Club Championship 2009

Round 1

In terms of the weather a more perfect day could not have been asked for, with the expection of a slight breeze. The sun was shining right from the word go and the shorts were out for the morning round. In terms of the course, it was not playing easy due to the condition. The fairways were long in places and there was a lot of excess grass around. This would make scoring tough, but it was the same for everyone. The greens were holding sometimes for longer shots, and although there was not a great deal of check for chips, the greens were slow to put on. It was slow going in the morning, with players taking quite a while to complete their rounds due to various hold ups on the course, but at the end of round 1 it was John Briers who led the way after his solid 74. John played some solid golf in the morning round, holing a number of putts for birdies and pars during the round, and had he not throw in a few sixes his score could easily have been under par. John is very solid and straight off the tee, rarely missing the fairway, an attribute which is always crucial in golf. John led by two after the first round ahead of Adam Jacques, whose 76 also included a double bogey and a triple bogey 7 on the 12th after a lost ball. It was a good knock from Adam which had it not been for those bad holes could have been in the lead. 10 time Club Champion Lee Tebbutt was tied second with Adam, and he completed the final group for the second round after his 76. Lee played solid golf in the morning, but did not manage to hole anything at all. The greens were tough to putt on and had Lee putted like he normally does he would easily have been 4 or 5 shots better. Lee had a number of putts which bobbled away from the hole at the end, something which all your skill and experience cannot do anything about. Scratch team captain Tidge Gharial was third after his 77, which included some bogeys towards the end of the round aftef a very solid start. Ed Eley was fifth after his 78, while Dave Goodman was sixth after his 80. Dave was playing solid until the 17th where an 8 messed up his card. With the length of the fairway on the 17th it was not an easy hole, due to fairway woods having to be hit out of grass that is rough length. People would have been better playing down the 2nd hole. Those three would be the second last group out. Dale Baker shot 81 to be seventh, and Ben Hall was next after his 82, which other than for 3 bad shots was a pretty solid round. A bad shot on the second led to a double, as did a bad tee shot on the 4th, while a trip to the out of bounds of 8 led to a triple bogey 7. With two dropped shots in the last 3 holes chasing birdies, it was almost a good round, but unfortunately it wasn't. Just like Lee, Ben struggled to hole any putts, with a number of birdie chances slipping by with missed putts. Rich Primrose was next with his 83, to complete that three-ball, while Oliver Fletcher Warrington (84) and Asra (87) would be first out in the afternoon in a two-ball. With the course playing the way it was, it would not be easy to make a lot of birdies, but it was easy to make doubles. Any of the top 6 scores still had a chance to win the tournament, although the way John played in the first round, he would be very tough to catch.
Round 2
With the playing order changed, the club house lead would change hands many times. Oli Fletcher-Warrington and Asra were out first, and they must have ran round as they were so far ahead of the other groups. Oli came in with a second round 86 to give him a total of 170 and the clubhouse lead ahead of Asra, whose second round 97 gave him a total of 184. Oli was clubhouse leader for quite a while while waiting for the next group to come in, and when they did it was Ben Hall who had the clubhouse lead. His second round 78 was once again solid, other than for 3 sixes, 2 of which were double bogeys back to back. That game Ben a 36 hole total of 160. Dale Baker and Rich Primrose both shot 85 in their second round, giving Dale a total of 166 and Rich a total of 168. With the top 8 going through to the matchplay, Ben and Dale were now guaranteed to be in the Scratch Knockout. Due to some pay and play players being out on the course, the last two groups had fell behind, and the last group had actually played through. That meant the last group out were the next group in, and Lee Tebbutt was first to hole out on the 18th for 83, giving him a 36 hole total of 159 and the clubhouse lead for a few seconds before Adam Jacques holed out for a 7 on the last to give him 82 and a 36 hole total of 158 and the clubhouse lead. Everybody knew that the battle seemed to be between two men, John Briers and Tidge Gharial, with Tidge being very close with a few holes to play. When John Briers holed his par putt on the last for 75 and a 36 hole total of 149, it could well have been for the Club Championship, and after bein told by this group that Tidge had made a 9 on the 14th, it was looking like it would be John, unless Tidge made some birdies in the last 4 holes. As the last group came in Tidge had not managed any birdies, just pars, and his 5 over 77 was good enough for a 36 hole total of 154 and second place. Tidge was level par on the 14th tee which had him tied with John. He lost 2 balls and walked off with a 9, finding his first ball as he walked back to the 15th tee. Tidge got very unlucky on 14 but Im sure this good performance will spur him on even more next year to come back and win his first club championship. Ed Eley shot another 78 to give him a total of 156 and 3rd place, while Dave Goodman shot 82 to give him 162 and 7th place overall, leaving Adam Jacques in 4th place.
Summary
So after 36 holes of golf on a beautiful day it meant John Briers won his first club championship. Joh has not played in the club champion for a number of years, but his victory might encourage him to play more and try and add to his single club championship. It would be great to see more people enter next year, and with the best Nett prize now being on offer for all 36 holes, it gives the 8-12 handicappers something to really play for, as they would still have a chance of winning if they have two good rounds. Hopefully the weather will be just as good next year as this year.

Once again, I would like to say Well Done to John for winning!