The weather was not kind to the AJO Memorial this year. Strong south-westerly winds blew during both the legs and the early starters also suffered from some heavy showers.

Nevertheless, although slightly down on recent years especially at Tenby, the turnout was good and some excellent scores were returned.

The first leg was held at Trefloyne on Saturday, June 15, when 114 men and 24 ladies took part. The maturing parkland course was in a fine overall condition.

Five of the top six scores were brought in by local members. Richard Cope led the way with a superb 38 points which meant his handicap was reduced from 18 to 16. Derek Knifton, forced to play of the maximum, 24 allowed, had 37 points. Glenn Hunter and Simon Arthur scored 36 points as did Tenby's John Gillespie and young Billy Truman had 35 points.

However, there were a large group of competitors close behind - five on 34 points and six on 33 points, seven of whom were Tenby members, including Allan Morton.

In the Tenby Observer Cup for the best 'gross' scores, Richard Morton lead with 32 points followed by Billy Truman on 30, Nick Thomas and Ben Price on 29 and Gavin Scotcher and Chris Thompson on 28.

The Ladies' Section saw last year's winner young Amber Thomas well clear with 36 points. Next were Helen Hughes on 33 and Sue Shooter, Georgina Ormond and Gill John on 32.

It was therefore 'all to play for' in the three competitions going onto the second leg at Tenby on Saturday, June 22, where the rough was punishing, but the greens were the best they had been all year.

Due to the weather and possibly the first Lion's test, various individuals and groups cried off. Infact, relatively few players went out between 7 and 10 am - see Footnote. A total of 115 took part - 91 men and 24 ladies.

In the AJO Bowl, one of the early starters, Trefloyne's Glenn Hunter, came in with 32 points, thus posting a 36 hole aggregate of 68 points which many thought would be difficult to beat, but it transpired he was runner-up.

Some of the Tenby golfers who had faired reasonably at Trefloyne unfortunately failed to capitalise on home advantage, including John Gillespie, Nick Thomas, Martin Neilson, Ian Thomas, Bill Davies and Rees Davies.

Similarly, Richard Cope found Tenby difficult off his new handicap, but his 28 points was very creditable. Derek Knifton also found Tenby tough, but hopefully he enjoyed his experience.

Others who had struggled at Trefloyne did improve at Tenby such as Gavin Scotcher (Tref) and Chris Hughes (Ten) with 33 points, Rob Willcox (Ten) and James Couzens (Tref) with 34 and Gary McNeilly (Ten) with a sound 36. Richard Morton's 32 points was sufficient to claim third place in the AJO Bowl.

Trefloyne's Randal Day could not play in the first leg, but he made up for it at Tenby with a wonderful 37 points.

This score was matched by Tenby's Allan Morton who has found his form again. Allan's 37 points added to his 33 points at Trefloyne made him the AJO Bowl champion for 2013 with a total of 70 points, fantastic given the weather conditions.

His competitors failed to challenge Allan's son Richard in the Tenby Observer Cup. Nick Thomas, Chris Thompson and Ben Price faded. Last year's winner Gavin Scotcher improved, but not by enough. Richard's consistency regained the trophy for him with a fine 'gross' aggregate of 62 points.

In the Ladies' Section, Fair Ball recorded 34 points and Sarah Waring 35 points, but neither had performed well at Trefloyne. Sue Shooter had another steady round of 31 points and Amber Thomas put up a valiant effort to retain her crown with the same score.

However, the ladies AJO Bowl winner for 2013 is Tenby's Georgina Ormond who added a superb 40 points, the best round of the tournament, to her 32 at Trefloyne for an excellent aggregate of 72.

Georgina is of course the daughter-in-law of the late Arthur Ormond MBE and the AJO Bowl is held annually in his memory. In her winner's speech, Georgina explained that she was delighted and proud to win 'Pop's' competition.

Allan and his family have been great supporters of the AJO Bowl since its inauguration 11 years ago. Allan said that he was very pleased to beat his sons, Richard and Andrew, and be the first to win the main trophy. It has been a tough couple of years for Allan and hopefully his victory bodes well for the future.

The leading scores were:

AJO bowl - Men

First leg: Richard Cope (Tref) - 38 pts; Derek Knifton (Tref) - 37 pts; John Gillespie (Ten), Glenn Hunter (Tref) and Simon Arthur (Tref) - all 36 pts; Billy Truman (Tref) - 35 pts, Jack Zeraschi (Tref), Darren Thomas (Ten), Richard Morton (Ten), Nick Thomas (Ten), Nick Cope (Tref) - all 34 pts.

Second leg: Allan Morgan (Ten) and Randal Day (Tref) - both 37 pts; Gary McNeilly (Ten) - 36 pts; James Couzens (Tref) and Rob Willcox (Ten) - both 34 pts; Chris Hughes (Ten) and Gavin Scotcher (Tref) - both 33 pts; Jake Morgan (Tref), Andrew Cope (Ten), Richard Morton (Ten), Glenn Hunter (Tref) and Paul James (Ten) - all 32 pts.

36-hole aggregate: Allan Morton (Ten) - 33+37=70 pts; Glenn Hunter (Tref) - 36+32=68 pts; Richard Morton (Ten) - 34+32=66 pts, Richard Cope (Tref) - 38+28=66 pts; Jake Morgan (Tref) - 33+32=65 pts; Gary McNeilly (Ten) - 28+36=64 pts; Gavin Scotcher (Tref) 31+33=64 pts; John Broomhead (Ten) - 32+31=63 pts; Nick Cope (Tref) - 34+29=63 pts; Ben Price (Tref) - 32+31=63 pts, Nick Thomas (Ten) - 34+29=63 pts; James Couzens (Tref) - 28+34=62 pts.

Tenby Observer Cup

Men's 'gross' aggregate: Richard Morton (Ten) - 32+30=62 pts; Gavin Scotcher (Tref) - 28+30=58 pts; Ben Price (Tref) - 29+28=57 pts; Nick Thomas (Ten) - 29+24=53 pts; Chris Thompson (Ten) - 28+23=51 pts.

AJO bowl - ladies

First leg: Amber Thomas (Ten) - 36 pts; Helen Hughes (Ten) - 33 pts; Sue Shooter (Ten), Georgina Ormond (Ten) and Gill John (Ten) - all 32 pts; Gwyneth Jewitt (Tref), Rosie Moore (Tref) and Annette Flower (Ten) all 31 pts.

Second leg: Georgina Ormond (Ten) - 40 pts; Sarah Waring (Ten) - 35 pts; Fair Ball (Ten) - 34 pts; Amber Thomas (Ten), Sue Shooter (Ten) and Linda Evans (Ten) - all 31 pts; Ros Jenkins (Ten) 30 pts; Rita Collins (Tref) 29 pts.

36-hole aggregate: Georgina Ormond (Ten) 32+40=72 pts; Amber Thomas (Ten) 36+31=67 pts; Sue Shooter (Ten) - 32+31=63 pts; Ros Jenkins (Ten) - 30+30=60 pts, Sarah Waring (Ten) 25+35=60 pts; Gwyneth Jewitt (Tref) - 31+28=59 pts; Gill John (Ten) - 32+26=58 pts; Rosie Moore (Tref) - 31+27=58 pts.

Twos

First leg: Simon Davies (2), Richard Cope, Ian J. Thomas, Neil Truman, Matthew Davies, Billy Truman, Paul James, James Criddle, Maura Rimell.

Second leg: Randal Day, Ellis Morgan, Dan Cope, Paul Jenkins, John Broomhead, Fair Ball, Chris Collinson.

Longest Drives

First leg: Men - Ben Price; Ladies - Fair Ball.

Second leg: Men - Dan Cope; Ladies - Georgina Ormond.

Nearest the pin

First leg: Men - Mark Griffiths; Ladies - Sue Shooter.

Second leg: Men - Dan Cope, Ladies - n/a.

Bag Draws

Trefloyne: Penny Cope, Ben Owen, John Ball, Paul Davies, Jon Bolter, Grant Hardy, Adam Thomas, Tim Edwards, Dennis Holloway.

Tenby: Vicky Day, Rosie Moore, Ian J. Thomas, Grant Hardy, Ben Palin, Jake Morgan, Ralph Johns, Allan Gawith.

Pro Shop Draws

Trefloyne: James Couzens, Mike Schooling, Tony Kay, Elliott Scotcher.

Tenby: Ken Goldsborough, Julie Lovett, Greg Palin.

Footnote: 1. Prize lists will be in the pro shops at Trefloyne and Tenby, ie credits for first leg at Trefloyne, second leg at Tenby and aggregate - at competitors home club; 2. Some of the competitors who failed to show telephoned to give their apologies. However some did not - especially at Tenby. A quick telephone call to the pro is the correct procedure. Courtesy always assists. This applies to all competitions at both clubs, not, just AJO Bowl.