Left Handers vs. Right Handers
We have been getting in The Ryder Cup spirit nice and early at R&CPGC with the ultimate grudge match in golf...Left Handers vs. Right Handers.
Vice-Captain Steve Thouless was leading the righties into war and Keith Pearce was co-ordinator of the lefties battle.
If you thought this was going to be a friendly match then you'd be mistaken because
Leader of the Lefties Keith Pearce's team motto was 'the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting', I think Steve and his team were in for a rough ride!
The Lefties won the coveted trophy last year and so only needed a halve to retain the trophy but the Righties had a strong side so victory wasn't assured for either side.
In fact, the match was hanging in the balance and went right down the last putt on the last hole in the last fourball.
Steve had put John Aughterlony and Derek Pettet in the anchor role in the hope that if such a scenario was to occur they would hold their nerve and bring home the victory.
John and Derek were all square playing the last hole, John had navigated his way to the green safely and all that was standing in his way was a slippery 10 footer...time to stand up and show your metal John!
John has been in fantastic form all year but when it came down to the crunch he couldn't quite finish the job and so missed his putt and handed the trophy back to the Lefties.
John had gone from anchor to, well, you know what!
The match finished 3-3 and so The Lefties retained the trophy and bragging rights for another year, Keith Pearce's military-esque approach to his team selection paid due diligence.
Scratch Knockout Final
After a very competitive summer of Scratch Knockout matches the field had been whittled down to just 2; Mike Bush and Club Champion Shaun Macklin. The final was to be played over 36 holes, more of a marathon than all the other matches these boys have played. Would Mike's tour level experience be enough to win or would Shaun's fine form and hard work pay off in another big victory?
At half time, Shaun was in a commanding lead of 4up but it was not going to be plain sailing; Mike would surely have to dig deep if he was to snatch a win. The second 18 was a much tighter affair but Shaun hung on and claimed a 6&4 victory.
Shaun said afterwards that he felt in control of the golf club and his thoughts all the way round which helped him to 2 under par for the whole match, a very solid performance worthy of winning.
Shaun used the valuable experience he gained in the Kent Amateur Championship where he led the stroke play after 1 round, securing his place in the matchplay knockout where he had some tough matches eventually getting knocked out in the quarter finals.
That experience made him kick on and helped him cross the line to win the Scratch Cup and now he can add the Scratch Knockout to his ever growing successes. Shaun had a tough run to victory having to dispatch Terry Watts, Naz Gill, Will Clarke and then Mike Bush.
Well done Shaun!
First Team County Match - Kent v Surrey
The deciding fixture, to see who would win the league, took place here at Cobham last Sunday with Kent needing a half overall to secure victory.
After the morning foursomes, they trailed 2 ½ to 1 ½, leaving themselves requiring 4 ½ points from the eight afternoon singles. Things started well with the first 3 matches, Freddie Price, Liam Burns & Mark Collins all winning. Kent now needing 1 ½, but with the remaining five matches all down, this was not going to be easy. Matches 4 & 5 both lost, but Marcus Sewell managed to pull it back and was 2 up with 3 to play. However, he lost 16 & 17 to go down the last all square, but with his opposition driving into the bunker, a par 4 for Marcus was good enough to take the 4th point.
Kent now only need a half. But with match 8 reporting an early loss, this left the last remaining match on the course, Dan Brown (1 down, 2 to play) requiring a half. After both he and his Surrey opposition drove into the cross bunker at 17 and neither of them hitting the green in regulation, they both got up and down for pars. One down, one to play, a must win hole for Dan.
The Surrey man was just left of the greenside bunker for 2 after hitting the trees off the tee, whilst Dan was safely in the middle of the green, albeit 30 feet from the hole. The Surrey man left his chip short, with the ball just creeping on to the edge of the green, 20 feet from the hole. The Kent man putted close enough for the putt to be conceded, so the Surrey player had a putt to win or lose the title. It was very, very close but did not drop. A 6-6 draw was achieved and Kent retained the league title.
Congratulations to Kent, it couldn't have been closer, great to watch.
