimised the outgoings and helped contribute to a fantastic sum of £11,044.63 being raised for the Bone Cancer Research Trust.

This followed on from a recent ball at the club organised by Mayfair estate agents, which raised £3,000 for the charity.

The result of the golf competition was of secondary importance, but was well supported with 40 four-ball teams participating.

In first place were a team from Worlebury: Darrell James, Graham Griffiths, Colin Grainer and Derek Pounsberry with 146 points. Second with 142 were Mark Yeates, Mark Ashmore, Phil Dean and Keith Mann. Third with 140 were Clive Wheatley, Byron Staddon, T Hinds and T Cox.

Guesting for one of the teams was Bethan Pople from Long Aston Golf Club, who plays off plus 2 and is an England international. Winner of the longest drive was professional David Gregory, who first played his golf as a junior at Worlebury and now competes on the Players Tour.

His prize for his monster drive up the 18th, ironically, is a lesson from fellow professional, Scott Thompson, who also guested on the day.

The final of the Pro Trophy was held on a wet and windy morning that saw a number of entrants deciding it was not for them, resulting in only 36 hardy souls braving the elements.

It was a close finish with Alan Hartree edging it on countback from head greenkeeper Tim Needham, both scoring creditable nett 67s. Third place was competitive, with four players posting 68s. Two handicapper, Josh Freeman’s stronger finish gave him the verdict.

Alan did not rest on his laurels and went on to win the seniors’ Bernard Oldfield Salver the following day.

The midweek Stableford had a good turnout with some good scores. Three handicapper Alex Winn won with an excellent 43 points, closely followed by Charlie Camper on 41 and Dale Rendall with 40.

Club captain Paul Gardiner hosted the Worlebury former captain’s summer get-together. Fifteen captains competed for the Waghorn Salver and 19 sat down for dinner.

The golf was competitive with Mike Usher-Clark coming out on top with 38 points, Keri Allchurch a close second on 37 and Paul Gardiner in third place with 36.

Worlebury travelled to Minehead for the second leg of the annual challenge against the Warreners.

Holding an almost unassailable 6-0 lead from the first leg, Worlebury finished the job off with a narrow 3.5-2.5 win. The highlight of the day was Stuart Fawcett’s hole-in-one on the 149 yard 10th, using his pitching wedge which helped him and his partner, Dougie Woods, to a convincing 6&5 win.

Worlebury captain Keith Knight thanked Minehead for their hospitality and said he was looking forward to defending the trophy next year which will be the 20th between the clubs.

LOCKING golfer Barry Fisher scored a hole-in-one during a recent club competition at Brean and was rewarded with a limited-edition BOSS watch as recognition for the achievement.

The 66-year-old scored his ace on the 141-yard, par three 17th and the 25-handicapper was rewarded with membership of the exclusive BOSS Watches H1 Club and a specially-commissioned, commemorative timepiece.