Berryman Leads the Way at Beautiful Sapey
As we move into the business end of the season with our sixth major of 2010 word was out that there was a lot of practice and hard work being put in, in preparation for the final qualification for the “Carib-Morris Cup” .The field was poised for some real action. Eight players arrived early enough to take on the Par 3 Oaks Course for a warm up ahead of the main event. Junior “Earl” Harris was on fire birdieing anything on offer.
We were pleased to be joined by two new guests Lee Hodgson-Bridge and James Patrick and two old friends John Kirnon and Osborne Bailey, Lee also became a member, welcome aboard, as will James very soon.
The service and warmth from the Sapey staff was only matched by the well presented course. Just 20 years old but has been well laid out with smooth free running greens and several features to make the experience memorable.
With field assembled and looking corporate in their Red CGS shirts we were ready to begin. The first group to challenge the Rowans Course were Nathan Burrows, Alan Ferguson and Carl Douglas, who all made good tee shots declaring the day underway. Nathan had a solid start paring everything going. His short game was a joy to watch. Not satisfied with sparkling play he then went on to leave his tee shot finishing just 3 feet 04 inches from the “Nearest the Pin” hole with a very tricky pin position for an unbeaten nearest the pin attempt.
Longest Drive was briefly held by Carl Douglas until Nathan passed it and put his name on the board, until up stepped Delores Simon who promptly passed it, a lady leader for the first time, Delores drove the ball well all day and scored her second highest points total with the CGS. The eventual winner of the longest drive was Roan McLeod.
There were several players anticipating strong finishes after posting some strong scores on the front nine. The back nine however had surprises and challenges in store that halted many a charge. There were chances aplenty but they evaporated almost as soon as they appeared. There was still some great golf being played with Dean Leith and CGS guest on the day Lee Hodgson-Bridge both putting for eagle on the par 5 12th, both players had to settle for birdies.
Junior Harris produced some incredible par saving shots, having hooked his ball on two consecutive holes into the trees, he managed to chip out sideways and then produced two pin seeking shots with his gap wedge for a tap in par save. He also reduced many holes to a drive and lob wedge, the man’s driver is possessed!
Kilworth Springs winner Emmanuel Sylva entered the club house with a 42 points return taking the lead from Ken Brown who returned 39 points. With most groups now in the club house, it was increasingly looking like Emmanuel may take his second win of the season. If you were to ask any seasoned golfer, one thing they will all agree with is that it is not over until the last ball has dropped and the cards returned. Sure as eggs is eggs in came “Jay” Berryman with 44 points to claim his first CGS win. This win also earns him a sought after automatic qualifying place on the CGS “Carib-Morris Cup” team against The Chris Morris Society on 19th September at the West Midlands Golf Course. A delighted Jay said “it feels good to win after missing out on a trophy at Stoneleigh”.
We were all pleased if not surprised to see Lloyd “Bugsy” Thomas back with us and playing golf so soon after his heart attack. The advancements in medicine today is truly remarkable, it was (as always) a joy to see him back with us. Another returnee was Dr Josh Johnson also good to have you back in the fold. Sapey appears to be a venue that we want to become a permanent feature on our fixture list. We will explore the packages available for 2011.
Congratulations to Lee Hodgson-Bridge who returned 43 points and would have been Runner Up had he not been playing as a guest. Denny Senior produced another good performance and moves up the Order of Merit Table into 4th place behind Ken Brown who has moved up to 3rd behind Linton Bell 2nd, Carl Douglas still holds the top spot with two majors to play.