Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Chris out of this world!
Chris Almond has been recognised by Canterbury GC as the youngest amateur player to score or beat their age in golf history worldwide. Almond, then aged 66, scored gross 65, net 62, in his very first competition at Scotland Hills on June 2, 2022, having joined only a week earlier from Royal Mid-surrey after moving to Aylesham to join his nowfiancee Lucy.
On Sunday, he was presented with a framed scorecard, picture and a written declaration to commemorate his achievement by 2023 club captain Mark Broadhurst.
Almond scored birdies at the first, fourth, sixth and ninth and dropped his only shot at the fifth for an outward three-under-par 33. Three further birdies at the 11th, 13th and 17th then completed his astonishing round, having played Canterbury only once before in a practice round. Now, Almond and the club will continue their long quest to have the record ratified by the Guinness Book of World Records.
The current official record is held by Australian Ray Smith. He scored gross 67 on his home course in Queensland, aged 67, in 2017.
Club captain Ken Williamson said: “The club is definitely recognising Chris’ score as a world record and fully backing anything he does to get it into the Guinness Book of World Records.
“We are very proud of what he has done. To shoot that sort of score at any given point in your life is an amazing round.” Almond said: “It’s a nice trophy to have - but 18 months on, we are still waiting to hear that it’s been ratified.
“I feel really good but it’s strange, actually. It was such a good round and I’ve come nowhere near it ever since!” Mark Broadhurst, who was vice-captain when Almond scored his record round, said: “I thought his achievement needed to be recognised so I did
some checking, spoke to Chris about it and he contacted Guinness World Records who said they couldn’t ratify it unless it had been videoed, which was ridiculous.
“Who goes out with a video camera, hoping they’re going to shoot a world record? “Then, Kent Golf got to hear about it, recognised it as a record after doing due diligence and reproduced a club article in one of their Kent newsletters. “Once that happened, Guinness World Records were more interested, contacted Chris and
asked him to get clarification, hence the presentation at the club - which is proof of it - a great memento for Chris and it’s also great for the club.” Canterbury’s senior teaching professional Richard Wallis was immortalised in the Guinness Book of World Records when he scored a 14-under-par 59, with two eagles and 10 birdies, in the PGA Southern Open Championship Pro-am at Drift GC in Surrey, on June 2, 2013. Jeremy Keeler scored his Canterbury best gross total of 77 to win Sunday’s Founders’ Plate
qualifying competition by two shots from Brett Davies with net 67.
Keeler was out in one-over-par 37, with a birdie at the ninth to follow six pars and two bogeys and came back in five-over. Davies started at the 10th with two bogeys sandwiching a double at the 12th but scored back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th to stand four-over-par after the back nine.
He then covered the front nine in two-over for gross 77, net 69, and second on countback from Andy Brockman in a field of 84, from which the leading 31 will join holder Simon Leggatt in the knockout stages.
It was Keeler’s first victory since June 2021 - and on a soaked course with buggies and electric trollies banned after all the recent rain.
He said: “I missed a short putt for a par on the first, so I should have been level par going out. “It was just steady golf. I kept the ball in play and hit my irons nicely.”
Antonio Rubbo had a mental edge as he scored personal Canterbury best totals of gross 75, net 65, to equal his highest points tally of 41 for victory in last Wednesday’s men’s Midweek Stableford competition. Rubbo bogeyed the first, birdied the second and third and then parred the next six for a front-nine one-under-par 34 and 24 points.
He hit a poor tee shot and three-putted for a triple bogey on the 12th but birdied the 13th and made three pars and four bogeys for a six-over-par back nine and a further 17 points to win by four in a field of 55. Melvyn Curd birdied the 13th as he scored 19 out and 18 back for second on countback from Chris Catford.
Rubbo gave credit to PGA performance coach Karl Morris after attending one of Morris’ Mind Factor clinics at Prince’s GC in early February. Morris is one of Europe’s leading golf performance coaches, having worked with six Major winners and more than 100 PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA and Ladies European Tour golfers, including Louis Oosthuizen, Darren Clarke, Graeme Mcdowell, Lee Westwood, Paul Mcginley and Ian Woosnam.
Rubbo said: “Karl basically explained what we go through when we play golf, it’s all to do with the mind. He basically tried to show us a different way of thinking.”
Caroline Collins, June Edney and Doreen Whiting scored 82 points to win last Wednesday’s Ladies’ Blue Tees team betterball competition by two - with the help of a friendly ghost. Whiting could only use a buggy for five holes because of course conditions and walked the next six to add valuable points before the “ghost” took over for the last seven.
It was a drawn competition with one high, one medium and one low handicapper per team and ladies’ competitions secretary Val Lucas duplicated the scores of another player with the same handicap for Whiting over the final holes.
Carol Bye birdied the 15th as she, Angela Le Breton and Christine Bowles scored 80 points for second.