Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Gracie helps dad bag cup
Simon Leggatt’s new caddy, 12-year-old daughter Gracie, became his immediate lucky charm as he scored a six-birdie, two-under-par gross 69, net 63, to win Canterbury’s men’s medal Style Cup by four shots.
Leggatt started at the 10th and covered his front nine in a threeunder-par 32 and his back nine in a one-over-par 37.
He began with a par at the 10th, bogeyed the 11th and then had four successive birdies before adding further birdies at the 18th and the first hole.
Leggatt won from new member Patrick Nash, who had two birdies and a triple at the 10th in a gross 81, net 67, to take second from a field of 78.
John Shiel was third on countback from Scott Lindsay.
Leggatt said: “My daughter Gracie caddied for me; her first time walking round the golf course and I win. She could be my lucky charm!
‘’I’m absolutely thrilled, early season, six birdies, my best gross competition score and a really, really good win.
“I’ve been under par at a few other courses but, to be two under gross on my home track, I was just over the moon with it.”
Canterbury’s Invicta League side beat Prince’s Golf Club 3.5 to 1.5 in their third Golfbreaks Invicta League match of the season on Saturday.
Prince’s were promoted as Division 2 champions along with Canterbury last season and skipper Brandon Ware said: “We were pleased with how well we did against a steady, tough team.”
Ben Dancer and Wal Kalinowski lost 2 down, Andy Brockman and Steve Eeles halved, Ware and Stephen Hockey won 4&2, Alan Bundock and Connor Bundock won 2&1, Sandro Carlotti and Seamus Gallagher won 2 up.
Lewis Mitchell birdied the 18th to score his first victory at Canterbury in last Wednesday’s men’s Midweek Medal.
Pro shop assistant Mitchell was two-over-par on the back nine to card a 79, net 68, and won by one shot from secondplaced Kevin Hunt, Emmanuel Madekufamba, Nick Miller and Peter Brisley from a field of 49.
Mitchell admitted he had a lucky break for his winning birdie, though.
He said: “I blocked a second shot 3 wood, caught the edge of a tree but managed to get it past the final gorse bush and just had a little chip up and rolled in a 10-foot putt.”
Mitchell began in heavy rain showers which forced some players off the course and got stuck in a sodden bunker to run up a triple bogey at the second, but was one under for the final four holes.
Hunt had birdies at the first and 18th but lost out with doubles at the 10th and 17th while Madekufamba was cursing a solitary double at the 10th as he otherwise racked up birdies at the first, sixth, 13th, 14th and 18th in a three-over-par gross 74.
Miller was only six-over-par before a double at the 15th extinguished his hopes and Brisley was four-over-par after 16 and had victory in his sights before running up double bogeys at the last two holes.
Ali Ord and Fiona Cameron scored a gross one-under-par 70 for 43 points to win last Wednesday’s Ladies’ Algarve Vases better ball Stableford by one from Jen Rutherford and Elizabeth Carlotti.
Cameron birdied the fifth and 17th, Ord birdied the ninth and they dropped shots only at the second and 15th. Rutherford birdied the third and Carlotti the 14th but double bogeys at the 10th and 13th cost them. Marion Hawes and Angela Le Breton had 41 points for third in a field of 13 pairs.
Ord said: “We both played really solid golf, which was great. Fiona is a very steady single-figure handicapper and we dovetailed so well.”
Canterbury have two teams through to the second round of the Annodata Systems national match play knockout competition after Ord, Val Binns, Ali Doyle, Di Florence and June Edney scrapped to a battling 3.5-1.5 win at Sittingbourne last Thursday. Canterbury’s other ladies’ team had a first-round bye.
Zenya Allen thought one of her playing partners, Tony Rubbo, was joking when he told her she had holed-in-one at the eighth on Saturday.
Allen said: “I thought it had rolled off the back and I was looking on the bank when Tony said: ‘It’s in the hole’. I thought he was pulling my leg.”
Canterbury’s Josh Bristow had rounds of 72, 78 and 74 at St Mellion GC’S Nicklaus course to finish eight-over-par and tied for 31st out of a starting field of 161 in the Galvin Green Championship Clutch Pro Tour event in Cornwall.
Bill Flynn scored a 43 points to win Monday’s Seniors Stableford overall from Division 1 winner Beau Hart, who failed to score on the last hole.
Flynn scored 23 points on the front and 20 on the back, despite a triple at the 10th, to hold off Hart, who was out in a two-overpar 38 for 23 points and added 19 more on the back but had to settle for second in a field of 54 after his damaging double at the 18th. David Le Breton was third with 41 points.
Canterbury lost a Super Seniors match 3-2 at home to Etchinghill last Thursday.
Callum Ferrett, 11, won his first silverware with victory in Sunday’s Junior Redpath Trophy.
Ferrett scored a birdie at the eighth and three bogeys in a net 70 to win by one from Buddy Woodbridge. Claudia Carlotti was third.
He said: “I’m really pleased. My best hole was the eighth, I hit my hybrid onto the green and sank the putt from 15 feet for a birdie.”
He had a little extra incentive, however.
Dad Mark said: “When we were walking up Callum said: ‘Dad, if I hole this putt will you buy me some sweets?’. I thought no way will he hole that, so I said yes and he drained it.”