As those balmy summer days recede into the distance, I am reflecting on the excellent run of competitive golf we have enjoyed through September.
On the 2nd September we played the annual Captains vs Club match. Always competitive, it’s a lovely chance to welcome Past Captains to take on a challenge from the Club, led by the Vice Captain Peter McGovern. With seven matches to be completed, the excitement was palpable and the smell of ‘wintergreen’ in the Men’s changing room was a reminder of former sporting glories and injuries!
In the top match, Nigel Candelot (incredibly, Captain back in 1990) paired with current Captain Simon Butler to beat Vice Captain Peter McGovern and Keith Atkins by 3/2. The second match of Captains Loggie and Kappler held off the challenge of Malcolm Turner and Greg Whitaker to force a halved match. Match 3 was possibly the ‘David and Goliath’ tie with Captains John Sivers (recently returned from surgery) and Martin Abbott (recently returned from Epernay) taking on Bill Phelan and exciting prospect Robert Findlay. To the delight of all, the Captains returned a famous 3/2 victory.
All looking good so far for the Captains – but not so fast, Rob Mitchell and Roy Martin held on for a half against Gerry Dennigan and Neil Anderson before form players Alec Lever and Bengt Grundberg delivered a victory for the Club side. When Keith Duncan and Brian Hall walked across from the 15th green having taken the scalp of Captains Martyn Coffee and Gerald O’Mahoney by 4/3 I feared the worst. After what felt like an eternity, the final match played their shots off the 18th tee. With both Shaun Erasmus and Greg Waunford-Brown carrying the corner, Shaun had the advantage of receiving a shot from Greg. As they say ‘cometh the hour, cometh the man’ and when Shaun got up and down from the front of the 18th green for a 4 (nett 3), Greg was left to calmly hole an 8ft birdie putt and force a halved match. I am therefore delighted to report that the Captains retained the trophy by halving the overall match by 3 ½/3 ½.
This last weekend the course was in superb condition as we contested the 36-hole Autumn Meeting with magnificent silverware for scratch, handicap and veterans categories. The veterans prize was taken by Alec Lever (68+65 = 133) from Stuart Loggie (71 + 66 = 137).
The Whitney Challenge Cup for best 36 holes (handicap) was also won by Alec Lever, beating Alastair Wright (66+68 = 134) by a single shot. Scoring in the scratch event (competing for the Autumn Challenge Cup) was excellent and Scott Stanley and Alex Tonge tied, both returning 70 + 68 = 138. Rather than a playoff, the tie was broken by countback and Scott was Stanley declared the winner.
Congratulations to Scott Stanley, Alec Lever and all the competitors who returned such great scores. At the same time, congratulations to Alex Tonge who earlier in the week had beaten Peter Crocombe to win the Scratch Matchplay Club Championship.
In parallel we saw the completion of the combined tournaments which run across the Spring & Autumn Meetings. The winner of the Polo Cup (handicap) with 142 + 137 = 279 was Greg Whitaker and the winner of the Eastman Cup (scratch) with 151+138 = 289 was Scott Stanley.
We have continued our Captain and Pro season with more matches through September. Oli Hunt and Scott Stanley threw down the gauntlet and took on Will Hancock and I. With birdies a plenty, the match came down to the 18th green when Oli and the Captain exchanged 10 ft putts to ensure a halved match.
Ricky and I then took on Golf Committee Chairman Niels Verbeek and Tom Reed. Lots of birdies and a cheeky ‘Captain’s eagle’ at the 5th kept the game tight until birdies from Ricky at 13, 14 and 15 closed the match out by 4/3. As we look forward to the Captain and Pro Challengers event on 30th September, we have just one match remaining – our current record stands as 12 wins, 6 losses and 2 halves.
