Tenby Junior captain, Christopher Davies, recently held his Captain's Day at Tenby Golf Club. The weather on the day proved to be excellent, as well as the turnout from the junior members. The competition was split into two divisions, with the white, yellow and red boxes competing in one and the younger black boxes competing in the other. Winner on the day in the Division One competition was Matthew Adams with an excellent 40 points. Second place went to Emma Guerreiro with a fine 37 points and third place went to Matthew Jones with 36 points. In Division Two, the winner was Ben Vickery with a net 31 over nine holes. Second place went to Megan Guerreiro with a net 33 and third place went to Harrison Sharpe with a net 38. In the nearest the pin competitions, Cieran Slyne won on the sixth hole, while nearest the pin with the second shot on the 13th went to Matthew Jones. In the younger section, Matthew Webb won nearest the pin on the sixth. In the 18 hole putting competitions, first place in Division One went to Emma Guerrerio with 32 putts, with David Webb second with 34 putts. In Division Two, the winner was Sophie Lovatt with an excellent 40 putts. The prizes for the winners were fabulous and a credit to Christopher, although his dad may have something to say when he gets the bill! With a choice of meals prepared by Lynn, the juniors had a wonderful day to remember, and as well all players were given a memento to keep for their participation. Well done Christopher for an excellent day!
Club report
The mid-week medal was played on Wednesday, August 23, and the Lifeboat Spoons was played on Saturday, August 26. The finalists in the Knock-Out cups are reported.
Mid-week medal
This was played on Wednesday, August 23, off the white tees. The weather was excellent for golf and this was reflected in the scores. The winner was Neil Lovatt with an excellent net 63, second was Roger Schooling with a net 65, third was Steve Amos with a net 66 and a better back nine and fourth, despite having a record gross score on the present course, was Paul Haley also with a net 66. There were 48 competitors and of those seven had twos, with Barrie Frayne having two. Lifeboat spoons
This was played on Saturday, August 26, with a tricky cross wind early in the morning on most of the holes. The competition is open to visitors and it is in aid of the RNLI. The Division One winner was J. Willmore from Tredegar Park with a net 66, second was Jack Guerreiro with a net 67, third was Peter Rossi with a net 68, fourth was Dan Cope with a net 69 and a better back six, and fifth was Richard Morton, also with a net 69. The Division Two winner was Colwyn Harts with a net 69 and a better back nine, second was Barrie Frayne also with a net 68 and a better back nine, third was Ian Thomas also with a net 68, fourth was Robin Bradbury with a net 70 and a better back nine, and fifth was John Gillespie, also with a net 70. A total of 107 competitors took part and of those 17 had twos, with Richard Morton and Roger Schooling getting two.
Knock-Out Cup Finalists
The knock-out cup competitions are now down to the last two. The finalists are: Men's Scratch Cup - Brian Cramb and John Morris; Ladies' Scratch Cup - Holly Watkins and Denise Edwards; Allen Cup - Simon Rowell and Gareth Phillips; President's Cup - Robert Wilcox and Michael Schooling; Davies Cup - Steve Davies and Gareth Phillips; Sellar Cup - Steve Davies and John Rees; Charles Mathias Cup - Michael Wainwright and Michael Hale; Ladies Bronze Scratch Cup - Ann Blackmore and Georgia Thomas; Veterans Cup - John Rees and Bob Wiseman; Reason Jones Cup - Malcolm Harts and Jerry Whitehouse and Adam Joseph and Dai Cope; Colwyn Williams Cup - Dave Roberts and Ron Johns and Roberts Wilcox and Gareth Phillips. All the matches will be played on September 17, except the Davies Cup which will be played on Tuesday, September 12, due to one of the finalists being in three finals.
Next competition The next competition is the September medal which will be played tomorrow (Saturday).
Newport lose out
The second pair out were the first pair in, in the Seniors match against Newport last week. Des Stone thought he would use a much valued Callaway ball, one of a sleeve of three that he had been saving for some while. As is the wont with new balls this one was hit high into sun on the second hole and just wouldn't show itself to be hit again. It must be one that suffers from vertigo! With his partner, Owen Monaghan, he continued the match with an old ball and the home pair dovetailed well against Roy Harper and Howel Williams, and surprisingly, found themselves five up after eight holes. It was surprising because of the quality of shots played by the Newport duo. A pair of pars halved the first followed by some straight, long hitting by Owen which helped to keep them in front. Roy and Howel won their first hole on the ninth after Des and Owen had both skewed their shots onto the hill. They soon recovered and the match was over before they reached the bridge. Taking the short cut, they overtook the Seniors' captain who had dragged his partner over the line to try to squeeze some good golf out of him. Forty years of marriage had taken its toll, however, and Roy Morgan, by his own admission, stated that he had played rubbish golf and the verdict was unanimous! Even Dave Morgan admitted that he was not of much help in their match against Tony Bailey and Philip Turner. He indicated that they were too generous to the Newport pair, but also realised that Philip did not need too much generosity since he birdied two holes one of which was on the sixth, when he landed his ball only five inches from the hole. David had played with a Srixon ball all the way round and was hoping to take it to America with him. That was until he hit a wayward shot on the 18th and waved goodbye to his ball as it disappeared into the sunset. He did, however, return Des's Callaway to him -he had found it in the valley, close to the fairway, on the third Gareth Evans and Rhidian Smith claimed that they were well and truly 'stuffed' in their match against Brian Waters and Maurice Lewis. "Well I was too good for them!" said the modest Maurice. Both he and Brian had hit good form to emerge as the victors in a very enjoyable match in which Maurice cleared the bridge on the 16th to demoralise the opposition. Gareth scored four consecutive threes on the front nine and he and his partner still found themselves behind. Stan Hudson still found himself struggling with a few shots but he and Derek Bath managed to escape with a win against John Civil and Chris James. This was a very close match in which neither pair was able to lead by more than one shot - it was one up, one down or all square and that was the state of play as they tee-ed off on the 18th. Cometh the hour cometh the man - and that was where Derek showed his mettle. His second shot on the 18th came to rest just two to three feet from the pin. A simple tap in gave him a three, net two, and a relieved victory for the home pair. 'Attritional' was the word used by Jim Martin as he and Ken Gouldsbrough were first over the finish line against Barry Onions and Wayne Harries. I'm not quite sure what he meant, but I think it refers to the pace of their match which did leave them with some space between them and the group in front. However, Jim played a good front nine and Ken returned the complement as he demonstrated his prowess on the back nine. They both finished with a gross five on the last hole to conclude a satisfactory performance. First in the queue behind them were John Hancock and Roy Gundry who had a frustrating and difficult afternoon against Henry Parry and Malcolm Jack. Finding themselves a little out of rhythm, they gracefully conceded to the Newport pair, who were able to contain their game and just creep ahead on the 17th. A pair who by-passed the queue was that of Hywel Probert and 'new boy on the block,' Alex Leese. This was Alex's first outing in a Seniors' match and he was looking forward to a buggy ride with Hywel. Due to a mix up, they surrendered their buggy to a Newport pair who would otherwise been unable to play. Alex claimed that Hywel played as well as he could under the circumstances and that he was pleased that no-one asked him for money after the game. Dai Thomas and Glan Rees made the most of their chances and were generous enough to ensure the match was over on the fourteenth thus allowing the tired Tenby duo to walk in without crossing the line. Another making a guest appearance was Mike Nesbitt-Hawes who helped Martin Neilan to a well- deserved win over Richard Watts and Roy Phillips. The Newport pair has put in a complaint. It appears that they played Martin last year, when Martin had no partner, and he won that match. To play him again, partnered by a player of Mike's stature and prowess (he chipped in from off the green on the 10th for a birdie) was just too much for them. They request that next year they are paired against someone else. 'Who paired me with him!' exclaimed Brian Morgan as he and Newman Vincent entered the clubhouse beaming with pleasure. 'I'll carry his bags anytime,' was the next comment. It seems that they gelled very well in their match against Ralph Nicholas and Herbie Rowley. In previous matches together, they had not achieved much success, but in this encounter they both drove well, as they can, and converted their chances when they needed to, to finalise the match on the 13th. J. D. R. reckoned that it was Bob Howse's contribution that kept them in the match. His three shots over gross on the front nine wasn't enough as they found themselves one down in a very closely contested match against Colin and Simon Davies. Colin proved to be a very good 21 handicapper and helped his partner make it a real contest. Bob's putter was the deciding factor and needed cold water on it during the afternoon to cool it down. I assume that this is the left-handed putter on loan from Brian Morgan which found its way to the practice green. Results: D. Morgan and R. Morgan lost to T. Bailey and P. Turner by 4 and 3; D. Stone and O. Monaghan beat R. Harper and H. Williams by 6 and 5; B. Waters and M. Lewis beat G. Evans and R. Smith by 3 and 2; S. Hudson and D. Bath beat J. Civil and C. James by 1; K. Gouldsbrough and J. Martin beat B. Onions and W. Harries by 4 and 2; J. Hancock and R. Gundry lost to H. Parry and M. Jack by 2 and 1; R. Howse and J. D. R. Williams beat C. Davies and S. Davies by 2 and 1; B. Morgan and N. Vincent beat R. Nicholas and H. Rowlie by 6 and 5; H. Probert and A. Leese lost to D. Thomas and G. Rees by 5 and 4; M. Neilan and M. Nesbitt- Hawes beat R. Watts and R. Phillips by 4 and 3.
Junior competitions
There have been several junior competitions played over the last couple of weeks, so many that in order to update everyone, and to clear the pages before Finals Day, I can report the following results: The girls section played the Jones-Lewis Salver which is a scratch competition, and was won by Emma Guerrerio, while the Under 11s Scratch Championship was won by David Webb. The August monthly medal was won by Jack Guerreiro with a net 70. Last Sunday saw the playing of the annual captain against vice-captain match, which incorporates the Steve Evans Trophy. The toss for team selection was won by Christopher Davies, who then had first pick of the players. Unfortunately, there were an odd number of pairings which resulted in Christopher playing the lead game as a singles match against vice-captain Georgia Thomas. Unfortunately for Christopher, he lost his match 4 and 2, with Christopher scoring 26 points and Georgia scoring 31. Next match out saw the captain's selection of Emma Guerrerio and Cieran Slyne playing against her brother Jack Guerreiro and Matthew Adams. Jack and Matthew won 4 and 3, scoring 40 points, compared to Emma and Cieran who had 35. Next out saw Matthew Jones and Dan Hawkey for the captain, against Rhys Williams and Joe Farrell for the vice. Rhys and Joe ran out winners 2 and 1 and scored 39 points, compared to Matthew and Dan who scored 40. Last game out saw Aled Rees and Teague Galvin for the captain, against Garin Rees and Jack Hawkey for the vice. Aled and Teague won 5 and 3 and scored 43 points, while Garin and Jack scored 37. The match ended in a resounding 3-1 win for vice- captain, Georgia Thomas, who gloated in the victory, while the Steve Evans Trophy was won by Aled Rees and Teague Galvin with an excellent 43 points. This Sunday sees a stableford competition being played at the usual time of 10.25 am.