Junior books his place at Heythrop
Despite our best intentions and the good offices of our Marshall’s the rough claimed several victims and contributed to time lost looking for balls and so we didn’t make our 4 ½ hour target. We all need to keep-up our pace of play so as not to inconvenience those other players on the course. (And I have to take responsibility for my own slow play having taken enough shots for two rounds!)
It was good to see so many members making good of the conditions with lots of players close to their handicaps and some good scores recorded. Jacko Powell back to form with a creditable 30+ return for the second tournament in a row and Elford Douglas missing out on third place on count-back to mention just two. All in all some good golf played but nobody streaking away to a massive 40+ point total.
So who won the accolades and admiration of their peers?
From the raised tee the 13th hole “Worcestershire Way” drops away then stretches out to it’s green some 420 yards in the distance. As group 6 prepared to play, the marker was sitting a very creditable 270 yards away. Vassel Brown sent a flier, straight and true, pitching it close to the marker and running up to some 310 yards, surely the winner. But no! You can never rule out Ian Higgins when it comes to the battle of the big hitters. Playing in the final group and saving the best ‘til last “Higgy” flew it miles, passing everything and everyone and adding another 20 yards to the mark. No short drive for the man in shorts, Awesome!!!
Onto Hole 15 “Rock Coppice” and nearest the pin. Like many downhill par 3’s it looks easier than is the case. Well protected by the surrounding trees, raised with steep slopes front and left and with a deep gully to cross this green provides a challenge to all but the most accurate golfers. With the pin teasingly placed towards the front anything short would be in trouble and great control would be needed to avoid running on too far. Despite this there were some notable efforts with players showing off their skills and getting it up there. But best of all with a great hit to only 5 feet was Keith Riley – a worthy and popular winner.
The 18th was set for nearest the pin in two. At 442 yards and with the water in front this posed an extreme challenge for all but the longest and most accurate hitters. And indeed it was Mr Accuracy himself who came up closest! Frank McCook seems to be in the prizes at most of the majors and although he didn’t feature in the top three today he proved what a good golfer he is with his commitment and accuracy at the last. “Well played Frank” – I’m sure we’ll hear that again (and again) before the season’s out.
And so to the main prizes. Who were our most consistent and best golfers on the day. In a well-deserved third place with a commendable 35 points (and taking the honours on count-back) was the shy and retiring Dr Josh Johnson. Well played Josh and good to see you in the honours. In second place with 37 points, another consistent player who’s name we’re hearing a lot, Barry Smith. Well played Barry, what an impact you’ve made in such a short time. Last but not least our winner. A man who works tirelessly for the CGS, he hasn’t had a first place for some time but isn’t usually too far away from the prizes, with 39 points Mr Junior Harris. Well played Chairman – It wasn’t certain whether Junior was more pleased with the trophy or the takings from the “school” but either way it was clear he’d played the best golf of any of us on a course that required respect and control, congratulations! “Cut-im”, they cried, and cut-him they did.
Full Result:
| Nett Diff | Hcap Chg | New Hcap | Overall Position | Player | Score (Stroke Rcd) | Placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -5 | -1.1 | 10.4 | 1 | Junior Harris | 39 pts (12) | Overall Winner |
| -3 | -0.6 | 7.5 | 2 | Barry Smith | 37 pts (08) | Overall Runner-Up |
| -1 | -0.2 | 10.7 | 3 | Josh Johnson | 35 pts (11) | Overall Third |
| -1 | -0.3 | 16.1 | 4 | Elford Douglas | 35 pts (16) | Division 2 Winner |
| 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | Trevor Lammy | 34 pts (11) | Division 1 Winner |
| 1 | 0 | 6.6 | 6 | Eric Queely | 33 pts (07) | |
| 1 | 0 | 12.3 | 7 | Jacko Powell | 33 pts (12) | |
| 1 | 0 | 15.3 | 8 | Jay Berryman | 33 pts (15) | |
| 1 | 0 | 10.4 | 9 | Bob Dhammi | 33 pts (10) | |
| 2 | 0 | 20.2 | 10 | Dave Brown | 32 pts (20) | Division 3 Winner |
| 2 | 0.2 | 11.2 | 11 | Ronald Ross | 32 pts (11) | |
| 4 | 0 | 20 | 12 | Lloyd Thomas | 30 pts (20) | |
| 4 | 0.1 | 18.4 | 13 | Don Campbell | 30 pts (18) | |
| 4 | 0 | 26.2 | 14 | Rodney Dillon | 30 pts (26) | |
| 4 | 0 | 28 | 15 | Carl Cunningham | 30 pts (28) | |
| 5 | 0.2 | 8 | 16 | Vassel Brown | 29 pts (08) | |
| 6 | 0.1 | 13.9 | 17 | Winston Mclean | 28 pts (14) | |
| 6 | 0.1 | 12.4 | 18 | Keith Riley | 28 pts (12) | |
| 6 | 0.1 | 13.5 | 19 | Keith Salmon | 28 pts (13) | |
| 7 | 0.2 | 25.5 | 20 | Tony Sealey | 27 pts (25) | |
| 7 | 0.1 | 13.2 | 21 | Frank McCook | 27 pts (13) | |
| 7 | 0.2 | 10.6 | 22 | Ian Higgins | 27 pts (10) | |
| 7 | 0 | 28 | 23 | George Sinclair | 27 pts (28) | |
| 8 | 0.2 | 11.4 | 24 | Dave P Smith | 26 pts (11) | |
| 9 | 0.1 | 16.1 | 25 | Linton Bell | 25 pts (16) | |
| 9 | 0.1 | 13.4 | 26 | Paul Ramsey | 25 pts (13) | |
| 9 | 0.1 | 18.5 | 27 | Alan Ferguson | 25 pts (18) | |
| 11 | 0.1 | 13.3 | 28 | George Oliver | 23 pts (13) | |
| 12 | 0.1 | 17.7 | 29 | Ansel Pottinger | 22 pts (18) | |
| 18 | 0.2 | 23.9 | 30 | Martin Chidgey | 16 pts (24) |