Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Stephen’s Sunday bests!
Stephen Hockey shattered his personal-best Canterbury GC competition scores for his first club victory when he shot gross 77, net 65, for 42 points to win Sunday’s Men’s April Stableford competition. Hockey beat his previous-best gross total by six, his best net by seven and his best points total by six, having birdied the third and eagled the ninth in a oneover-par front-nine gross 37 for 23 points.
He then ticked up two pars, six bogeys and a closing birdie for 19 back to win by one from James Strachan and thirdplaced Steve Robson in a field of 86.
Hockey was formerly a 7 handicap player at Matlock GC in Derbyshire and said: “I’m no stranger to breaking 80 but I am to doing it at Canterbury - it’s my first win here and I’m absolutely chuffed.
“Today, it wasn’t a case of what went right so much as what didn’t go wrong.
“For the birdie on the third, I hit a little hybrid off the tee and then a wedge 155 into about 10 feet and sank the putt. “The ninth was a good one. I hit a solid driver and then 6 iron from 180 and ended up about eight feet away with an uphill putt for the eagle.” Canterbury’s East Kent League side crushed Littlestone 4-1 at home on Saturday to avenge an equally-heavy away defeat a month ago.
Results: Shaun Pilbeam and Steve Robson won 1 up, Mark Broadhurst and Kyle Bennett won 1 up, Chris Sherwood and Brandon Ware lost 1 down, Simon Leggatt and Mark Lambton won 3&1, Ash Iddenden and Wal Kalinowski won 4&3.
Bruce Maguire played through the worst of some blinding hail and rain squalls to score net 66 for his second win in three days and his first solo victory since October in Monday’s Seniors’ Medal competition. Maguire birdied the first and was two-over-par after seven, holing a string of difficult putts, before reaching the turn in fiveover-par 41 and coming back in 42 for gross 83, to win by two from second-placed playing partner David Le Breton. Le Breton scored gross 90, net 68, one ahead of Bill Woledge, who birdied the first for gross 86, net 69, and third on countback
from Peter Cheney. Maguire, who retained the mixed pairs Whitehead Salver with Heather Hardy on Saturday, said: “I’m well pleased. Two wins in three days after a long, long time of waiting. “My putting was just brilliant. You get those days sometimes when the putts fall and I was reading the greens so well.” Maguire and Hardy scored 45 points to win the Whitehead Salver by one from Pauline and Keith Nicholls. Angela Jones and Peter Norfolk scored 41 for third on countback from Fran and Andy Fearn.
Jacqui Mount tallied gross 86, net 72, for victory by two shots in last Wednesday’s Ladies’ Connie Groves Rose Bowl. Mount mixed a triple bogey 6 at the fifth with a birdie 3 at the sixth for an outward gross 43 and was back in 43.
Val Binns covered the front nine in 43 and the back nine in 45 for second on countback from third-placed Caroline Collins and Catherine Hinds in a field of 25.
Paul Stow thanked teaching professional Enzo Avery for a game-changing putting lesson after scoring a personal competition best 40 points to win last Wednesday’s Men’s Midweek Stableford competition. Stow lipped out for an eagle at the first before reaching the turn in three-over-par for 23 points and tallied another 17 before blowing out on the last to win for the second time in three weeks.
Jonathan Webb birdied the sixth in an outward haul of 21
points, adding 18 on the back nine for second by two from Richard Blackburn in a field of 57.
Stow said: “I had a lesson with Enzo which has done my putting so much good that it’s weird when I three-putt now.” Junior prodigy Harry Andrews gave himself an early birthday present by breaking 80 for the first time - off the men’s Championship tees - to win Sunday’s Junior Stableford. Andrews, who turned 14 on Wednesday, scored personal competition best totals of sixover-par gross 77, net 61, for 46 points including birdies at the fourth, sixth and 11th, where he holed from 30 feet. Canterbury Juniors halved 1.5-1.5 at home to North Foreland in their opening GSR Junior 4somes League match of the season on Saturday. Ben Holcroft and Andrews halved, Georgina Carlotti and Brinley Foster lost 3&2, Claudia Carlotti and Amos Brazier won 4&2.
Canterbury beat North Foreland 4-1 in a Super Seniors friendly at home on Tuesday.
FAVERSHAM GC
Pam Gander, Jane Garbutt, Kelly Gray and Sue Piotrowski knew they had to play their best golf to win the 13-hole Texas Scramble competition last Tuesday - and did. Playing to a joint handicap of 14, the quartet shot a gross 55, net 41, winning by two shots. Garbutt said: “We knew we had to ideally play birdie golf to win this type of competition. “Six shots on the first was okay and followed by two pars meant we were off to a good start.
“We were pleased to shoot just five on the par-four fourth hole the hardest. Then [we] pulled it back with three pars and a birdie on the sixth to put us twoover-par on the front nine. “It helped that Pam was putting really well and we all pulled out the drives when needed.” The final four holes netted them three pars and just oneover on the 11th, giving them the edge over June Bevan, Chris Mears, Zung Tang-bennett and Carol Whittaker on net 43. Gander and Piotrowski continued their winning streak to take the honours in the season’s starter 18-hole greensomes on Tuesday.
Scoring 38 points off a joint handicap of 23, it included a birdie on the ninth and several high-scoring pars. Second place on 36 points went to Lucy Murphy and Garbutt.
CHESTFIELD GC
Chestfield GC kicked off their centenary celebrations ahead of reaching the milestone next month as their club captains adorned 1920s clothing for their drive-in.
Club captain John Jones, women’s captain Penny Entwhistle, Mitrebeens skipper Mike Brockington and junior captain Jenson Barber stepped up to the tee.
Before the drive-in, a team competition was held. It was won by James Dengate, Liam Dengate, Sam Corby and Andy Corby with 78 points.
The East Kent League team have lost their opening two fixtures away at Westgate & Birchington and Littlestone GC, with both being very tight matches. But the team were successful in the Kent Foursomes at Shooters Hill GC, as they won 2 up. The Invicta League started with a good win away to Canterbury GC, 3.5-1.5, and the Women’s Pearson’s Trophy team recorded a fine 5-0 victory at Faversham GC.
WHITSTABLE & SEASALTER GC
Louise Tucker and Val Brown eased to victory in terrible weather and extreme winds at Whitstable & Seasalter GC’S ladies’ Spring Greensome competition last Tuesday. They finished on 31 points, ahead of the second-placed pair of Joan Sykes and Angela Eggleton with 25 points.