Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
He’s a jolly Goodfellow
Canterbury
Five players tied for first place in the Lefevre Cup at Canterbury Golf Club, but the par Simon Goodfellow made at the 18th proved significant.
For the secondary- school teacher was the only member of the quintet to complete the hole in regulation figures and that was enough to secure him the trophy after a countback.
Had any of Goodfellow’s four closest rivals made a par at the hole, they would have been celebrating victory, but three of them registered bogeys and the other scored a double-bogey to leave the Canterbury man at the head of the field.
“I was amazed to have won with a 69,” said the eighthandicapper, “but I’m delighted just the same, although it was mighty close.”
One player did return a lower score than all the other competitors, but Jason Kennett’s net 68 was increased to 74 when his handicap was reduced from 26 to 20 in line with the competition rules.
That left the 45-year-old Goodfellow top of the leaderboard after he produced his best form over the more difficult back nine.
Goodfellow dropped the majority of his shots over the outward half.
A birdie at the fourth was offset by a double-bogey six at the sixth and he turned in a five-over 41 before picking up birdies at the 13th and 16th in an outstanding inward half of 36.
Second place on countback went to 19-handicap Graham Lee, who made a double-bogey at 17 and a bogey at 18.
Peter Johnson, playing off six, also shot a 69 but, after picking up birdies at the second and 14th, he ended a run of three pars with a dropped shot at the 18th.
Four-handicap John Macdonald was looking well set when he covered the first nine in a oneunder 35, with a birdie at five, but bogeys at the 17th and 18th cost him victory.
The fifth man to match Goodfellow’s 69 was 10-handicap Bill Pearson, but he made an ugly seven at the 18th that effectively killed his hopes of success.
In the closest finish to a medal competition for many years, two players – four-handicap Dan Smith and 12-handicap Dave Tottman – closed a stroke behind the leading group, while six others finished two shots off the pace. Leading scores: 69 S Goodfellow (h8), G Lee (h19), Peter Johnson (h6), J Macdonald (h4),W Pearson (h10); 70 D Smith (h4), D Tottman (h12); 71 T Wenham (h9), G Tottman (h8), M Lambton (h7), A Evans (h11), I Cusselle (h13), J Isherwood (h14); 72 A Wigg (h7), P Bundock (h10), B Disneur (h17), M Cunningham (h10), P Grant (h9); 73 D Danton (h1); 74 P Blake (h10), T Stannard (h15), J Kennett (h26), K West (h19); 42 other scores. Mary Boag, with Sylvia Beecham third on 32.
Twenty-three handicappper Colin Hillman headed the men’s entry with 40 points, one more than Alan Edmunds and two clear of Melvyn Edmunds.