Malton home in on Millennium win
The Scarborough & District Alliance clubs competed for the Millennium Cup at Malton & Norton Golf Club on a very cold and blustery day that made golf difficult and keeping warm essential.
The good news was that the course was in very good condition for the event and the shotgun start got underway without a problem.
All the member clubs fielded three teams of four players in the Am-Am format with all three teams to count for the Cup.
In what turned out to be a closely-fought contest the host club claimed victory with a great total score of 416.
Their three teams of Chris Halley (0), Iain Charlton (5), Alan Miles (12) and Ian Johnson ( 1 1 ) , John Preston ( 1 2), Richard Brown ( 2), Adrian Burdett (12) and Alan Hague (7), Joel Preston (2), Barry Miller (8), Russ Dickenson (10) and Phil Hart (11) scored 133, 138 and 146 respectively.
The score of 133 also took the tankards presented for the best fourball score.
North Cliff claimed second spot after a very uncharacteristic slip by their third team that dropped them from likely winners to runners-up.
North Cliff teams of Fraser Kelley (0), Steve Pybus (1), Dave Parrott (10) and Dave Butterfield ( 6), Dave Raybould ( 3), Paul Draycott (6), John Titley ( 13) and Paul McGarry ( 12), Alan Richardson (8), Andy Allcock (2), Chris Moore (9) and Andy Clyde (12) posted 135, 134 and 149 for a total of 418.
South Cliff took third place with a consistent team performance, Alan Baldwin (13), Carl Baldwin (11), Dave Hall (6) and Nigel Middleton (9), Sam Pottage ( 3), Paul Dack ( 1 0), Craig Salt (10) and Keith Warren ( 9), Neil Bruce ( 7), Gary Thirkell (5), David Hastie (13) and Ian Hare (13) scored 137, 144 and 139 for a total of 420.
The North Cliff ladies took up the challenge of the Centenary Foursomes competition the format of players taking alternate shots always creates a bit of pressure.
In the event Denise Holmes ( 20) a nd Maureen Collier (22) combined well to hand in a very tidy card and score of one under par 72 to claim first place by three clear shots.
It was also a very good day for two of the club’s new lady apprentices Janet Hall ( 36) and Susan Bower ( 36), who showed great promise to record a 75 for second place and it could have been better but for lapses on the 17th and 18th holes.