Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Pair finish three clear but win is not all plain sailing
Canterbury GC
Regular partners Ian Cusselle and Marcus Rabenda coasted to a three-stroke victory in the Vice-presidents Trophy at Canterbury GC.
The pair shot a net 66.5 in the foursomes competition – 4.5 under par – making three birdies and avoiding any calamities.
Progress was not always smooth, however, and the two had to rely on some competent scrambling on occasions.
Twelve- handicapper Cusselle and 13-handicap Rabenda made two doublebogeys, which came at the easiest of the par-3 holes, the 5th and the 8th.
But that apart, they played consistently after opening up with a birdie four, tucked away by Rabenda.
A second birdie came at the 4th and the duo, receiving 12.5 shots, reached the turn in a five-over 41.
After a run of three bogeys, birdie No.3 arrived at the 13th, courtesy of a 25-foot putt by Cusselle.
And another long Cusselle putt, marginally shorter, at the 16th launched a sequence of three closing pars. By then, the bulk of the field was already in, with the best score among them being a 69.5.
No pair was able to improve on that, leaving Cusselle and Rabenda well out in front of the five combinations that shared second place.
Best of them and runners- up on countback, were two-handicap Dean Danton and three-handicap John Coupe, who signed for three birdies and four bogeys.
Third was Mark Andrews and Anthony Dance, who had a better back nine that Mark Baldwin and Stephen Lloyd. Leading scores: 66½ I Cusselle & M Rabenda (hcap 12½); 69½ D Danton & J Coupe (h2½), M Andrews & A Dance (h8½), S Goodfellow & P Tyler (h11½), M Baldwin & S Lloyd (h8½), M Bonthuys & S Eeles (h10½); 70.5 C Jamieson & J Isherwood (h16½); 71 Peter & Phil Johnson (h10); 71.5 D & S Williams (h13.5), P Cryer & S White (h7½), M Cunningham & K Elliott (h11½); 72 P Blake & S Plews (h12); 72.5 R Jaworski & T Wenham (h15½), B Field & N Parsonson (h12½); 73 B Dancer & L Kirkham (h9).
More than 72 players from 14 clubs throughout Kent competed in the annual Canterbury Ladies’ open last week.
This visitors-only competition took the format of a three-player Texas Scramble, with five tee-shots required from each member of the team.
In first place was the combination of Wildernesse and Littlestone members Judy Leach, Gerry Bray and Jennifer Clark, who signed for a net 64.87. Leach also collected the prize for nearest-the-pin at the 17th.
Second was the team of Linda James, Sue Lavender and Julie Parris from North Foreland, with West Malling’s Sue Stickland, Jill Gambling and Pat West less than a stroke behind in third place, narrowly beating the Prince’s trio of Carolyn Moulsdale, Kathy Bennett, Christine Gill.
Canterbury’s lady captain, Marianne Disneur, presented the prizes for the competition that was jointly sponsored by Yvette, of Avon, and the brewers Shepherd Neame. A raffle raised £350 and the swindle contributed £64 for the League of Friends at Kent and Canterbury Hospital for the Children’s Assessment Centre.