Bailey Cup 2021 - 24th April
The Bailey Cup is rightfully considered to be one of most prestigious competitions in the calendar with the normal set up a maximum field of 24 players who earn their right to compete through a series of winter qualifiers ... this year the COVID pandemic meant that no qualifiers were able to go ahead which meant that the Committee took the decision to play it as a one-off Board Competition , resulting in the largest field ever with 57 players competing for the second Board Competition of the season .
Chris O’Connell (38/44/82/16/66) has won his first Board Competition after a quite magnificent wire to wire victory in the balmy conditions to beat 56 competitors . O’Connell had a hesitant start with his initial drive flying so close to the dreaded OOB that he played a provisional but thankfully found his ball just in play . A wedge to 8 feet provided him with the chance of an unlikely birdie but a par still got him immediately under his handicap at this most tricky hole . Chris built on that start to register further gains on 2 and 3 , the latter which saw him again flirt with disaster with his 6 iron going beyond the green to stay just within bounds to enable him to maintain momentum and register a third consecutive gain to rocket him to the top of the leaderboard . Chris is blessed with the ability to stroke the ball a long way and only a 4 iron was used off the tee on the 4th hole to put him again in the fairway to wedge then 2-putt to get to -4 . Hole 5 saw him surrender a shot courtesy of a pulled drive into the tree line , a visit to the hazard and a dropped shot . Undaunted by this reverse , O’Connell again reverted to the drive ,58 degree wedge 2 putt par routine on 6, 7 and 9 for further gains to get to the turn 5 under for his handicap but with a 2 stroke advantage over the rejuvenated veteran John Wilks .</span><span>His back nine undoubtedly presented him with stiffer resistance but he still opened up the journey for home with driver , wedge , 2 putt to get him to -6 and stretch his lead over the field . Inexplicably he was to falter on the benign 11th with a long pushed drive to the right , misjudged 40 yard pitch over the bunker through the green and adjacent to a tree , eventually finishing up with a double bogey 6 which effectively meant that he was now sharing the lead with Wilks as he stood on the intimidating 12th tee .</span><span>Chris responded magnificently with a lovely 270 yard drive to the middle of the fairway then effortlessly using a mid-iron to leave him in good shape just over 100 yards from the green …a wedge and 2 putts from there restored him to -5 and again in sole leadership. Having safely negotiated 13 with a 3 putt net par 4 he made a further gain at the onerous 14th courtesy of another drive,wedge 2-putt combination . Standing on the 15th tee at -6 , Chris now had extended his leave to 2 shots but could he maintain momentum to use his big-hitting to similarly take care of 15 ? Sadly Chris pulled his drive left and out of bounds … his second drive left him 230 yards to the green , eminently reachable (for him) but he made the decision to ‘take his punishment ‘ and lay up … a net double bogey ‘ horrocious ( Chris’ own description ) 8 meant that he now had a slender one stroke lead over club legend Danny Miller with Wilks , Astbury and Sainthouse just 2 shots behind him with the 3 championship holes to play .>Chris steadied the ship with a regulation par then produced his best drive of the day on 17 , leaving him just 95 yards away in the fairway … wedge , 2-putt to register a net birdie 4 that extended his lead to 2 strokes over Miller . On his final tee shot , Chris had played the hole poorly in a friendly match the day before and had endured successive OOB drives left … his attempt at ‘playing safe’ backfired as he chunked his 3 wood into the left rough , 200 yards from home in the trees and his attempt to draw the ball went wrong hitting the fence but staying in bounds leaving him only the option of chipping the ball past the bunker to the middle of the green leaving him a long putt to record a net birdie 4 … Chris overshot his putt by 6 feet and although he missed his putt back , a net bogey 6 was enough to give him the victory by two strokes . On this form it is hard to see Chris not getting into contention but he had rode his luck to gloriously prevail on this occasion .
Ged Grogan (39/39/78/10/68) stood on the first tee this morning with the confidence of an individual who had taken the first Board Competition of the season the week before and who had every intention of contending today . 7 strokes and 2 dropped shots to handicap later he had received a rude awakening and a reminder as to how dangerous the seemingly innocuous 320 yard opening hole can be . Ged responded superbly to this setback by playing the next 8 holes at 1 over gross ( including 3 net birdies on 2,4 and 7 ) which equated to him getting to the turn at 1 under handicap , 4 off the lead . His momentum stalled this momentum with a run of 5 holes with 4 played to his handicap and an unfortunate reverse on 13 which meant he stood on the 15th tee 5 shots back level for his handicap.>Grogan regrouped and played the final four championship holes all to par but gaining 3 shots to handicap to finish just 2 shots back in a very creditable second place .But for his inauspicious 7 strokes on the opening hole he would’ve gone very close to victory but nevertheless a fantastic showing .
Danny Miller (37/39/76/8/68) came into this competition on the back of an uncharacteristic lowly 38th place in the opening Board Competition of the season . Today , he wasted no time in displaying the consistency which has helped him win 32 trophies at our beloved course . Danny covered the opening 7 holes 3 under his handicap courtesy of gains on 4, 6 ( birdie 3 ) and 7 ... a sloppy reverse on 8 and regulation par on 9 meant that Miller got to the turn on -2 , 3 off the lead . A further dropped shot on 10 was immediately addressed by a superb birdie on 11with a further gain courtesy of a par on 12 which propelled Danny to -3 just 2 off the lead . Sadly , another bogey on 13 stalled his momentum but he typically rallied and net birdies on 15 and 17 left him back in the thick of it just 2 shots behind the leader . He stood on the final tee requiring a birdie to equal his great friend James West and take his 33rd victory ... instead he was to succumb to a net bogey 5 leaving him in third place . Evidence that our most decorated active player has no intention of just making up the numbers this season .
John Wilks (47/52/99/31/68) has shown form in the twice weekly vets competitions and had recently won the prestigious Rosedu Trophy thus entered the competition in good heart especially as he was the possessor of a 31 handicap under the new system . Today , the veteran ‘leftie’ net birdied holes 1,3,4 and 7 with his only reverse in his front 9 occurring on the 8th hole which left him in second place at -3 on the turn . Momentum was re-established with a net birdie 5 on 10 and with two net pars on 11 and 12 . John had stood on the 12th tee elevated to joint leadership but he was to falter on 13 where his tactic of laying up on that short hole was to betray him as he stumbled to a net bogey 7 then compounded it with a further reverse on 14 . a battling net birdie 5 on 17 got him back to -3 and a net par 6 at the last confirmed his encouraging 4th placed finish just 2 shots away from victory . Incredibly , Wilks did not record a single gross par but had utilised his sizeable handicap superbly and it was only the two ‘Amen Corner’ holes that had prevented him taking closer order . A fine effort .which your scribe witnessed at close quarters and one which showcased his scrambling abilities ... at this mark this observer has no doubt that he will continue to defy his veteran status and contend again .
Special mentions …
Matt Astbury (46/43/89/20/69) continues to defy the handicapper to contend . He can look to a poor start which saw him stumble to 7 shots off the lead after 6 holes … his rollercoaster opening sextet included gains on 2 and 5 but saw him net bogey the opening hole and suffer back to back net double bogeys on 3 and 4 .Astbury regrouped quickly to record further gains on 7 and 9 to get to the turn at +1 , still 6 shots back … Matt steadied his round playing 10/11 to handicap then net birdied 12 to get to level . After maintaining that score on 13 he exploded into life with a superb net eagle 3 at the long 14th and completing 15 to handicap having now reduced the deficit to the leader to just 2 strokes . He matched the leaders’ net birdie 3 on 16 but ultimately his sloppy start meant that he was never nearer , dropping a shot on the final hole to finish in a credible 5th place with a net 69 3 shots back .
Dave Drury (43/41/84/14/70) had a sloppy start to his round , dropping a shot on the opening hole then playing a few holes to handicap before net birdieing 7 only to give that shot back with a bogey 5 on 9 to get to the turn at +1 , 6 shots off the lead .Drury started the journey for hole in spectacular fashion with consecutive gains on 10 , 11 ( a sumptuous birdie 3 ) , 12 and 13 to stand on the 14th tee having halved the lead to 3 strodes . Sadly he was to succumb to back to back net bogeys on 14 and 15 to fall off the pace but maintained the rollercoaster feel to his back 9 with a net birdie 4 on 17 only to give the shot on the final hole to finish in 6th place with a net 70 .George Sainthouse (44/46/90/20/70) has had a decent early season , with his qualification for the Gillibrand a highlight … today he was another player who fell foul of the dangerous opening hole recording a net bogey 6 but it was to be his only dropped start of his front 9 as his steady round was illuminated with consecutive gains on 5 and 6 resulting in him getting to the turn at -1 , 4 off the lead . The veteran member had a rollercoaster back 9 with an initial reverse on 10 seeing him regroup magnificently with a net birdie 4 on 11 then trumped with a tremendous net eagle 5 on 12 , which got him to within 2 strokes of the lead . Sadly he wasn’t able to build on that momentum and he was to drop shots on 13 and 18 to finish in 7th place with a very decent net 70 .
Defending Champion Watch …
Richard Paulson (50/46/96/15/81) must have stood on the initial tee with high hopes of making a stout defence of his trophy . He has had a steady start to his season with the highlight him qualifying for the Gillibrand . Tragically , within minutes his round was in tatters as he stumbled his way to a horrific net quad bogey NINE at the opening hole … this was the worst start to a trophy defence this observer could remember to the legend of ‘DC’s Dozen’ (the TWELVE strokes completed on the first hole by defending champion David Christian in the Watson trophy 2020) .Richard regrouped immediately with a courageous net birdie 4 on 2 to get back to +3 but that was to be his only highlight with him dropping 5 further strokes on 4 (double) , 5 ,6 and 8 to finally get to the turn at +8 , 13 shots off the pace (and clearly in damage limitation mode) our champion was slightly better on a back 9 where his highlight was his superb net birdie 5 on 15 , sadly offset with reverses on 10,11 and 17 to finish in a lowly 44th place , not one of the stoutest defences but credible in that he didn’t NR .
Gross Watch …Danny Miller with 76 strokes
Overall , a day where many members found it harder than usual to deal with our greens and where our beloved course again won the day with only 7 of the 57 competitors managing to beat their handicap despite the sunny skies , warm conditions and light winds .The course was savage with many members racking double figure scores , some of which were of lower handicap ! A warning to ALL of us that our next disaster is just waiting for us .
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