Golden Jubilee Cup 14th July 2019

Golden Jubilee Cup 14th July 2019

Golden Jubilee contenders

John Thompson(24/19/43)  has taken the first Board Competition of his short Alty GC career with a dominant display in todays Golden Jubilee Cup . Now operating as a 27 handicapper after his cut yesterday , the young Geordie big-hitter had a stellar front 9 and plundered 24 points with half of them coming in his first quartet of holes , the highlight a magnificent 4 pointer par on on the 4th, with no less than 5 3 pointers and his only slight reverse coming on 9 where he just scored a point .

Standing on the 10th hole with a three point lead over the field and in the form of his life JT stated steadily on 10 but gained only one point on the benign 11th. . The following four holes showed a steady rather than spectacular return with a regulation 8 points which brought him back to the field and now in just a share of the lead with the wily veteran former captain Bob Kay . He responded by parring 16 and bogeying 17 to reach the 40 point mark but stood on the last tee just a point ahead of his two closest pursuers  knowing that any slip up risked losing outright or on countback . John held his nerve and posted a crucial 3 point par 4 to take the Cup by two points . His 43 point total was his best ever white tee stableford score by 6 points ! The handicapper made a further  huge cut to his handicap , lopping a further 2.4 to a new mark of 25.0 , now  a full three shots less than when he stood on the opening tee the previous day . A truly stellar weekend for the fella and just reward for his long hours of practice . 

Nick Lewis (18/23/41) is another member is fine form having taken the Tommy Barlow trophy only one week before . Lewis is a big-hitter and operates without a driver but still achieves great distance with consistent accuracy . Playing now off 20 handicap Lewis inexplicably started poorly blobbing 1 and gaining only one point on 2 to immediately find himself well down the field . He regrouped well and garnered 17 points from his next 7 holes (including three pointers on 3,5,8 and 9) to get to the parity score of 18 but find himself 6 points behind the leader . Your reporter had the honour of playing with Nick and witnessed a fighting display on the back nine . By the 12 hole mark he had halved the defecit courtesy of a 9 point haul highlighted by a magnificent four pointer par on the 12th and although he posted three consecutive two pointers he stood on the 16th tee two points back . consecutive three point pars on 16 and 17 meant he was just one point back but sadly he could only play the last hole to his handicap and fell two points short .

It is apt to note a heartening display of superb  sportsmanship by Lewis to the eventual winner as he had seen the location of an errant shot by Thompson in the rough on 14 from his vantage point on the 15th tee . His intervention was crucial as JT was able to find his ball and scramble to  a two-point 6 whereas a lost ball would've meant a blob and ultimately  a Lewis victory.  A truly wonderful act for your reporter to be able to share with you all made all the better as Nick knew that John was playing superbly and was a threat to his own chances but he still acted as we would all hope to do in the true spirit of our beloved sport . Bravo sir ! The handicapper cut him 1.2 to 19.0 and then he received a further 1.0 cut under the exceptional scoring ruling to leave him on a new mark of 18.0  .

Bob Kay (21/20/41)  was determined to return to form after a below par effort the previous day unrecognisable from an excellent third place finish  behind Lewis in the Tommy Barlow just 8 days earlier . Today he began superbly with three point pars on 1,3 and 4 to immediately get himself into contention … a further three point par on 7 helped him achieve an enviable 21 point total to take him within three points of the lead at the turn  . After the ecstasy of a threepointer par on 10 and agony of a one point 5 on the short but tricky 11th then consolidating with steady play on the following two holes Kay took closer order after back to back three point pars on 14 and 15 to get himself into a share of the lead . Crucially he was to gain only one point on the benign 16th and although he remedied that reverse with another three pointer on 17 he had now fell a point behind and a regulation two point bogey 5 at the last left him two points short . Nevertheless a magnificent effort from one of our most revered elder statesmen that saw the handicapper cut his handicap for the second time in 8 days by 0.9 to a new mark of 11.8 .

Keith Ralston (17/23/40) achieved legendary status for winning the prestigious Balfour Cup in 2014 then following that with 4 Board Competition victories the following year . Since those heady days he had a 3 year drought until capturing the Gyves&Gardner late in the 2018 summer season with his friend and mentor Mark Snape . That victory has undoubtedly instilled a rejuvenation and it was no surprise when he captured the Bailey Cup to take his first individual trophy in 4 years . Today he made a sluggish start blobbing the first hole and taking only a point on 3,8 and 9 with a solid 12 point quartet of holes sandwiched in between to get to the turn 7 points off the lead with 17 . His back 9 started steadily with a trio of regulation 2 pointers but he raced up the field courtesy of consecutive 3 point pars on the ever-tricky 13/14 and a strong 7 point finish on the final holes ( with his highlight a superb 4 point birdie on 17 ) which catapulted him to a never nearer fourth place and an 0.6 cut from the handicapper to a new mark of  in recognition of a fine effort .
 

Special mentions ...

David Roy Terris (20/18/38) has finished fifth today with a consistent display where he stood just 3 off the lead after an encouraging front 9 which included 3 pointers on 1,5,7 and his birdie on 6 . Sadly his challenge faltered with only 3 points in the next trio of holes . The Alty ‘doctor’regrouped well and plundered 15 points in his final 6 holes but never gaining enough ground to properly challenge despite 3 pointers on 13,15 and 18 . That said , his performance earned a 0.2 cut from the handicapper to a new mark of 10.5 . 

Your reporter Paul Hackett (19/18/37) had just lost an extended battle to keep his beloved 18 handicap ‘status’ and at 18.5 was determined to try to regain it . Today the runner up Nick Lewis was a playing partner and (as often happens) he thrived on his partners momentum actually out-scoring Lewis on a front 9 that included 3 pointers on 1 and 5 and an extremely rare 4 pointer birdie on 7 to counter an inexplicable blob on 6 where his approach shot failed by a millimetre to get past the pond . 5 points back at the turn , he maintained momentum with an 8 point salvo on the opening trio of holes that put him on 27 points to improve to a share for second place with 6 holes to go . Tragically his efforts to take closer order were denied by poor putting AND (most infuriatingly ) by a  disastrous blob on 15 ... a 10 point return for those closing holes meant a 37 point 6th place finish and frustratingly just short of scoring heavily enough to gain the attraction of the handicapper to get back to 18 handicap . A sixth place finish was his best result of his summer campaign and further evidence that he had the ability to compete .

Defending Champion watch ,..

Mark Snape put up a decent fight to defend his trophy although a poor 4 point start (including blobs on 1and 3) on the opening quartet of holes meant that he found himself well down the field . He responded magnificently with a trio of 3 pointers highlighted by a birdie on 6 helping him to 17 points at the turn . He played steadily on the back 9 without ever being able to get into contention with a superb 4 point birdie on the difficult 14th his highlight .That said , a 19 point back 9 at least meant that he achieved the parity of a 36 point finish which elevated him to a credible eighth place .