There could have been fifteen players out on the course today. For some reason, and it could have been down to some shenanigans last night, JohnQ, Stef and Mehmet pulled the plug at the last minute. Gordon, on the other hand, put his licence on the line and made it to the course but SOS didn’t need a PBT to guess what he had been up to. And, according to all reports, Mehm is a better dealer than he is a poker player. What we did have to do, though, was to welcome back a long lost member of the Akdag clan and Ben has decided that he wants to join our happy throng again after a break of three years. And what better way to make a come-back than to join in the fun and frivolity of a round of Ambrose to celebrate the passing of the Solstice and the lengthening of the days to come. Certainly better than a dip in the Bay in the altogether (perish the thought).
Despite a couple arcing up and claiming they didn’t know it was on and threatening to go home, it seems that they went out and really did quite enjoy themselves if the banter around the tables after the round was any guide. Ben went into the draw (not by computer, thanks a lot Mr Gates) with the handicap that he left off with and helped his team with what was claimed to be the putt of the day by sinking one from about 6m out on the 10th to bring home a birdie and a four pointer. Team mate Jason pulled out a corker shot on the 18th to put the ball 63cm from the hole and the team scored another birdie. But, unfortunately, it wasn’t for the 4 points that went on their card. Sort of explains why SOS’s team would have won outright on net score but tied on Stableford. The scrutineers will have to be more scrupulous next time.
The ‘unlucky’ second placed team consisted of Blighty, Harry, Pugsie and SOS who were expertly captained by SOS as Captain P was not necessarily in the best condition to do so. On the 13th, SOS’s ball was far and away the best placed despite Harry and Blighty still needing a drive apiece. The second shots were variable until SOS stepped up to the mark, started the ball left of the line, brought it off the bank and finished it a couple of metres from the pin. He then sank the putt and made the birdie in his own right, something he has not done in competition for a long time. Blighty was a bit disgruntled at having to walk forward some 50m to collect his ball when it was decided to take Harry’s spot for his last compulsory tee shot on the 16th rather than risk having to rely on it for the last two holes.
Brendon’s shot on the 12th was not much off a metre from the hole and that was more than enough to win him the BallPin. The sad thing is that all four putts failed to make it into the hole and so that was one birdie that didn’t go onto the total of fifteen for the day. The curious thing is that they were all good putts, they just didn’t go into the hole. Ain’t that always the way, hey. Dennis was one that should have taken a shot on the 16th, particularly when his tee shot on the 17th was well struck but way off line into the trees. So the pressure was really on for the 18th. But the team did manage to par the hole so the shot can’t have been too bad.
SOS was so confident as to how the day was going to go that he struck an agreement on the first that there would be no shouts for draughties and that any ProPins won would be share and share alike. Fortunately and unfortunately, as the case may be, neither agreement was required. But, there will be another chance next week as the ProPin on the 15th remained elusive and there will be a Double Jackpot waiting for some lucky punter (or punters).
Simon is off overseas later in the year and he is looking for advice on things that he can do in or around Paris for five days. As well as the Folies, the museums, the art galleries, Versailles etc, surely Disneyland should be high on the list. You never know, he might be able to score better there than he does on the scorecard (if you believe his playing companions). And don’t get excited Simon, the Seniors results are just for fun!
Results for Saturday, 23 June 2018
1st Benan Akdag, Stephen Butterfield, Jason Hopkins, Targe Mifsud (48 c/b – should have checked!!!) 2nd Andrew Blight, Harry Boughen, Gordon Hill, Stephen O’Sullivan (48 unlucky) 3rd Brendon Mitchell, Simon Powell, Dennis Ward, Rodney White (47)
Seniors Results: 1st Targe Mifsud 2nd Harry Boughen, Gordon Hill 3rd Simon Powell, Dennis Ward
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 15th Jackpot ProPin No 2 18th Jason Hopkins BallPin 12th Brendon Mitchell