Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Confidence well founded
Mark Broadhurst and Shaun Pilbeam scored an eight-underpar gross 63 for 45 points and victory in Canterbury’s Hallet Cup men’s Winter League sixth round on Sunday - just as Pilbeam had predicted! Broadhurst and Pilbeam began with an eagle at the first when Pilbeam hit his second shot to six feet and holed out.
And after Pilbeam birdied the fourth, Broadhurst eagled the ninth for a five-under-par front nine and 23 points, the pair adding 22 on the back nine with Pilbeam scoring further birdies at the 13th and 14th.
They won by two from Aston Moy and substitute player Sam Ripley who were level par gross to take second place on countback from Scott Lindsay and substitute Chris Almond, and fourth-placed Nigel Hylands and Ashley Iddenden in a field of 44 pairs. Broadhurst said: “Shaun and I played on Friday and he actually predicted this. He said ‘We’ll win on Sunday because we’ve got a good score in us’.
“He was brilliant, I got a birdie on the first and it was no good because he had an eagle.” League leaders Levi Johnson and Simon Leggatt are still on course for a third Hallet Cup title - despite finishing 25th. With two rounds to play and two discards to count, they lead the table by 24 points from Seamus Gallagher and Sandro Carlotti with Andy Brockman and Les Elmer a further six points back in third position. Jamie White equalled his best gross competition score at Canterbury with a 76, net 66, to score a personal-best 41 Stableford points and win Saturday’s Sutton Cup men’s competition.
White began at the 15th in an 8.30am shotgun start, a hole behind Lawrence Fox, who was second on countback and thirdplaced Russell Stannard. Louise Fairburn scored 37 points to win the ladies’ competition by one from secondplaced Claire Wilson. Fairburn was seventh overall in a field of 62 and Wilson 12th. White made birdies at the 18th, first and ninth, eight pars, six bogeys with a no-score 5 at the fifth and was one-over-par gross for the back nine.
He said: “It’s great to be back in the winner’s circle. “The main thing was that Mark Broadhurst encouraged me to change my driver to a Ping G425 and I’m getting about 20 more yards with it, which means I can try to reach all the par 5s in two.
“We started on the 15th and I was two under gross for my first five holes.
“On the 18th, I was on for two with a drive and a 3 hybrid, on the first I was just off in two but chipped up close and, at the ninth, I was on in two again with a drive and a 3 hybrid in from 210 yards. “Considering the time of year, the course was in magnificent condition and, even though the greens were dressed, they were true.”
Chris Sherwood scored his maiden hole-in-one when he holed out with a 7 iron at the fifth hole. Sherwood, who was playing in the Sutton Cup, said: “What a buzz!
“It looked in the whole way and it’s my first one.
“I was playing with Connor Bundock and Brandon Ware. We all thought it had a chance and watched it slowly roll towards the flag and then it just disappeared.
“It was surreal and I didn’t believe it had gone in until we got to the hole.” Richard Hinds scored gross 92 for personal-bests net 66 and 41 points to win Wednesday’s men’s Midweek Stableford by two from Anthony Arscott.
Hinds scored 24 points on the front nine from five pars, two bogeys, one double and a one point triple at the seventh adding 17 on the back nine. Arscott birdied the third, fourth and ninth after a no-score at the second for 23 points out and had 16 back.
Emmanuel Madekufamba had birdies at the third and fourth and blobs at the 12th and 13th for 38 points and third place in a field of 35.
Hinds said: “It’s definitely my best full competition round and I’m delighted.
“I kept the ball in play for once. I didn’t lose any this time. “I just played a few poor holes but the course was in excellent condition for February, so there were no excuses for that. “The hole that set it up was the four-pointer for a par on the first, that was about as good a start as I can get.”