JS Chorlton Trophies 8th August 2020

JS Chorlton Trophies 8th. August 2020

JS Chorlton Trophies contenders

For those who are interested in the historical side of our beloved club , your scribe can reveal ( through the golfing memory of one of our Alty treasures David Barton ) that JS Chorlton was a larger than life local baker who was responsible for donating the trophies that bear his name . 

This year we have seen an incredibly tight contest in which no less than 5  pairs had a great chance of taking the competition with just one hole left .

Greg Rothwell (4) & Ged Grogan (9) have prevailed after outlasting the field to win the JS Chorlton trophies . For Rothwell it was partial redemption for his unusually poor showing in the Club Championship , magnificently regrouping to take his 19th Board Competition victory ( only his 2nd pairs title , both with Grogan  ) a week later than ‘planned’ while his partner Ged Grogan was taking a landmark 10th Board Competition (4th pairs win with his 4th partner) .

Rothwell was the star of a front 9 that saw the pair get to the turn 2 points off the lead as he plundered no less than 3 gross birdies at 2 ( a 4 pointer ) 4 and 9 whilst Grogan had crucially aided the great man with pars on 7 and 8 and had chipped in a valuable point on their runt 3rd hole .
Their back 9 was steady rather than spectacular with the single-handicapped duo contributing relentless par golf throughout , less rewarding points -wise but seeing them take closer order and now just a point behind as they stood on the 16th tee . Rothwells’ 11th and final contribution of the day came at the benign 16th to take 2 points and it was left to Grogan to take advantage of his slightly higher handicap by superbly 3 pointing the final two holes to take the victory on countback for a famous victory .
 

George Sainthouse (18) and Bob Kay (13) are two of our most experienced members and today they have come soooo close to adding to their personal trophy hauls . The duo had 5 3-pointers in a front 9 that saw their 23 point total just 2 off the lead with their highlights a couple of Sainthouse 3-point pars on 1 and 9  whilst Kay weighed in with 3-point pars on 4 and 7 with the highlight  a superb birdie on 6.
All pairs found the back 9 slightly more difficult but this wily pair continued to pick up points with crucial 3-pointers on 10,11 and a superb Kay effort on 15 taking them to a slender one point lead with just 3 holes left . But could the duo last out in the relentless  heat ? George had played tremendous golf to score on  8 of the first dozen holes but seemed to wilt in the conditions whilst  beshorted Bob thankfully had seemed to thrive on the latter holes having taken total charge of point-scoring from the 13th .. Kay parred both 16 and 17 to maintain that lead and they essentially needed o record a par 4 at the last to hold on . Sadly , a 5 from Kay saw a 2 point reward which heartbreakingly denied them the trophies to cruelly lose on countback . Nevertheless a quite magnificent effort from this popular pair to finish in second place.

Dan Bartley (9) and Joe Hatfield (11) were a pairing that were having their first outing together with Bartley playing his first competitive round since September whereas Hatfield had finished a very creditable 7th in the Club Championship . The duo started well with Hadfield scoring 5 of the first 6 holes including a precious 4 point birdie at the first and a second birdie on 6 . Bartley provided pars on 7 and 9 and they finished the front 9 on 23 points , 2 points off the lead . Their only reverse came with a 1 point effort from Hadfield on 10 and (like most pairs) they found 3 pointers hard to achieve but crucial pars on 14 and 15 saw them now maintain their position just 2 points back  . Could they take advantage of their comparative youth  and march through to take the trophies ? Sadly , they couldn't get the birdie they desperately needed on 16 and two 3-point pars by Joe on 17 and Dan on 18 left them 2 points short but an encouraging third place to build on should this rare pair choose to try again for glory in the future .
 

Andy Mills (18) and David Doughty (11) are local golfers and part of a ‘stable’ including recent Bailey winner Richard Paulson that regularly enjoy our beloved course . Today the chums made a great challenge to take the precious trophies , starting superbly on 1 courtesy of a Mills 4-point birdie , the highlight of a front 9 that saw him plunder another  3-pointer on 3,with Doughty then scoring heavily on 4,5 and 7 in a 23 point front 9 only spoiled by a careless 1 point effort on 6 .The back 9 saw the pair again start explosively with a 3-point Doughty birdie on 10 consolidated by a Mills 3-point par on 11 as they came to our fearsome Amen Corner . A Doughty 3-point par on 13 was precious and they stood on the 15th tee in joint leadership and in a great position . Sadly neither of the duo could tame that hole with a Mills 7 claiming just one measly point and now leaving them still just one point behind but could they shine on the closing ‘ Championship’ holes ? A Mills 4 on 16 and 3-point par on 17 kept them frustratingly one shy of the summit and realistically needing a birdie to take the trophy but Mills again provided the points but a 2-point 5 left them a point away and in 4th place . A fine effort but one ultimately that did not deliver because of the two 1-point hauls in the round .

Special mentions ...

Matt Goodall (8) & Greg Hall (22) were a new pairing that have made a strong challenge today . The duo had a 23 point front 9 highlighted by a 5 hole burst of 3 pointers from 2-6 that temporarily saw them jointly lead the competition but solid but unspectacular  play left them 2 points off the lead as they started for home . A solid Goodall 2-pointer was followed by a trio of Hall pars with his magnificent 4-point par on 12 the highlight  which saw them take the outright lead with 6 holes to go . Could the new pairing maintain their form ? Amen Corner bit back with a Mills 2-pointer on 14 and tragic blob of 15 proving to be a major setback for this big-hitting duo . A precious 3-point par by Greg on 16 again saw them take closer order and again just a point away but a 2 point Hall bogey saw them finish a point shy in 5th place and doubtless rueing the blob on 15 that probably cost them the title . GDPR prevents your scribe put out further theories as to why one of the duo was perhaps more likely to be too tired  in the relentless heat but nevertheless a truly fine effort from the duo and it will be very interesting to see if they pair up again in the near future .
 

Nick Alderson (16) & Nat Thomas (12) were a new pairing suggested by your scribe himself .A whisper from him to Nat Thomas in a game last week that suggested that 4-time BC winner Alderson may be available for today helped to bring the pair together and little did they know how spectacularly they would start ! A phenomenal FIVE point Thomas eagle ( net CONDOR ) at the uber-tricky opening hole immediately propelled them into the lead and Thomas maintained form with consecutive  3-pointers on 3 and 4 further highlights saw them still in joint leadership as they stood on the 7th tee . A flat ending to their front 9 saw them drop back to 3 points back but they continued to battle with Alderson crucially keeping them in touch through Amen Corner scoring 7 points on holes 12-14 . Thomas roared back into action with a supreme 4-point birdie 3 on 17 leaving them one of 4 pairs just one point off the summit with a hole to go but crucially their 22 point haul from the front 9 meaning that a 3-point par on the last would have given them a countback victory . Sadly an Alderson 1-point 6 meant that they finished back in 7th place but illustrating just how close the contest was on this fine dry sunny day . This observer would be very surprised if the duo aren’t seen to pair again for future campaigns given their superb efforts today .
 

Pete Higgins (23) & Mark Caffrey (14) are , by common consent  , one of the strongest pairings at our club with Knockout king Caffreys” all-round excellence honed with the occasional brilliance of  Higgins rolling back the years to his low-handicap past . Today the duo blasted their way to the top of the leaderboard with a superb 25 point haul highlighted by a superb Higgins 4-pointer on 2 with 3 point par returns on 4 and 9 with Caffrey weighing in with 3-point pars on 1,4 and 7 to take them 2 points clear as they reached the turn . Although they were to consolidate matters with a Caffrey 3-point par on 10 they came back into the pack with just 5 points from their next 4 holes and although 3-pointers followed from a great Caffrey par on 15 and a Higgins  net birdie 5 on 17 it was too late to get them back into contention and they finished in 8th position .

Defending Champion Watch ...

Keith Ralston (9) and Mark Snape (6) gloriously won this event last year and have again put together a strong campaign finishing in 7th place ... a 21-point front 9 haul was highlighted by 3-pointers from Ralston on 2,4,5 and 7 with Snape initially perhaps still in hangover mode from his great JFord challenge but providing a trio of 2-point pars as they got to the turn 4 points off the lead , Their front 9 had got off to an ignominious start with a 1-point par on 1 and they repeated that malaise on 10 to further stall their challenge . Snape reminded the membership of his undoubted class with a magnificent 4-point birdie 4 on 12 and although the pair never got close enough to challenge a strong finish with 3-pointers on 15,17 and 18 saw them finish two points from the winners in 7th place and perhaps rueing their uncharacteristically sloppy starts to both 9’s which proved very costly.

Overall , a day where more pairs than most can truly lay claim to ‘hard-luck’ stories as to why they failed to capture the trophies but one which saw a great former Club Champion respond to a previous poor showing in company with his vastly underrated talented partner .