There had been a fair drop of rain during the week, and the Bureau had been predicting another drop today, so it is perhaps not surprising that the car-park was remarkably devoid of occupants as our eleven brave souls set out with determination in their hearts to crash-tackle Steve and show him that there is no such thing as an unassailable lead. There were few signs on the horizon when we set out, but CJ had opened a hot-line to the BOM, and, at about 1130, he received an urgent message that we should expect rain at 1200. At precisely 1200, the last group were teeing up on the 18th, and the first drops began to fall, and, by the time that they made it to the barbecue, it was raining quite steadily with the radar indicating that there was quite a bit to follow. We were probably not too popular with the groups queued up behind our rather ‘slow’ train. The lead group of three had finished a good three holes in front, which, in an Irish sort of a way, had turned out to be a good thing. But, more of that later.
The story of the day just had to be Steve. After last week’s demolition derby, the question being asked, would this be the dew-damp tom-thumb picked up from the ground the morning after Guy Fawkes Night! For those too young to know what the hell I am on about, ask and oldie! It turned out to be almost as good as the tuppenny bunger on the night. Ditto. His stated aim was to score two points on every hole, and he eased the burden with a par on the 3rd for four points for the second week in a row, and he was able to make the turn with those two points up his sleeve and ahead of his target. The back nine did not have quite so many two stroke holes, but he was able to keep the points ticking over at better than target rate until the 16th. An errant tee-shot from the 17th didn’t quite catch enough of the walking path fence to bring it back into play, and a second shot from the tee was required. A missed putt spoiled a chance to achieve a secondary aim of not having a miss, and he finished just one point shy of the two a hole target. The very impressive total of 79 points was more than enough to add a Major to the Mustard Jacket in his list of achievements. The number of two-stroke holes will be somewhat fewer from now on.
Michael started the day four points off the pace, but, by the 9th, he was ten points in arrears, and hoping for a miracle performance on his part or a serious crash and burn on the other part. Neither came to pass, but Michael did manage to complete the back nine just one stroke over par for nineteen points, bringing the margin back to just the eight points. Michael was also doing a fair bit of barracking for CJ, who, for some reason, was hitting his tee shots straight, or even, on occasion, with a bit of a draw. While this is generally seen to be a good thing, when you have been playing to a ‘power fade’ for as long as CJ has, it can pose a bit of a problem for ball placement. None more so than on the 17th, where his ball finished half under the boundary fence, and a couple of club motions (not to be confused with swings) to even get the ball to move from the spot. CJ’s rather ‘average’ tally of 26 points today was enough to keep hold of third spot, and to beat Raj, which pleased Michael no end.
Craig started off with his usual straight down the middle on the first, and fairly easily got his par to start the day. The rest of the front nine was pretty much to handicap until the 9th, where a scratch limited the score to just 16 points. The back nine produced just a few too many star pickets, and the 30 points bottom line brought his tally for the event to 60. Raj obviously gave himself a good talking to after last week, and, with the help of a chip-in birdie on the 12th, he produced the equal second best score of the day to bring his total for the event to 60 for a tie with Craig for 4th place. This was also one of the ‘missing’ birdies in his Eclectic. SOS got his wires slightly crossed today and put his GA handicap on his Club card and vice versa. However, this did not stop him from elevating himself from barbecue jockey to point scorer with his event total of 56 points, a mere 23 behind the event winner. The jury is out on whether either of those two occurrences are unique in the history of the club.
Others on the ‘daily’ podium were JQ and Harry, who both clocked in with 33 points. JQ was just back from taking in the sights of most of Europe, and claimed to be seriously jet-lagged, but with the stated aim of qualifying for the Monthly Medal next week. Harry wasn’t sure how the day would turn out, but he was prepared to pull the pin if anything untoward came to pass. The front nine was a bit average, but he started the back with a par, and it looked as if the result might be similarly average if the trend of the next three holes was a guide. The ‘drainer’ of the day for a birdie on the 14th (the second of the two that we scored) started a bolt for home that resulted in a Pavlovian reaction from Michael to reach into the hole to retrieve the ball after every putt, and produced a 38 off the stick (including a seven). Not quite a personal best for the nine, but Raj was laying claim to his PB for the back with his 35 off the stick.
The last of the Matchplay quarter-finals was played today between Brent and Targe. There was just the little matter of the 22 strokes that separated the two on the handicap table. You couldn’t really say that either of the contestants brought their best game on the day, which actually makes for an interesting match. Brent did manage to get an early lead, and, by dint of the conceded strokes, Targe was able to hold the fort, and not let the game get out of control. After the 13th, Brent was still two holes to the good. It’s unclear whether Targe had been running dead, but he made par on the next two holes. The 15th was via the trees out to the right, with a shot through a gap onto the green, followed by a rattled in putt. They traded holes over the next two, and it came down to the last where an equal off the stick result gave the match to Targe, one up.
The Jackpot BallPin on the 7th was won, but not without some measurement to determine the result. Michael fell about a metre short of taking the balls from Craig. On the 18th, the green was bare until the last group, and CJ was able to put one on to collect the ball. SOS was so confident for the ProPin on the 12th, that he didn’t even bother to put the marker out on the green. Unfortunately, CJ was able to trump SOS’s 4.86m with a shot to a mere 2.97m. He did wimp the putt, though.
Charlie would have been celebrating yesterday as he settles into his new digs in London, because it was his birthday. If Ben plays next week, be sure to wish him one of the best, because he will be celebrating a new landmark. SOS was in charge of the catering, and, having led the charge around the course, he was calmly monitoring the progress of the cooking of the burgers and snags when he noticed that the plate seemed to be losing heat. Rats, out of gas. Does the ProShop have a spare bottle? No such luck. Quick dash to get a replacement. Back just in time to get the ball rolling and to finish the cooking before the stragglers straggled in. Thank heavens for small mercies. The burgers and snags went down a treat, so much so that CJ was running a Uber delivery service to staff members in the ProShop. Do you want special sauce with that sausage?
Results for Saturday, 27 Jul 2024
1st Steven Gervasoni (42, 37, 79) 2nd Michael Gourlay (38, 33, 71) 3rd Chris Priems (35, 26, 61) 4th Craig Cameron (30, 30, 60) 4th Rajesh Mahto (25, 35, 60) 5th Stephen O’Sullivan (21, 35, 56)
Seniors Results: 1st Steven Gervasoni (42,37,79) 2nd Michael Gourlay (38,33,71) 3rd Chris Priems (35,26,61)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 12th Chris Priems BallPin No 1 – 7th Craig Cameron BallPin No 2 – 18th Chris Priems