Brian Southworth 70/0/-1/-1
Brian Southworth is known to members for his love of fancy dress , a preference to wear shorts for golf and a penchant for sunshine vacations with his trademark permanent tan the result . His continued mastery of the ‘cack-handed’ style of swing makes him worthy of the highest praise and today he has taken the 11th board competition of his career . A rollercoaster front 9 finished even but included a birdie on 9 and a net double bogey on 3 and a further dropped shot on the benign 6th ... leaving him mid-table at the turn . He then started his back 9 with a double bogey on the easier 10th then went to +3 after a further drop on the similarly benign 11 ... he then took advantage as many of the leaders fell away , fighting back magnificently gaining 4 shots to handicap parring 13-17 to snatch victory on count back for the Timperley-based quinquagenarian to capture his 6th individual board competition win .
2nd George Sainthouse(19)
70 0/-1/-1
Rejuvenated no nonsense Manc speaking Geordie enforcer George Sainthouse was similarly up and down on his front 9 after starting poorly with back to back reverses on the opening two holes but 3 pars brought him back on track with a drop on 8 resulting in a level par finish . On 10 the sparky septuagenarian went to -1 with a par and then played to his handicap to lose on count back ... a very credible effort but the Broadheath-based battler can look back on 8 chances to go one better without agonisingly getting the job done.So near but yet soooo far .
3rd David Roy Terris(10)
70 -3/+2/-1
The Alty DR. had stormed into contention after a gross 37 which translated to -3 after his front 9 ... he continued to consolodate playing to his hcp before a birdie 2 on 13 took him to -4 . Although he would also gain after a par on 15 he then sadly lost 4 precious shots with 2 crucially going on the benign 16th. and another on the last which effectively took the trophy just out of the Ashton-under-Lyne based quinquagenarians’ grasp .
4th John Thompson(29)
70 -4/+3/-1 (-.5)
Jovial Geordie boy John Thompson has all the attributes to significantly lower his high handicap and the stocky Woodhouses-based tricenarian long hitter stormed to the top of the leaderboard at the turn at -4 for his hcp highlighted by net birdies on 1,2,5,6 and 7 ... after a steady start to his back 9 he stood on 15th tee at -4 and in control of the event . Sadly 3 shots went to hcp after a quint bogey 10 then another couple after taking a quad bogey on 17 ... a net eagle on the last tied his winning score but meant he lost on countback . John was the only member to attract the attention of the handicapper , who cut him by 0.5 to 28.0 bringing him back to 28 handicap ... at that mark he still remains an actively serious challenger for glory later in the season . Today he had put himself in control of the competition with one hand on the trophy only for our finishing holes to thwart his challenge .
5th Brian Nicholls(21)
71 +3/-3/0
Brian had already taken a trophy this season and another slow starter in mid table at the turn after an up and down front 9 highlighted by pars 7,8 and 2 net bogeys on 4 and 6 ... he then seemingly dropped out of contention at +4 after a dropped shot on 12 but this years recent FCox winner got all those shots back parring 13-15 (14 a net eagle) but just could not gain another shot on those final three holes thus finished one behind .
6th Nathan Butterworth(9)
71 -1/+1/0
Altys’ favourite copper started superbly and posted a magnificent gross 38 front 9 highlighted by birdie on 18 took him to -1 at the turn . He played to handicap on back 9 apart from dropped shots on the benign 11th. and 13 and a precious par gain on the last left the Timperley-based quadregenarian still one shot short .
7th Keith Walton(11)
71 -2/+2/0
-3 after 7 ( net eagle on 6 the highlight ) to +3 after 12 ( net triple bogey on 11 ) ... fought back to level with an inspired back 6 but again just short of the winning mark .
8th Phil Prince(10)
71 -3/+3/0
Superb gross 37 left him -3 at the turn rollercoaster but still -2 on 16th tee and on course to win but lost shots on 16 and 18 to lose his chance .
Best gross ...
9th Danny Miller(6)
71 -3/+3/0
Best gross ... magnificent gross 35 inc birdie1 ... crucial net bogeys on benign 10,16 ,17 birdie 15 ... -3 standing on 16th tee then inexplicably dropped shots on each of the final three holes to miss out .
Special mentions ...
14th Paul McDonald(14)
73 +1/+1/+2
-1 standing on 14th tee but then takes a catastrophic 8 , bogey on the benign 16th ends challenge .
24th Andrew Window (17)
+3 after 8 , Andrew Window shone through gaining 4 shots on the field birdieing 9 then parting 10,11 ,12 ... a momentum that had the diminutive dapper maverick quinquagenarian eyeing glory at -1 as he stood on the 14th tee but alas the fearsome back 5 saw him lose six shots to handicap to finish down the field .
Defending Champion watch ... 2018 Jubilee hero Bill ‘President ‘ Stopford did not play thus was unable to defend his title !”
54 players with a top net score of 70 just shows how tricky our beloved course can be ! We are blessed to have a true thought-provoking and occasionally difficult course where good course management is rewarded !;