2018 Holiday Cup 5th August
Holiday Cup 5th August 2018
Ken Dixon continues to defy logic by consistently competing for prizes at the age of 78 . This local great-grandfather has truly produced one of the greatest rounds of his long Alty career with a phenomenal net 63 to spreadeagle his 44 rivals in fine style .
5 pars and a birdie 2 on the tricky 3rd left Dixon in complete control at 7 under his handicap at the turn and he had a steady back 9 cementing victory with pars on 17 and 18 to finish 8 under and to induce the handicapper to reduce him by a massive 2.1 to 17.2 .
Danny Miller (74/7/67) has enjoyed a very successful campaign in recent weeks with a win in the prestigious Bernie Wood Trophy the highlight and today his gross 74 was another magnificent effort to add to his huge major haul . Birdies on 2nd and 11th were the highlight as he finished four shots from the winner . The handicapper understandably cut his handicap by 0.6 to 6.7 .
John Rossiter ( 87/19/68) is fast approaching his 74th birthday later this month and this wily veteran devotes a huge proportion of his time to his golf playing an average of 4-5 times per week honing his skills and strategies . This taxing schedule ( as well as fortnightly sessions with his coach ) would be onerous for many individuals half his age but they have brought out the best in him and he would have undoubtedly challenged the winner but for dropping 6 shots to handicap on the only two holes he played poorly (quint bogey 9 on 4th. and triple bogey 6 on 13th.) . He had otherwise managed 8 pars and 8 single bogeys ( the highlight a ‘net eagle’ on the difficult 12th. ) and had responded magnificently to both setbacks to still finish in a creditable third place . The handicapper noted the quality of his efforts by cutting his handicap by 1.2 to 17.7 .
David Stopford (86/18/68) was only making his second summer start and the Presidents’ son distinguished himself with an excellent 4th placed finish . He played consistently throughout with only a triple bogey 7 on 4th stalling his efforts with 6 pars in his round and a superb 3 under net 68 . The handicapper has reduced him by 0.6 to 17.5 .
Fifth placed 2017 Club Champion Stewart Royle (72/4/68) produced a stellar gross 33 front 9 to reach the turn in a challenging position 4 under his handicap ... a fourth birdie on 10th consolidated his challenge for victory but that was effectively halted by a double bogey on 13th . His superb effort did not go unnoticed by the handicapper who trimmed the talented sexagenarian 0.2 to 4.1 .
Sixth placed Glen Rothwell (72/3/69) regularly duels with Stewart Royle to record the best gross score of the day and he matched his great rival with a gross 72 with just two bogeys and his solitary birdie coming at our hardest hole . The handicapper cut his already superb handicap by 0.1 to 2.4 .
Andrew Window (88/19/69) regularly challenges for top honours and today he equalled his best white tee score of the season with a superb display . The Diggle Trophy second-placer ( to this observer ) produced consistent scoring and but for double bogeys on 1st and 18th and a card-busting quint bogey on 14th he would’ve finished much closer . His highlight was a birdie 3 on 9th which had made him 3 under at the turn but the events of the 14th finished his challenge . The handicapper was understandably roused into decisive action given his efforts cutting him 0.9 to 17.8 .
David Christian (91/21/70) can rightly be proud of his current status as Alty GCs’ most improved player over the past 12 months and it is apparent that he continues to stand out . Today the stocky senior golfer started poorly and found himself 4 over his handicap after the first 2 holes (largely due to a quad bogey 8) ... he regrouped well and finished 1 over at the turn and gained shots in 10th and 11th to put him under his handicap for the first time in the round ... sadly a second 8 of the round on the difficult 12th and double bogey on 13th stalled his challenge but he still recorded an 1 under par finish . The handicapper continues to try to catch up with him and a 0.4 cut to 20.9 is just reward for another fine effort .
NB Defending champion James Walker-Kelly (98/25/73 ) has a steady round but could only finish 17th this year .
And finally ...
Des Royle (97/26/71) is handicap-wise currently the least gifted of the legendary Royle family but today this septuagenarians’ efforts were historically significant as his superb (5 under his handicap) front 9 included an extremely rare net Condor 2 on the 7th. hole ...
In golf, "condor" is the term for an exceedingly rare score on an individual hole: 4-under par.
Sadly he was not able to build on his awesome efforts and lost most of the shots gained in completing a sextuple bogey 11 on the difficult 12th. and he eventually finished level par . The handicapper could not fail to show interest in his topsy-turvy round and cut him by 0.4 to 25.2 !
On a truly eventful day for the Royle family it is fair to note that David Royle (78/5/73) notched up three birdies in succession on 9/10/11th holes ! What a day !
