Johnny Q was all smiles before tee-off for the first round of the 2024 Fred Kitson and even more so post-round.
After an amazing up and down par on the 18th from out near the 9th green, one of many brilliant up and downs during the round, JQ signed for +4 and established himself as the man to beat for one of the club’s most talked about trophies.
While JQ was doing the Pride of Jenni thing out front, Whitey was also looking on the Brightside after a round of +3 for second placing. However with Whitey a no show for Round 2, apparently something to do with a horse race, JQ was a bit disturbed to discover that the next in line, lurking quietly in the sunshine, is Craig at +2.
Apparently in JQ/Old Reliable head to heads over the years, JQ has on occasion come off second best to Craig, so the pressure will be on in the last group for Round 2.
Meanwhile a confident Blighty, after a square card, wasn’t shy in reminding that pair “don’t count me out” and given it is handicap conditions, not weight for age, with Blighty (22) Craig (10) and JQ (14) it will be a good contest down the straight between those three.
The best of the rest of the 14 man field was Porks mate Tim who had -2 off his handicap of 21. This was Tim’s first round after gaining his club handicap and like many a new member over the years (remember when Charles was winning everything) Tim looks very capable of murdering his handicap and having plenty of podium finishes in the near future. It’s not sure whether Tim and Porks (the week’s NAGA at -8) will be starters for Round 2.
The horses further back in the race did their best (worst) to be given the BBQ tongs, with Michael on -3 (highlighted by losses on the last 4 holes) and Brendon, Stan, Gordo and Harry on -5. Steve G is a further shot back at -6, with Dan proving that golf is indeed a funny game with a -7 after he scored the equivalent of +8 on the same handicap the week before.
CJ also managed -7 but perhaps his heart wasn’t in it because he knew he wasn’t going to be around for Round 2. He has a weekend away to celebrate his 60th birthday, enjoy and happy birthday Chris!
A bloke that Tim referred to as Ryan won the Propin on the 4th with a great shot in there, Whitey collected the ball on the 15th and Harry went close to breaking all records for length (11+ metres) for the nearest the pin on 18.
With CJ and Dan non-starters for Round 2 and Porks also contemplating doing a runner to avoid BBQ duties, thankfully there is rumoured to be an influx of BBQ experts turning up for Round 2, including Prez Priems, SoS, Adam and Matty. Also attending the BBQ will be special guest Raj who is on the mend from his broken ankle and looking to get back to playing again before Christmas.
During the week Harry suggested we get in the mode to celebrate “double centuries” this week.
What he was referring to was that Adam will be playing his 100th game with the club this week and SoS his 700th. You can find the game count, with those two highlighted in yellow, in the Handicap Sheet under “Competitions” on the club website.
CJ leads that race with 1,121. Others of note between CJ and SoS are Bobby (952) Targe (917) and Gordo (881). Peps (690) will be next to hit 700 and Harry (582) will hit 600 in 2025 while Brendon (488) is heading to 500.
Results for Saturday, 19 Oct 2024
Leaderboard Round 1: 1st John Quinlan (+4) 2nd Rodney White (+3) 3rd Craig Cameron (+2) 4th Andrew Blight (□) 5th Tim Mathers (-2)
Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Rodney White (+3) 2nd Craig Cameron (+2) 3rd Andrew Blight (□)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Ryan Porker BallPin No 1 – 15th Rodney White BallPin No 2 – 18th Harry Boughen