Superb second round wins President’s Cup for Graham
THERE were two very contrasting days of golf last week when the seniors competed over 36 holes for the Seniors’ Championship at Derllys Court Golf Club.
The first round was played in constant heavy rain and the conditions affected the scoring to such an extent that there were only two below-par net rounds recorded.
The first of these golfers, six-handicapper John Hartley, carded an outstanding gross 76 to take top place in both the gross and net competition. The second, Paul Gibbs, playing off 13, battled to a gross 82 with the assistance of two 2s earning him a net score of 69.
Scores of 81 and 85 kept Graham Owens and Phil Pickersgill in contention for the second round of the gross competition, while in the net competition Roy Gallop and Hugh Davies took the top place in the 18-22 handicap group, with K Huw L Jones and Barry Davies taking similar honours in division three for the higher handicappers.
After a cut to just 27 competitors, the dry weather for the second round returned the course to firm conditions, and with blue skies overhead there was an exciting conclusion as Graham Owens excelled with the best round of golf from a senior this year.
In a great display of long hitting and solid putting, six-handicapper Owens recorded nine pars and three birdies to finish with a gross score of 73, and with his main rival Hartley double-bogeying two par four holes, Owens overtook the five-stroke first-round deficit to eventually win the President’s Cup for the champion golfer of the year by two strokes.
Meanwhile, in the battle for the Captain’s Trophy awarded to the best net golfer, Barry Davies’s excellent net score of 65, added to his 73 from round one, earned him the title by just two strokes from Graham Bebb (72+68) and Hartley (68+72), tied on 140.
The award for the best veteran golfer over the 36 holes was won by the seniors’ treasurer, Brian Newcombe, with a net total of 149, beating last year’s winner Roger Horsfall by a single stroke.
This week the seniors compete in the eighth round of the Dawn Patrol league.