Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Duo head Winter League after impressive scoring
John Coupe and Brett Davies scored heavily on a heavy course to win round three of Canterbury Golf Club’s Hallet Cup men’s Winter League and head the standings.
Coupe and Davies scored level par for 41 Stableford points, winning by one from Brian Gaston and Liam Holland and by two from third-placed Melvyn Curd and Graham Vaughan, in a field of 42 pairs.
The course was playing long due to the muddy conditions and sanded fairways, with the slippery 12th closed due to health and safety concerns.
But that didn’t stop 10th-hole starters Coupe and Davies from scoring 19 points on the back eight, with Davies making birdie at the 14th and adding 22 on the front nine.
Davies scored further birdies at the seventh and the ninth holes, where Coupe also holed out in four.
Levi Johnson and Simon Leggatt were playing with the winners, and Johnson started with four successive birdies and notched seven in all as they racked up 38 points for fifth place.
The rescheduled second round will be played this Sunday. Davies and Coupe lead the league table with 80 points, one ahead of Johnson and Leggatt with Curd and Vaughan third on 74.
New member Stewart Esterbrook made light work of heavy conditions to win his first competition at Canterbury in Thursday’s Club Midweek Stableford.
Esterbrook scored 38 points from the 17 open holes with a three-birdie and four-bogey one over par round to win by four from Robert Hollidge, who beat Peter Cheney into third place on countback, in a field of 38.
Esterbrook said: “I’m absolutely delighted.
“I was hitting fairways and greens and made some good putts, but my real highlight was hitting the green on 11 which I’ve only managed to do a couple of times.
“It’s not my favourite hole but I hit a 6 iron right out of the middle to within five feet - and then missed the putt!”
Sue Jones won her third competition in 18 days in Wednesday’s Ladies’ Stableford.
Jones scored 32 points with two pars, 11 bogeys, four doubles and one NR to win overall by three from Caroline Collins, who had a birdie at the eighth.
Ali Doyle took third on countback from Claire Wilson in a field of 22.
Catherine Hinds scored 15 points on the front nine and 13 on the way back for a winning total of 28 in Saturday’s ladies’ Weekend November Stableford.
She scored an up-and-down par at the second as the highlight of her 17 holes to win by one from Alyson Wreford, who beat thirdplaced Val Lucas on countback in a field of eight.
Paul Stewart said playing partner Terry Martin “played out of his skin” as they ran up 40 Stableford points to win the second round of the Seniors’ Winter League Bill England Trophy on Monday.
Martin followed a scoring bogey at the second with four pars, six bogeys and a double at the 15th.
Stewart weighed in with a four points birdie at the 16th, three pars and a bogey as they won by one point over 17 open holes from John Wigg and Stephen Bowles, who held off thirdplaced Steve Dewett and Bruce Gowland on countback in a field of 38 pairs.
Stewart said: “It was sticky, muddy, sandy and windy but Terry played out of his skin.
“He chipped and putted so well. He didn’t look like he was going to miss.”
The win lifted them to third in the Winter League table, seven points behind leaders Kevin Fletcher and Simon Fowler, who finished sixth on Monday for a total of 70 points.