2018 Monthly Medal July 22nd
Monthly Medal July 22nd 2018
Howard 'Big Bird' Johnson (76/12/64) has recently returned to Alty GC and this ageless septuagenarian has been threatening to post a stunning score all summer . Today he delivered magnificently with a net 4 under 37 to be leading at the turn with no-one effectively getting a blow in as he cruised the back 9 and could afford to double bogey the last for a net 7 under 64 finish with his solitary birdie on the stroke index 1 12th the highlight . The handicapper has given him a sizeable cut of 1.2 to 11.2 for his efforts .
Club Champion Stewart Royle (71/5/66) can already look back on a successful season that has seen him claim the 5 Club shield individually and the Wilson Trophies with his brother Neil . Today he produced his lowest round under the new course setup with just 2 front 9 bogeys cancelled out by birdies on 15 and 17 for a superb gross 71 finish . The handicapper has rewarded his efforts with a 0.4 cut to 4.4 .
Jimmy Young (85/17/68) has not played much this season but he has also produced the best round of his career on the new setup and after a steady front 9 flourished with a net 3 under back 9 which gave him 3rd place on countback ... the handicapper understandably cut his handicap by 0.6 to 16.6 .
James Walker-Kelly (94/26/68) continued his fine form with another fourth-placed finish today ( following on from his efforts in last weeks comp ) brought about by a net 3 under front 9 and steady play to his handicap on the back 9 (without a triple-or-worse bogey on his card) which has resulted in the handicapper cutting him 0.8 for the second consecutive round to reduce his handicap to 24.7 . This jaunty silver-surfer seems to handle the current conditions particularly well at the moment and is one to watch for the rest of the season .
Other notable mentions go to ...
Steve 'Taff' Wilkinson (78/9/69) continues to thrive in the current conditions and his magnificent net 3 under 36 saw him in joint second place at the turn and seemingly set up for a serious challenge . Sadly , although he consolidated his position with a birdie at the short 11th , this years' Arthur Cooper winner faltered on his final five holes to slip back to sixth place . The handicapper had seen enough to cut him by 0.2 for the second consecutive round to leave him at 8.7 .
Gareth Owen ( 82/12/70) is one of our younger members and was playing only his sixth event of the summer . He too had a liking for the current conditions and produced his best round of the year which threatened to take him much closer to the top of the leaderboard given that he shot 3 birdies in the round ( at 8,11,12 ) with only a quad bogey on 13 stalling his challenge leaving him in ninth place at the finish . The handicapper noted his efforts and has cut him by 0.2 to 11.5 .
Overall it is clear that the majority of members are finding the current conditions difficult and it will be fascinating to see if the continuing hot and dry weather maintains the degrees of difficulty for all members young and old but today a Big Bird named Howard Johnson swooped to conquer and take that coveted medal for July .
