Royles Challenge Trophy 12th. October 2019

Royles Challenge Trophy 12th. October 2019

Royles Challenge Trophy Contenders

The Royles Challenge is our only aggregate Stableford competition and regularly provides a close result . Today 5 teams ( and a DQ ) came within 2 points of each other ...

George Sainthouse (20/17/37) & Bob Kay (17/21/38) have prevailed in an extremely tight contest ... Sainthouse elevated himself to legendary status as he picked up his 12th Board Comp but amazingly his 6th pairs title with a SIXTH different partner ... for ex Captain Kay it was his 5th Board Comp and his first pairs title of his Alty GC career . The duo started well and took an early lead courtesy of 3 net birdies and a great net eagle 2 (BK) in the first three holes . A GS blob (6) and BK one-pointer (4) contributed to them faltering but steady play got them to the turn in a three way tie for second 3 off the lead . The back 9 saw them take closer order with a 14 point haul highlighted by 3 net birdies on  the opening trio of holes got them to within one of the N/S Royle combo and five points clear of the chasing pack . A superb net eagle 2 (BK) on 13 took them into the lead and although they stalled with two  poor holes they retained the lead with 3 holes to go but with just 2 points separating the top 5 . A solid 9 point haul with A crucial RK net birdie on 17;left them level with serial pairs winners Ralston and Snape standing on the final hole . GS played the hole to hcp whilst BK kept up his back 9 momentum with a trophy-clinching net birdie to take them to 75 points .

NB Sainthouse was winning this competition for the second time after winning it in 2016 with Alty treasure Ken Dixon .
 

John Hogan(14/20/34) and Captain-elect Stuart Mason (23/18/41) were a scratch pairing but they combined superbly today ... Hogan was to have a rollercoaster front 9 contributing 14 points highlighted by a magnificent net eagle 3 on 7 whilst Mason continued in his rich vein of form with a ‘best in show’ 23 point haul with a blemish-free gross 36 yielding 5 net birdies to reach the turn 3 points off the lead . Hogan’s scrappy play continued yielding only 7 points on holes 10-14 whilst Masons’ momentum was temporarily halted with a blob on 12 the nadir of a paltry 5 point haul in the first quartet of holes but the pair combined to take 11 points from the next pair to stand just 2 shots off the lead . With Hogan showing his undoubted class on the final holes to be the main back 9 contributor Mason still maintained some form to finish with an 18 point back 9 salvo to leave them one point short of glory in second place .

Nathan Butterworth (16/18/34) and Lee Cullen (17/22/39) were another unfamiliar pairing who were strong contenders today ... Butterworth is a worthy contender for player of the year and started predictably well taking 10 points from his opening four holes whereas Lee blobbed the opening hole played to hcp on 2 then came to the party on 3 with a net birdie . Inconsistency hampered their challenge on the front 9 with a NB blob on 5 and 4 dual scores of 3pts or less meaning that they finished down the field 7 off the leaders at the turn . A 9 point haul on 10/11/12 dropped them further behind and now 10 points behind with just 6 holes to go . The duo immediately started to claw their way back with impressive 6 pointers on 13 (4 pt LC birdie ) and 15 helping them to cut the deficit to just 2 points with the final three holes to come . Momentum was maintained with a 10 point salvo on 16/17 to take them to just one point from the lead as they stood on the 18th tee . Lee stepped up with a magnificent net birdie 4 to collect 3 points ( and complete an awesome ‘best in show’ 22 point back 9 contribution) leaving Nate to try to follow suit ... sadly he was to fall short with a net bogey 5 to leave the duo agonisingly one point away from a countback victory . Nevertheless a fantastic effort and evidence that this format does give competitors a chance to come from lowly positions to strongly contend .
 

Keith Ralston (16/18/34) and Mark Snape (21/18/39) are a combination that have gathered 20 Board Competitions in their Alty GC careers with KR attempting to get his third of the season today  . Last years Gyves/Gardner winning pair rightly started as one of the favourites for this event and they quickly got into contention with a 12  point salvo on the opening couple of holes with the highlight an opening MS birdie . The rest of the front 9 saw them steady but unspectacular but they still managed 37 points ( Snape recording a magnificent gross 35 for 21 points) to leave them 3 off the lead at the turn . They could only get 9 points on 10-12 and consequentially fell 6  behind but roared back into contention courtesy of 14 points at the next trio of holes with both of them parring 15 which closed the deficit to just one back ... successive 5 point hauls on 16 (MS birdie 2) and 17 (MS net birdie 4) meant that they shared the lead on 18 but had them potentially  poised to win on countback . Sadly neither of this stellar duo could make their mark and two 5s equated to a lowly 3 points and a fourth place finish .
 

Neil Royle (22/19/41) and Stewart Royle (18/16/34) are the ultimate pair with no less than eight pairs Board Competitions together with Stewart also having two other successes with different brothers . This ‘family firm’ have enjoyed continuous success and today represented one of their last opportunities to maintain a Royle success every year since 2009 . Today saw Neil dominate proceedings and produce a stellar front 9 including a superb opening 4 hole burst yielding 4 consecutive 3 point net birdies and producing 22 points whilst ‘senior’ partner contributed 18 points to take them to a 3 point lead at the turn . That lead was trimmed to one 3 holes later as despite a superb start to their back 9 with 6 points on 10 they faltered on the next couple of holes . Further angst came with two crucial blobs on 13(SR) and 15(NR) leaving them 2 points behind on a crowded leaderboard . Given their legendary appetite to win Board Competitions it was no surprise to see that the brothers posted the highest score for the final 3 holes with NR birdieing 16 and 18 whilst SR parred in . Although they had the agony of finishing behind the winners on countback further angst was to follow as a DQ was confirmed on the pair ... nevertheless a fantastic effort . 

Defending Champion Watch ...

Sadly last years winners Andy Slater and Steve Foley chose not to defend their title .

Best Holes ...

5th placed scratch duo of Keith Walton and Mark Caffrey managed a magnificent 8 point haul on the 4th with both players birdieing the hole .

Down the field those two high handicap banditos Peter Higgins and John Wilks also managed to match an 8 point return on the 7th with both players getting pars .
 

Overall an exciting days play and a very enjoyable format for the members !