R Gyves & Gardner Trophies
Jim & Owen Fallon (39/40/79/18/61) …
have come together today to gloriously embrace the Greensomes format and totally spreadeagled their 24 rival pairs for their first pairs Board Competition and Jim’s’ second after his breakthrough Watson victory . Today the popular brothers started steadily and played the tricky opening hole to regulation but then succumbed to a net bogey 6 on 2 …incredibly that reverse was to be the only one the boys suffered as they relentlessly and expertly dismantled and completely bossed our beloved course .The duo began their rise up the leaderboard courtesy of consecutive net birdies on 3 and 4 … in the holes to the turn , further gains were achieved , most notably on 6 with a brilliant net eagle 3 to get to -3 , just one behind the leaders ( none other than Wilson Trophies winners your scribe and Andy Moss who had strolled to -6 after 5 holes only for their challenge to tragically burn out ) … the brothers got to the turn in fine style with consecutive net birdies on the deceptively difficult 8th and 9th holes to reach -5 , now good enough for joint leadership with the experienced Drury/Gleave combo . But could Jim and Owen maintain their form in this difficult genre of the game ? The answer was a resounding yes as they delivered a trio of gains on 10,11 and 12 which finally gave them the outright lead by two strokes then consolidated their position by safely negotiating the other Amen Corner holes highlighted by a superb net birdie 5 on 15 which crucially tightened their grip on the trophies with their lead now extended to four strokes <span> </span>as they stood on the 16th tee with just the Championship holes to come . A final gain on the benign 16th hole allowed them to play the final two holes to regulation thus finishing with a truly magnificent net 61 to take the competition by four strokes .
Ged Grogan & Glen Rothwell (35/35/70/5/65) …
played very well,in this format last year finishing in third place . Today the talented duo played to a high standard but only had a 5 stroke handicap at their disposal . They produced an excellent flawless front 9 highlighted by a birdie 3 on 4 , consolidated by a further gain on 5 , playing the remaining holes to regulation to get to the turn at -2 , 3 strokes from the lead . Could they take closer order on the journey home ? They answered emphatically yes with an immediate gain on 10 with another net birdie 5 on 12 which left them now 4 strokes away from the dominant Fallons . Sadly , Ged and Glen dropped their only stroke of their round on 13 but regrouped tremendously well with consecutive gains on 14 and 15 ( superb birdie 4 ) to keep in touch of the leaders , four strokes back but with only the Championship holes to play . They parred in with the highlight the net birdie achieved on 17 and finished on a wonderful net 65 which gave them second place , doubtless gobsmacked as to their Herculean efforts being four strokes short .
Dave Drury & John Gleave (38/44/82/16/66) …
are a couple poles apart in terms of their Alty achievements , with Drury having distinguished himself with 3 Board Competition victories with his faithful golfing manservant Gleave still awaiting his breakthrough at Alty despite a decent career in the duos beloved works’ golfing society where he has enjoyed victories ( his most treasured plundering silverware on the tight Mold course in Wales) . Today , blessed with a generous 16 handicap , the duo put together a quite marvellous AND flawless front 9 . After playing the tricky opening trio of holes in regulation , Dave and John shot net birdie4s on 4,6 and 8 with their highlight a sublime net eagle 3 on 7 which helped them get to the turn on -5 , which gave them a share of the lead as they started the journey for home . Unfortunately their back 9 was more rollercoaster with superb gains on 12 and 17 tempered with a sloppy reverse,on 11 ,13 and a net DB 8 on 15 meant that by the time they stood on the 16th tee to,play the Championship holes they had fallen 6 strokes behind . That said , the duo regrouped well and consecutive gains on 16 and 17 helped them to an excellent net 66 for an encouraging 3rd place finish …
Keith Ralston & Mark Snape (38/37/75/8/67) …
have an enviable record in that they have won a pairs Board Competition in each of the last three previous years ( including tasting glory in this event in 2018 ) and the low-handicapped pair have a magnificent total of 25 Board Competitions between them . They came into this event as one of the favourites and today the duo had a rollercoaster start , splicing frustrating reverses on 1 and 3 with encouraging net birdies on 2,4 with momentum accelerated by a supreme birdie 3 on 6 … they played the final three holes to the turn in regulation and started the journey for home on -1 which was 4 strokes off the lead . Although they started well ,plundering consecutive gains courtesy of a tremendous birdie 3 on 11 then a solid net birdie 5 on 12 Amen Corner would be troublesome with back to back bogeys on 14 and 15 seeing them effectively out of contention , 8 strokes off the lead with just the Championship holes to play . The duo showed their undoubted class with a magnificent net eagle 3 on 17 with a further birdie 3 on the final hole to finish on net 67 and in a very creditable 4th place .
Defending Champions Watch …
David & Neil Royle were sadly not available to defend their title today …
Best Gross …Messrs Grogan and Rothwell had that distinction today … much respect to them with a sublime 70 !
Overall a day very much enjoyed by the vast majority of members , some of whom were able to enjoy the benefits of their bigger hitting partners . Conditions were relatively benign and ideal for good scoring and 14 of the 25 pairs did beat their adjusted handicap scores .
