Castletown Golf Club
NO DANCE-OFF NEEDED FOR THE CHA, CHA, CHA
Strictly speaking, Stableford scoring to a 1,2,3, 1,2,3 tempo would be a Waltz but, at Castletown Golf Club on Saturday, it was a Cha, Cha, Cha. Nevertheless, the 10 paddles were waved. 72 points was par, but three teams all topped it by 10. No dance-off was needed, computer countback calculated the results.
In first place, Stuart Campbell (7), Stephen Jeffers (-1), Steve Zybert (8) & Ross Byrne (7) trotted round with barely a stumble. They were only out of sequence on two holes but their exuberance on eight others promoted their position. Zybert, at four under his handicap, tap-in twos from Campbell and Byrne, plus Jeffers’ elegant eagle on the 12th, all proved crucial.
Runners-up on 82, Andrew Challenor (-5), Colin Edward Magee (7), Mark Todd (1) and ‘range guru’ Jonathan Potts (6) produced a profusion of pars, plus eight birdies from ‘Chal’, in order to equal the others. The 15th proved pivotal points-wise, they needed 6 but only managed 4.
A team crammed with champions faded into third. Daryl Callister (-6), Chris Kneen (-5), Robert Noon (-5) and Emma Noon (4) went on a birdie blitz, scoring twelve in all. Those were eclipsed by Robert who eagled the 10th and the 12th. Alas, no glitter-ball, their hopes dashed on the 18th.
A total of 24 teams took part and all but the last three teams shot par or better. Out of 19 twos, Matthew Ascroft, Andrew Challenor and Richard Connolly each bagged a brace. Coming closest of all, Bryan McMahon, Dermot Hamill and Chris Howland receive the respective NTP prizes also on offer.
In addition, on the previous sunny Sunday, Matt Ascroft added to his clubhouse credit by winning the mixed Stableford with 40 fantastic points. His one-over par round began with a birdie then he bogeyed the 3rd and the 9th.
Another Matt came second, Matt Astall, who was two-under with only the 18th to play. An unfortunate N/R left him on 38 points, which was two better than Andy Sanders who blobbed out on the 16th and 17th.
Captain Belinda Pilling -shown above - was the first and only lady home, also on 36 points. A total of 21 players supported the competition. Many more were out enjoying the course and the weather.
This coming Saturday sees the second round of the Winter League, and at 16:00 the club’s Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place. Subject to there being no surprises, Phil Games and Claire Walker should be voted in as the new captains, with Dan Williams and Sarah Blackman as their vices.
MALCOLM LAMBERT
Created by intelligentgolf version 10.1.2.
