Kentish Express Ashford & District
Wallis enjoys pro-am win
Golf
Canterbury Golf Club professional Richard Wallis won an invitational pro-am at the The Richmond GC last week.
The Great Britain and Ireland international teaching professional shot an eight-under par 63, one over the course record, to clinch Thursday’s win.
Wallis beat European Tour player Andrew Marshall into second place by three shots in a high quality field.
He was delighted to be back in the winner’s circle after an injury-hit 2019 season and then the Coronavirus lockdown.
He said: ‘’It was very good opposition, the course was immaculate, there were very light winds and the greens were absolutely fantastic, just like billiard tables.
‘’It’s a short but very narrow course, so you had to hit a lot of irons into position off the tees and that suited me because my long irons are pretty strong.
‘’I got off to a bit of a ropey start, the first few holes are very tight and I was one over after four but then I birdied five in a row to be four under at the turn.
‘’I made a bogey at the 10th which is their stroke index one but then I made birdies at 11, 13, 16 and 17 to finish on 63 and that won by three shots from Andrew Marshall.
‘’I’m obviously very pleased, I’ve put in a lot of work in on the range at Canterbury, just going back to the basics of what I was doing when I was playing a bit more and I played really well, I hit it nicely and my putting was lovely.’’
CANTERBURY GC
French-born Charlotte Launois celebrated Bastille Day with a win in Canterbury Golf Club’s Ladies Challenge Bowl.
The annual stroke play play-off competition for monthly medal winners during the previous year took place last Tuesday.
Launois played to her 16 handicap for a net level par 71 (gross 87), to win by two strokes from Val Binns (h11).
Binns made a slow start but came home with a gross 39 on the back nine to comfortably take second place on count back from Sue Jones (h22), who also finished with a net 73.
Claire Wilson (h17) was the overall winner of the second July Stableford on Wednesday with 36 points, beating Angela Le Breton (h25) into second place on count back.
James Lambton ignored a handicap cut of two shots in the space of a week to score plus seven points for his maiden victory at Canterbury Golf Club, in Sunday’s Winch Bowl men’s bogey competition, from a field of 94.
Lambton (h18) kicked off with a birdie four at the 1st and was out in a five over par gross 40 for plus five points.
He was just as hot in cool, rainy conditions on the back nine, following his only blemish, a lost point at the 15th, with a birdie into the wind at the tough par four 16th and a par at the last to win by one point.
He said: ‘’I was lucky to miss the worst of the weather but it’s great to win my first competition, I’ve been getting close and it’s always good to beat my dad.”
He bettered his dad Mark (h6) by nine points.
Finlay Bobb, a 17-year-old, 21 handicap Simon Langton Grammar schoolboy, fired an excellent gross 84 to sweep to victory in Wednesday’s Men’s Stableford.
Finlay’s net 63, in only his second recorded competition round, gave him a towering 44 points, to win by three from Julian Thompson (h5) with Gavin Simpson (h21) third on 40.
Bobb said: ‘I’ve actually shot a couple of shots lower before but not in competition and it was when I birdied the 15th, where I got two shots and went past 40 points, that I thought I had probably won.”
John Smith (h17) had two reasons to celebrate on Tuesday when he scored his maiden hole in one, at Canterbury’s fifth hole – it was also on his wife Pauline’s birthday.
ASHFORD GC
Tony Rubbo recaptured some of his best form to win the Veterans Centenary Plate at Ashford Golf Club.
Friday’s vets tournament was one of three competitions over the weekend.
A good field enjoyed excellent conditions ahead of the wekeend and Rubbo racked up 43 points to give him a narrow one point win over Geoff Gould.
Colin Shaw finished third place on 40 points whilst David James and Peter Leckie also earned a handicap reduction returning scores of 38 points.
The ladies then took centre stage with the Audrey Disbury Trophy which was collected by Tracyann Wood, emerging as a clear-cut winner with a splendid 41 points, four ahead of her nearest rivals Christine Collins, Jenny Ursell and Jane Dawson. Julia Sime and Jan James can also be pleased with their efforts.
One hundred and nine players pegged it up in Sunday’s Centenary Trophy with the ever-consistent Tony Rawbone taking the honours. The 11-handicapper posted an excellent nett 63, edging out Dean Wilson by a single point.
Matt Lightfoot hit the lowest gross score to notch third place with his nett score of 65. The only disappointment of the competition was the number of non returns.