JS Chorlton Trophies - 13th October 2019

JS Chorlton Trophies 13th. October 2019 

JS Chorlton Trophies contenders

Keith Ralston and Mark Snape (26/23/49) have taken their joint total of Board Competition victories to 22 (KR10 MS12 ) with their 2nd pairs victory together following on from their Gyves&Gardner 2018 win . 

Yesterday they had finished in a close 4th place in the Royles Challenge after sharing the lead with one hole to go . Today Mark Snape made a sensational start to proceedings by birdieing the opening 2 holes to quickly get to 7 points ... Ralston got into the act with a 4 point birdie on 4 with Snape incredibly taking their joint birdie haul to 5 with consecutive ones on 7 and 8 helping them to reach the turn on 26 points (a phenomenal betterball gross score of 31) to put them ahead of the pack after 9 holes .

The duo started for home steadily with 5 consecutive 2 point scores but a 6 point haul on 14/15 meant that they had a slender one point lead and then played the benign 16th to handicap to get to 42 points and now only in a share of the lead and with the sure knowledge that they had to better their closet rivals or risk the heartbreak of losing on countback. Predictably they upped their game with Snape scoring a magnificent 4 point birdie on 17 then Ralston then making a vital contribution with a net birdie 4 to finish on a superb 49 points to win by 3 . A truly spectacular effort and proof that our elite low handicap golfers are more than capable of outpacing all-comers irrespective of their higher handicap.
 

Nathan Butterworth and Andrew Wood (25/21/46)  ... predictably in-form  NB dominated the scoring and recorded 7 of the front 9 scores including 3 birdie 3s on 1,2 and 6 whilst AW chipped in with net birdie 4s on 4 and 8 which left the pair just one off the lead at the turn . The back 9 followed a similar pattern with Butterworth again dominating the scoring but a steady rather than spectacular start highlighted by 3 point birdies on 11 (AW) and 13(NB) kept them just behind the leaders and then a solid 10 point haul from NB took them to the final hole 2 points down ... AW got the points but a net par 5 meant they could only take 2 points to finish on 46 points and a creditable second place .
 

Steve Wilkinson and Roy Dickens (21/23/44) have both won this event (SW2017 / RD2015)  but with different partners ... today this scratch pairing made a great start with SW getting net birdie 3 pointers on the opening couple of holes then Mr Captain (RD) weighing in with 3 further net birdies . Inexplicably the pair faltered slightly with 3 2 point holes and an unforgivable blob on the deceptively tricky 8th leaving them on 23 points but still just 3 off the lead ... SW contributed 4 of the first 5 scores on the back 9 but including  only one 3 pointer whilst Mr Captains superb birdie 3 was the highlight of the entire round and his net birdie 5 brought them to within 4 of the summit with just 3 holes to go . A strong 8 point finish from SW  wasn’t enough to get properly in the mix but their 23 point back 9 was joint ‘best in show’ and they were left to rue their poor front 9 finish which effectively stifled their challenge to finish in third place on 44 points .
 

Paul Southworth and Scott Armiger (35/19/44)  had shown good form in the two recent pairs Board Competitions with top 6 finishes ... today they proceeded to start superbly with Scott 3-pointing 6 of the first 7 holes whilst Paul’s only contribution a net birdie 4 on the difficult 5th giving them 21 points standing on the 8th tee . Curiously they faltered on the final two holes of the front 9 with the SA 2 pointers leaving them just a point short of the leaders. The duo failed to retrieve momentum on the benign 10th and 11th hole where they again 2-pointed thus  losing further ground on the leaders before an SA net birdie 6 gave them their first 3 point haul in 5 holes to give them a share of the lead . Sadly their mediocrity continued with a poor 5 point return on the fearsome trio 13-15 leaving them 4 shots back as the final three holes beckoned . Scott posted his 8th 3 point net birdie 3 on 16 but they finished in fourth place on countback after they played their final two holes in regulation . Another consistent showing by this affable duo which surely augurs well for the future .
 

John Hogan and Mark Caffrey (22/19/41) were a multi-Board Competition winning scratch pairing and they quickly regrouped from a poor 1 point opening hole to fire 5 3 pointers of their next 6 holes to move up the leaderboard with regulation 2 point returns on 8/9 getting them 4 behind at the turn . A magnificent MC 4 point birdie 3 was a sparkling start to their back 9 but just 3 points gained on 11/12 left them curiously a point closer with 6 to go . A JH 3pointer birdie 2 on 13 was to be the highlight as a measly 9 point haul from their ‘final five’ meant a 41 point top 5 finish .  

Defending Champion Watch ...

Andy Miehe and John Rossiter (21/14/35) were unable to repeat their 2018 triumph and never really got going today .A trio of JR 3 pointers ( net birdies on 1,6 and 7 helped to get them on 21 points at the turn , 5 points off the lead and on the fringes of contention.Inexplicably the duo picked up a total of just 3 points from holes 10 to 13 including two blobs . A fighting 6 point salvo from AM on 14/15 partially restored the damage but a poor finish meant a small 14 point back 9 return for a 35 point toal and a lowly 14th position of the 16 pairs in competition.