Last Sunday, the Rabbits played their last match in this season's Winter League and what a beautiful morning it was for golf; the frost had thawed and the sun came out as the players lined up at the first tee to battle it out for the top four places and the silverware. It has been many years since the table, both at the top and bottom, has been so close with only one match remaining to play. First off were second position Chris Smith and Meurig Jones (sub for Mike Hale) up against Steve Cole (sub for George Pegg) and John Hunt. This match went the full 18 holes, with a half being the end result and one point each Second pairs away, jumping in ahead of their allocated time slot due to the after-match clerical duties involved, were Rabbits captain Steve Harries and partner Derek Farley up against John Cook (sub for Steve Price) and new Rabbit this season Paul Davis. Paul played very well, with some cracking 250-yard plus drives; he has come on well since joining the Rabbits this year and was full of praise for his usual partner, Steve Price, for his patience and understanding. He said that he had enjoyed his first year with us and is looking forward to next winter. Derek and Steve eventually went on to win 4 and 3. We are always happy to accept any new or existing members of the club into the Rabbits with a handicap of 15 or below. Third off were Steve Watkins and partner Glyn Price taking on the two Benny's, Ben Blake and Jason (Benny) Rolfe. I understand that many Pro V1s were lost by a certain player in this match, who ended up finishing his game with the roughest Pinnacle you have ever seen. Steve and Glyn went on to win the game 5 and 4. Fourth off were league leaders Bill Beynon and Dorian Thomas up against Roy Morgan (sub for Ron Murphy) and Dafydd Evans. Well what a turn up for the books. A few weeks ago I said the Roy had won five out of five games played as a sub this year, and he went on to do it again. Dafydd and Roy gelled well together and beat Bill and Dorian two up. Fifth away was a little Kilgetty derby match, with Fred Adlam and Paul James taking on the mighty Seniors' captain Dave Morgan and partner Anthony Allen. Dave came down the path onto the 18th green with blood running down his face, claiming that Fred had taken a swing at him as they were all- square as they arrived at the 18th tee. The truth - Dave dropped his ball by his trolley and as he bent down to retrieve it, he poked himself in the eye with his trolley handle. This did not deter him, however, and yet another match halved, one point each. The sixth match away saw the big boys Steve Hockings and Dave Moran take on Simon Evans and Derek Bath (sub for John Murphy). Would you believe it, this was yet another game going the full 18 holes and another match halved with one point each. By this time, the league table was changing as each team came into the clubhouse, and the silverware positions were still unknown. Last, but by no means least, off the first were Jerry Whitehouse and Mackie Harts taking on Eugene Boyd and Mark Edwards. This was another tight game that saw Jerry and Mackie eventually winning 4 and 3. Rees Davies and Mike Munroe had a bye. Now the fun started, as we had a tie situation for first place, so a deciding match has been arranged on Saturday, March 18, over 18 holes, between Bill Beynon and Dorian Thomas and Chris Smith and Roy Morgan (sub for Mike Hale) to determine the winners and second place positions. This can be viewed live on Sky Sports 2 from 1.30 pm, tee-off 1.38pm. We then had to send Jerry Whitehouse and Mackie Harts back up the first against Steve Hockings and Dave Moran in a sudden death to determine third and fourth positions, as both pairings were tied on 19 points. They halved the first, but Dave and Steve managed to win the second hole to secure third position, putting Jerry and Mackie in fourth spot. Apologies must go to Estelle, as Steve was late home for a special birthday dinner that she had prepared. Hope this gets you off the hook with loads of brownie points Steve. The wooden spoon was won by Steve Price and Paul Davies. The presentation of the trophies, as usual, will take place along with winners of the Duffy Cup and Joe S. Williams tournament at the annual presentation dinner on the evening of Sunday, March 26. Please could as many as possible try and attend to support the worthy recipients of all the silverware. The Winter League may be over, but there are plenty of events in the diary to follow shortly. Next Sunday we are away to Glynhir; the week after we return the compliment and host them at home, both tee-off times being 10.30 am. On March 26 we hold the Duffy, Joe S. Williams tournament, 8.45 tee-off, and the week after, we have our first summer league match at home against Penrhos, tee-off 1 pm. And then it's the annual Easter away tour to Bryn Meadows on the weekend of April 7, 8 and 9. The members and committee would like to thank all the substitute players, without whom we would be lost; thanks also to Lynne, Alex and all the kitchen staff and also Joe, Pat and Tim for looking after us throughout the winter. Thanks also to Neil and all the staff at the Tenby Observer for kindly printing our reports each week in their columns. The next report will be in three weeks time and you will be glad that by then our usual Rabbit correspondent, Phillip Marsden, will be back from his expeditions in Croatia to give his usual witty reports. Many thanks for making the Winter League such a success once more.
LEAGUE TABLE
P W H L Pts Beynon/Thomas 14 11 0 3 22 Hale/Smith 14 10 2 2 22 Moran/Hockings 14 9 1 4 19 Whitehouse/Harts 14 9 1 4 19 Watkins/G. Price 14 9 0 5 18 D. Evans/R. Murphy 14 8 1 5 17 Adlam/James 14 7 3 4 17 Farley/Harries 14 7 1 6 15 Pegg/Hunt 14 6 1 7 13 R. Davies/Munro 14 4 3 7 11 S. Evans/J. Murphy 14 5 1 8 11 Blake/Rolfe 14 5 0 9 10 Boyd/Edwards 14 3 1 10 7 Morgan/Allen 14 1 3 10 5 S. Price/P. Davies 14 1 2 11 4