Coronation Cup - 5th July 2020

Coronation Cup - 5th. July 2020

Coronation Cup - 5th July 2020

Coronation Cup Contenders 

2021 Captain-elect Danny Miller (77/7/70)has prevailed today to win the Coronation Cup for the second time on an absorbing day of golf at our beloved Alty today.

Miller , like the vast majority of us  , has found the opening hole a difficult proposition but today played it well to at last do so to handicap . He played the first 7 holes blemish-free ( highlighted by recording the only 2 of the day on the 3rd with net birdies on 5 and 7 )  as he expertly plotted his way around to cruise to -3 as he stood on the 8th tee with just a couple of low tariff holes to negotiate before reaching the turn . 

Inexplicably Danny was to suffer back to back reverses to finish -1 and now 3 shots off the lead as he started out on his back 9 .After regrouping to play 10 and 11 to handicap the Alty legend surprisingly slumped to a net bogey 7 as he started our Amen Corner to go back to level par and now 5 shots off the pace .

Miller negotiated his way through AC without further alarm culminating in a crucial gain on 15 putting him now just a shot behind in the tricky conditions as others lost shots to bring him back to closer order.  A further net birdie on 4 brought him level at -2 and although the wily maestro succumbed to a net bogey 4 at the final hole to post a -1 score that still proved to be sufficient for a victory based on his incredible guile,skill and the God-given ability to play in the swirling winds . The handicapper took note and cut his handicap by 0.2 to a new mark of 6.3.

Danny has now amassed an incredible 31 Board Competitions and stands just 2 away from his legendary former golfing partner-in-crime James West who still stands proudly on top of the Alty tree . 

Bailey Cup hero Richard Paulson (87/17/70) was one of the earlier starters today playing in his familiar fourball . He had an absolutely stellar front 9 with gains on no less than 5 holes (2,3,4,6,7) with his only reverse a net bogey on the long 5th to get to the turn in an impressive -4 , good enough for a share of the lead . Could he plot his way around for further glory ? Richard managed to play holes 10-13 to his handicap to maintain his joint leadership position as he stood on the 14th tee . Sooo many of us have had that feeling of desperately trying to preserve a score in the midst of facing our Amen Corner holes and today the 14th was to prove too difficult for RP as he stumbled to a net DB 7 to put him back to -2 . 

Once again he regrouped and managed to play the next three holes to handicap but at the final hole he succumbed to a net bogey 6 that was to cost him the competition as he cruelly lost on countback , a gain-free back 9 that proved to be too difficult for him to outlast the field given the freshening winds .  Nevertheless , a truly fantastic effort in the circumstances from the local big-hitter which alerted the handicapper to cut him by 0.3 to a new mark of 16.5 . 

Former Captain Stewart Royle (77/6/71) has won 19 Board Competitions in his Alty career but hadn’t added to his mighty haul since 2018. Today he has shown his undoubted ability to play in the windy conditions . His front 9 started sluggishly with reverses on 2 and 4 leaving him in mid-table at +2 as he stood on the 5th tee . He regrouped well with a net birdie at the hole then playing 6-9 in handicap to get to the turn at +1 and 5 off the pace .

Royle ( playing with family members Neil and David ) played to handicap on holes 10-12 before superbly being the only man on the day  to record a 2 on the über -tricky 13th with net pars on 14 and 15 to have the kudos of a rare net gain on our formidable AC holes such was the extra tariff of difficulty presented by the freshening winds . 

Now just 3 off the lead as the field succumbed en masse , a crucial net birdie on 17 got Stewart back to level par . He parred 18 to handicap to record the only sub-handicap back 9 of the day to finish at a very creditable net 71 and third place .
 

David Doughty (83/12/71) is having a decent season and was a strong challenger today . He started superbly , recording back to back net birdies on the opening two holes before a net bogey 5 on 3 stopped his gathering momentum . Undaunted , Doughty lived up to his name regrouping magnificently to record a second batch of back to back gains , a (net) birdie 3 on 6 followed by a further gain on 7 that saw him elevated to -3 as he stood on the 8th tee . Like many of our lower handicappers DD inexplicably suffered a mini-collapse gifting all 3 shots back on 8 and  9 to reach the turn 4 behind the leader (his playing partner RP) as he started his back 9 . Sadly , he could not stem the tide with 3 more shots going on the innocuous 10th and 11th holes to start Amen Corner 8 shots off the lead and seemingly out of contention . 

David bucked the trend of the day by playing himself back into it with consecutive net birdies on 13 and 14 then negotiating the devilishly difficult 15 to handicap .

Inexplicably his momentum was stalled by a sloppy net bogey on 16 which effectively ended his challenge . Brave net birdies on the final two holes meant that he finished on level par and just one shot from glory. A fine effort in the circumstances but he will doubtless reflect  on the 7 shots he lost on 5 of the 6 easiest holes earlier in his round that cost him the trophy . 

Self-styled  Alty Master of Ceremonies and former Captain Norman Crowther (80/9/71) has shown encouraging form this season and he was again prominent today . 

Although he succumbed to a net bogey 5 on the opening hole Norman regrouped immediately with a blemish-free sextet of holes highlighted by a (net) birdie 3 on 6 with further gains on 2,4 and 7 thus standing on the 8th tee at -3 but inexplicably capitulating to back to back reverses which left him -1 at the turn but still only 3 off the lead . After playing the benign 10 and 11 to handicap it was now Norman’s turn to face Amen Corner and although he shipped 3 shots to back to back reverses on 12 and 13 ( net DB) to go to +2 he regrouped superbly playing the final five holes with net birdies on 14 and 17 giving him a level par finish , a net par at the last leaving him just one short of his victorious playing partner on the day Danny Miller .  

Special Mentions ...

Andrew Window (92/18/74) has had an indifferent start to the season with no semblance of any form coming into this event . After taking 2 trophies last year many thought ( including your scribe ) that Andy would be a regular contender , especially with his purchase of top-class clubs to further enhance his chances . 

Today , Dandy Andy has shown undeniable glimpses of his 2019 form . 

He started sluggishly , with a reverse on 2 but improved significantly with net birdies on 4 and 6 followed up by a marvellous net eagle 3 on 7 to be one of a select few to stand on the 8th tee at -3 and now in definite contention .A card-busting net triple bogey 8 pained Window and shattered his momentum leaving the popular rookie Committee member at level par at the turn 4 shots off the lead .

Andy regrouped superbly with consecutive net birdies on 10 and 11 taking him to -2 , a position maintained after commendably playing to handicap on the difficult 12 and 13 . Window still had two holes of Amen Corner to play and his 2020 season fragility was exposed as a net bogey 6 on 14 was followed by net DB on 15 to put him at +1 now 3 off the lead . A brave net birdie on 16 again fuelled his ambitions but once again Windows’ resolve cracked as a shattering net quad bogey 9 cruelly sent him tumbling down the leaderboard . To his credit Andy net birdied the final hole which eased him into 10th position .  
 

Andrew Moss (103/26/77) is one of our more occasional golfers ... today was only his 4th outing of the summer season and he had shown no form to this point . A promising front 9 saw him net birdie 2,5 and 7 highlighted with a superb net eagle 4 on 4 with a net eagle 3 on the deceptively tricky 8th which against a solitary reverse on 3 brought him to the 9th tee leading the competition at a magnificent -6 with just the benign Stroke Index 18 9th before he got to the turn .

Sadly he scored a net DB 7 to finish -4 and now only in the joint lead .Moss regrouped well and played 10 and 11 to handicap before a net birdie on 12 gave him a great start to his Amen Corner and again gave him back the lead at  -5 . But could he maintain his form as he took on our toughest stretch of holes ?

Sadly not as he fell away unravelling a tragic ELEVEN strokes to handicap courtesy of net bogeys on 13 ,14 and 16 , net DB on 18 with net triple bogeys on 15 and 17 , a freefall which saw him finish in a distant 17th place but with an undeniably stunning impact on this competition halted by the unrelenting majesty of our ‘championship’ holes .

Gross Best ...

Danny Miller , Stewart Royle and Club Champion Glen Rothwell all scored 77 today in the tough conditions ! Bravo gentlemen !
 

Defending Champion Watch ...

2019 winner William Hill sadly left the club a few months ago for pastures new so was not able to defend his trophy .
 

Highest Score on One Hole ...

 William Brickhill (112/21/91) is a very recent addition to our membership and as such his candidature for a Board Competition can rightly be taken into context . He had started competition life the previous day with a respectable 30th place finish in the Tommy Barlow . Today he acquitted himself well in the windy conditions and a rollercoaster front 9 followed up by a relatively decent opening quintet of holes had him on the fringe of contention at +2 as he stood on the 15th tee . He then suffered the biggest collapse that this observer has ever seen on our beloved course as he scored 13-5-12 and 8 on the final quartet of holes to drop an incredible EIGHTEEN shots to handicap in that tortouous hour of play . You have to feel for him AND playing partners Gilbert and Cullen in those moments .

Overall a day where the course again had total dominance of the members with a few examples of extreme cruelty to those particularly affected as the mixture of freshening winds , cooler conditions , sodden and crow-picked greens had once again left those with course management expertise to challenge for the spoils . 

A big trophy soon to be back in the hands of arguably our biggest golfing star in a triumph for patience and reading the situation to play risk-averse golf of the highest standard to gain a 31st win spanning a 23 year period . Bravo Mr. Miller !