At the last minute, Owen Monaghan was drafted in to play in the match at Haverfordwest last week and, by the time he had arrived at the course, he had been promoted to share the first tee with Jim Martin. As he walked off the course, he was asking if anyone had any sticking plaster. It appears that on the 10th hole his drive ended up behind a tree. Without any hesitation, he took his trusty nine-iron and gave his ball a mighty whack. Unfortunately, the tree was a bit closer than he realised and he ended up with his nine-iron wrapped around the trunk. It was scant consolation that his ball ended up on the green giving him the chance to win the hole.
For some reason, his game deteriorated after that and he and Jim walked off the course with heads bowed after 15 holes. They had held Mike Robinson and Roger Jones by halving the first six holes. Roger scored a two on the par three, eighth hole across the valley. Jim and Owen resignedly picked up and, as they were walking off, suddenly realised that they both had a shot on that hole - oops! Too late!
Things got worse as they progressed towards the inevitable and, despite being three under par between them over 15 holes, they saved themselves the long haul down the 17th and 18th.
Paul Bradley had played against Brad Morse last year and had witnessed his 'shot on the rebound.' No such episode this year as Paul kicked off with a birdie on the first, followed by Brian Waters' five (net four) on the second. Everything was halved for the next nine holes, until Terry Gwilliam won the 12th. The Tenby pair clung onto their slender lead as they approached the clubhouse, and safely negotiated their way to a successful conclusion, in what they all described as a great game.
"Basically they putted better than us," was Geoff Aston's comment as he and Tony Morgan found their way into the locker room. Ray Woodason and Mike Williams were the two they were referring to and added that Ray had used his shots to good advantage in this encounter. Although they lost the first hole, they rallied to win the third and held the opposition over the next few holes. To illustrate the quality of this match, Geoff explained that he scored 35 points over 15 holes and they still lost.
Stan Hudson had chosen his Classic partner, Bob Howse, this week and they were fifth off the tee, lining up against Mal Davies and Alan Lloyd. Just like Owen, they both had trouble with trees. On different holes, they each lost a ball up in the branches of a tree, though they didn't use that as an excuse. Everyone played his part in this close match as Stan and Bob held onto a one-hole lead though holes four to eight. Then they lost holes nine, 10 and 11 to two pars and a birdie. It was a step too far and they were unable to recover as the home pair capitalised on their lead.
Des Stone and John Williams found Clive Frankton on good form as he and Martin Charles opened up a four-hole lead on the first nine. While Martin was a bit wayward on the right, he played well enough to complement Clive when he was needed. The best Des and John could do on the front nine was to halve a few holes. Des's par four on the 10th stopped the rot and JDR weighed in with his own bit of magic by winning the 14th. He was the only one to avoid the pond and was able to chip up onto the green to earn his side a point.
That was further enhanced with a win on the 16th to reduce the deficit to one. Des threw away the chance of levelling by chipping his second shot, on the 17th, into the bunker, with the opposition already on the green. Game over.
Ags Kalvik was playing his first match for Haverfordwest and he had Geoff Flood to nurse him round. Peter Williams and Ken Gouldsbrough did their best to upset the balance. The Haverfordwest pair went three up, only for Peter and Ken to rein them back to one. This became the pattern of the match as the home advantage was 'nibbled' back each time they went ahead. Like the previous match, they were only one down starting the 17th, but they were thwarted in their endeavour to claim the result.
Poor old John Hancock was suffering an infected finger, but he didn't have to use it as an excuse. He had Allen Watts to nurse him around the course as they enjoyed a very close match against Robert Box and David Griggs. They were one up by the fifth, before David pulled the lead back with a birdie on the par five ninth. Allen responded by scoring pars on holes 10, 11 and 12. Robert improved his game on the back nine as they reduced the lead to one. This was a match that went all the way and was decided on the 18th.
Alan Yates left a trail of burning grass as he hit a rich vein of form. This was a day that he could do no wrong and Mike Fox was delighted to witness it. It meant that he did not have too much to do, "I just trailed along behind him and watched him score seven birdies!" Tudor Thomas and Les Hastings watched in amazement as they struggled to keep up with Alan and then witness Mike add insult to injury by winning the fifth with a great putt. This match ended on the 12th.
Jeff Banfield was another on good form, but he and Derek Bath did not fare so well. For once Derek's 'mojo' wasn't working so well, and it wasn't until he entered the clubhouse that he realised that it was inside out, or upside down, or back to front or something. Rod England and Richard Cross proved stiff opposition on their own course, on two occasions chipping in from off the green to maintain a lead. As Derek intimated, "We went one up on the first and then we held them for one hole. After that we faded, well I did!" Although the match was over after 14 holes, Jeff was pleased with the fact that he was only five over par at that stage.
Martin Neilan and Nigel Rimell will have to go back to school. They reckoned that they were two down after two holes and then went to seven up after 10. Whatever, they had to lose a couple of holes before they woke up in this great match against Mike Foley and Barry Smith. Once awake, they proceeded to take the lead in an encounter that only saw holes won or lost. It was a game with no quarter given and no half conceded - until the 15th. By that time the match was just about over and a half was enough to finish it.
"Our problem was that we tried to play links golf on a parkland course." The result was that Roy Morgan and Peter Woodhouse struggled against Tony Tuckwell and Dave Phipps. Despite this, it was a great match and Roy and Peter held them until the 14th, Peter winning the 13th and 14th with long putts. Winning the 15th, Tony proved to be the star for the home team and they were able to maintain a two-hole lead for most of the day. Enjoyment was the keyword as they shook hands on the 17th.
They may not have won the golf, but Tenby managed to win the raffle, lifting five of the prizes as consolation.
Results: J. Martin and O. Monaghan lost to M. Robinson and R. Jones 5 and 3; D. Stone and J. Williams lost to C. Frankton and M. Charles 2 and 1; G. Aston and T. Morgan lost to R. Woodason and M. Williams 3 and 2; P. Bradley and B. Waters beat T. Gwilliam and B. Morse 4 and 3; S. Hudson and B. Howse lost to M. Davies and A. Lloyd 4 and 3; P. Williams and K. Gouldsbrough lost to A. Kalvin and G. Flood 2 and 1; J. Hancock and A. Watts beat R. Box and D. Griggs 2 up; M. Fox and A. Yates beat T. Thomas and L. Hastings 6 and 5; J. Banfield and D. Bath lost to R. England and R. Cross 5 and 4; M. Neilan and N. Rimell beat M. Foley and B. Smith 4 and 3; R. Morgan and P. Woodhouse lost to T. Tuckworth and D. Phipps 3 and 1.
Double Classic result
The South Wales Seniors Classic season has started and this week both of Tenby's teams were involved.
Seniors captain, Stan Hudson, escorted his band of six players on the long drive to the nine-hole course at Cilgwyn. A couple had seen it when Tenby played there last year and they were pleased to see how much better it looked, and played, in spring sunshine. Playing an away match is always daunting and confronting a team on home territory is not easy.
In three, close, four-ball matches, Stan's boys emerged victorious. Jeff Banfield, in his first experience of Classic competition, rose to the challenge and did more than hold his own, as he and Robin Hagley adapted to the tight fairways and slower greens. They turned in a two and one result that put a smile on Stan's face.
Stan paired himself with Bob Howse and they were involved in their own titanic struggle just behind them and, while they found it difficult to hit their putts hard enough on the slower greens, managed to hold the home pair to one for most of the day. Their hopes were dashed on the 16th when they watched the opposition sink a putt for a birdie two. This left them with a three and two defeat.
One match apiece, the continued involvement in the competition rested on the final pair, that of Geoff Aston and Peter Williams. This is a pair who knows each other's game well and have been a Classic pairing for some while. Even so, they still had to dig in to overcome an unfamiliar course and home opposition. Just like the other two matches, this one was just as close and Geoff and Peter found themselves one up starting the last. Losing the hole would mean that they had to continue until there was a result. Experience showed as they drove off the par five 18th and ended up by halving the hole and winning the match for themselves and Tenby.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the B team were engrossed in their own battle. They were facing Cardigan B team and were due to tee-off at 11 am. Due to a misunderstanding, the first of the Cardigan contingent arrived just on time and had to rush onto the tee. At this stage Tenby were still one player down, but he arrived in time to save the team's blushes.
Home advantage or not there was a struggle for supremacy in each of the three matches played in this meeting. Providing a formidable barrier, John Hancock and Allen Watts faced Ken Evans and Denis Ludgate, having to concede shots on a number of holes. While the opposition made the most of some of their shots, John and Allen were able to keep the match on an even keel. Ken thought he was about to give his team a lead on the 11th when he holed out a long putt for a five, net four. Dismay set in as he watched Allen sink a similar putt for a four to halve the hole.
With all shots used up, John and Allen were able to extend their lead and set the team up with an opening win, three and two.
Following them were Des Stone and Paul Bradley facing Mike Allan and Barry Davies. Des and Paul did not get into gear in the opening exchanges and found themselves two down after nine holes, halving five and winning one.
With some restoration of form, they were able to counteract Barry's long hitting and Mike's meticulous shot preparation and drew level with a birdie on the 13th. However, they lost the 14th, but won the 15th. The 17th was the killer hole. They watched both Cardigan players put their ball within two feet of the pin.
Neither could match the birdies that followed which left the daunting task of winning the 18th. It was not to be, as they restored some pride with a four to halve it, but lost the match by one hole.
The fate of the team's progress rested on the shoulders of Richard Davies and Jim Moffatt. Nothing is easy in these Classic encounters and both Richard and Jim had to dig in to resist the challenge of Tony Simpkin and Peter Ward. The signals across the course after nine holes indicated that the match was all-square. The struggle continued across the line and Richard and Jim took the lead again and this time held on to it. A winning putt on the 17th gave them a three and one victory. This means that the B team will join the A team in the draw for the next round of the Bowl competition. Everyone hopes that they do not draw each other.