Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
No driver is no problem!
Ian Cusselle was forced to use his 3 wood off the tee after his driver was broken and scored 39 points to win his first Canterbury GC competition since last July in last Wednesday’s men’s Midweek Stableford. Cusselle’s driver was snapped in half en route to a sunshine golfing break in Portugal - but his 3 wood kept him out of trouble as he also scored his best competition total in 15 months. Cusselle was two-over-par on the front nine for 23 points and 10-over on the back for another 16, totalling gross 83, net 68, to win by one point from Steve Girdwood, who held off Sebastian Don’t for second place on countback. Girdwood was two-over-par out for 21 points from seven pars and two bogeys before adding 17 on his return nine, including a run of four holes from the 14th where he scored double bogey, birdie, triple bogey, birdie. Don’t was also two-over-par on his opening nine, with a birdie at the seventh, five pars and three bogeys and had 38 points after 17 holes but he wrecked his chances with a nine on the 18th. Cusselle said: “It’s the first thing I’ve won since I don’t know when and I’m delighted. “The front nine made it. I shot five pars, three bogeys and a birdie at the second where I hit an 8 iron to about four feet. “The funny thing is I went to Portugal and my driver got to the other end like a two-piece snooker cue, so I used my 3 wood off the tee all the way round and just kept it on the straight and narrow.
“I miss my driver but the 3 wood is a Ping Rapture as well and it just shows on this golf course, if you keep it straight on the cut stuff, you’re fine.
“I only had one poor drive and the rest of it was steady. I missed a few putts, too, so it could have been even better.”
Stephane Launois failed to score on the first and fifth but still scored 19 points out and 20 back to win Thursday’s Club Midweek Stableford by one from playing partner Tony Rubbo.
Launois also had four pars and three bogeys on the front nine and two pars, six bogeys and one scoring double on the back nine to notch his third solo win of the year.
Rubbo was four-over-par on his opening nine for 20 points and came back with 18, which included a four-point birdie at the 13th hole.
Sandro Carlotti birdied the 15th and 17th to boost his total to 34 for third position on countback from Stuart Forbes, who had birdies at the fifth and 13th and fifth-placed Melvyn Curd, in a field of 20.
Jen Rutherford chipped in from a bunker for birdie on the second hole en route to gross 80, net 75, and her first solo win since March in Sunday’s Ladies’ Weekend December Medal.
Rutherford was out in twoover-par from her birdie, five pars and three bogeys and back in seven-over with three pars, five bogeys and a double at the 16th.
She won by three from Val Binns, net 78, in a field of eight. Clare Mills was third with net 79.
“I’ve played really well all summer, my handicap has come down a lot and I’ve won absolutely nothing until today,” Rutherford said. Junior member Amos Brazier and Shaun Pilbeam scored 38 points from a level-par gross 71 to win Saturday’s Durovernum Cup foursomes Stableford. Brazier and Pilbeam were out in two-under-par with birdies at the eighth and ninth holes for 21 points and back in two-over, with a further birdie at the 13th, for another 17 to win by three from second-placed playing partners Claudia Carlotti and Alison Kingston. Matthew Jones and Jen Rutherford scored 34 for third in a field of seven pairs. Brazier said: “We had a bit of a disappointing back nine, really.
“We could have gone very low but I think level-par, considering how cold it was, wasn’t too bad.”
Mark Ferrett hailed his son Jack as the “star of the show” after they scored 18 points on
each nine to win Saturday’s Junior Family Cup foursomes Stableford on countback from father and daughter Sandro and Georgina Carlotti.
Mark and Jack scored gross 85, net 71, while Sandro and Georgina had 21 points from a frontnine three pars and six bogeys and were up to 34 after 15 holes but then sandwiched a twopoint bogey at the 17th with noscores on the 16th and 18th. Alan Holcroft and son Ben scored 28 points for third place in a field of seven pairs. Mark said: “I did my best to make us not win but Jack played fantastically well - he was the star of the show. “We had a lot of one-putt holes, we weren’t hitting a lot of greens in regulation but we were chipping to three or four feet and putting really well, until the 17th where we fourputted.”
Clare Mills scored a hat-trick of Canterbury GC competition victories when she teamed up with Tony Rubbo and Bruce Maguire to win last Wednesday’s Ladies and Seniors Team Waltz Stableford.
Mills scored with three pars, six bogeys and four doubles, Rubbo with a birdie at the 14th, five pars, four bogeys and one double and Maguire racked up six pars and five bogeys to total 75 points and win by two. Alison Mason birdied the 17th for five points as she, Lesley Johnson and Neil Parsonson finished second on 73. Di Florence, Sarah Wetherell and Ian Florence scored 71 for third in a field of 11 teams.
ST STEPHEN’S GC
Next year’s St Stephen’s GS skipper Simon Fowler just beat title holder Nigel Stevenson by one shot at a very cold and testing Redlibbets GC last Friday. Veteran Pat Dawkins came third on 35 points in a very tight final competition of the 2023 season.
The KO Cup Semi-final was won by John Knight, beating Tony Clark 4&3. His Final against Ian Horsham will be played and live-streamed within the next two weeks. Spot prizes for nearest the pin winners went to Dave Sears, Horsham and Mick Bevan. Longest drive, once again, went to club chairman Kev Mullins. The 2s club was a two-time rollover and was finally won by Bevan and Horsham.