Even though the weather was fine it seems as if it was raining (birdies that is – not cats and dogs). According to my count there were eight in all but not necessarily in the hands of the winners. The count-back to decide the Monthly Medal winner had to go back to the last six holes before Bill Eastoe prevailed over Tony the Malteser, both with very creditable net 66. The extra golf that Tony is putting in seems to be paying off in consistent appearances in the points list. Laurie made a return to the lists a stroke behind along with Chris and they will both suffer a little pain on the handicap front. The rest of the point scorers managed to avoid death by a thousand cuts by a comfortable enough margin.
Gordon and Damien fought it out in their matchplay round that Damien brought in 2 up but it could have gone either way in the closing stages. Whether Gordon’s hiccup on the 18th was a payback for Damien’s gentlemanly allowance for a plugged ball on the 16th will never be known though a birdie would have been necessary to force a chip-off. This leaves us with only the finals to complete in two weeks time. Damien has to face off with SOS for the big silver and Bill and Gordon have to fight it out for the valuable minor points. Despite their showing in the eartlier rounds, the Walkover family seem to have faded from the picture and hopefully will have no place in the Grand Final.
In other news from Saturday, it was good to see Mal Adey back on his feet and on the course after his misadventure in Tassie. Eddie Kloprogge also hasn’t wasted any time getting back amongst the points after his return last week. Tony, Trev and Ed also seems to have done their best to try to confuse the handicapper with crossing out of names, asterisks and arrows all over their cards. Might have to think about a penalty for untidy scoring /;-{)}. Despite all that, Tony managed to pick up the Pro-pin on the 12th though he didn’t feature in the birdie list. Rod White snagged a ball on the 15th and though he was in the birdie list, it wasn’t on that hole.
The race to the Club Championship is hotting up with Noodles still holding out the front running but with at least five others within striking distance. The outcome of the Match-play finals will add an element of interest with at least three of the peloton due to get a boost from that. In the Seniors Championship, the field of contenders is similarly tight and new leader Tony will have to watch his back in the coming weeks.
Also, please note the earlier starting time next week at 0715.
Results for Saturday, 01 September 2012
1st Bill Eastoe(66) 1st Tony Mifsud(66) 2nd Laurie Mannix(67) 2nd Chris Priems(67) 3rd S Butterfield(70) 3rd Ed Kloprogge(70) 3rd Damien Lee(70) 3rd Rodney White(70) 4th Gordon Hill(71) 5th Ken Grist(72)