Tommy Povey Shield 13th June to 26th September 2020

Tommy Povey Shield 13th June to 26th September 2020

For those of you that may be curious , Tommy Povey was one of the most talented individuals to ever grace our beloved course and he won the Bailey Cup back in 1954 but developed his game to such a standard that he progressed to win the JFord in 1959,1960 and 1968 . This competition is a celebration of our elite golfers measuring their performance in white tee medal competitions but can also allow us mere mortals to look down the leaderboard to see our own position . In reality , your Tommy Povey finishing position effectively defines your ranking at the club . Your observer is proud and bemused to have moved up six places to 32nd after this seasons exploits ... check out your position people ! 

Tommy Povey Contenders

 Glen Rothwell - 15 entries , 9 completed rounds , 6 gross wins (449) best score 70

Glen Rothwell cruised to his sixth consecutive Tommy Povey victory , his seventh in total and a spellbinding  21st Board Competition of his Alty career when the competition came to a close on 26th September . Rothwell competed in 15 qualifying events and , although he only completed his round 9 times , had the best gross score on 6 occasions .
 He completed his initial ‘super 6’ after completing his second gross victory in the Geoff Gibson equalling his season best score of 76 for a total of 467 to take command by 8 strokes  after rival Danny Miller had posted 475 a week earlier . Glen consolidated his position one week later with a 77 in the Gellatly to improve by 4 strokes then had consecutive NR’s which allowed his rival to close the gap to just 3 strokes with just 4 qualifying events to play . Rothwell responded in spectacular style with a seasonal best of 70 to win the Autumn Cup and extend his lead to 12 strokes . He recorded his final qualifying score in his penultimate event with 73 in the Jubilee Trophy to cruise to victory by  a massive 16 strokes and gain a measure of compensation for losing his coveted Club Champion title this year . 

Danny Miller - 13 entries , 13 completed rounds , 3 gross wins (465) best score 74

Danny Miller set the pace at 475 in the Tommy Povey by completing his initial ‘super 6’ after recording the lowest round of the season ( and second gross victory) with his trophy-winning 74 in the Trafford Leisure on 16th August . A week later he saw Glen Rothwell take charge but he had the satisfaction of lowering his own total by 5 strokes after his 79 in the Geoff Gibson and, although he was disappointed by his 83 in his next qualifying event (Old Hall) he bounced back with a 79 in the Senior Trophy to cut the deficit to just 3 strokes with 4 events left but could he close the gap ? Sadly he was to miss the chance to improve at the Autumn Cup (then a good but unproductive display in the Divot Party ) but got a stroke closer courtesy of his 78 in the Jubilee Trophy . Given that Tommy Povey leader Glen Rothwell failed to improve his position in the final qualifying event , Miller knew that the trophy was completely out of his grasp given that he had to complete the course in 62 strokes to prevail ... that said , the great man had finished second for the second consecutive year so a fantastic effort over the season .

Stewart Royle - 11 entries , 11 completed rounds , 3 gross wins (475) best score 77

Stewart won this prestigious competition back in 2010 and has contended many times … this year he set his initial 'super 6' at a relatively high 485 strokes with his early highlight his gross 77 in the Coronation Cup . An immediate 5 stroke improvement came in his 7th event with his stunning success in the Seniors Trophy with a gross 78 . That left him still a massive 17 strokes off the pace and although he would improve his position further with solid performances in a Social Medal Subsiduary and Jubilee Trophy respectively he could only lower it to 475 in the 11 events he competed , still good enough for a credible third place for one of our finest golfers . Ironically at  his final event he produced the best gross but 83 was not low enough to affect his position even though it was a great performance in the conditions .

David Royle - 7 entries , 6 completed rounds , 2 gross wins (477) best score 76 

David had the wonderful highlight of capturing the Club Championship for the first time this year but his Tommy Povey campaign was restricted to just 7 events which included gross best performances in the Ray Gellatly and Dave Barton Shield . His DQ in the Watson Trophy meant that he only managed 6 qualifying scores , his 475 giving him fourth place .

Keith Ralston - 14 entries , 13 completed rounds ,  1 gross win (477) best score 77 

Keith had a tremendous season in the Uber-competitive world of net golf but he has held his own in the ‘pure’ gross format . He completed his initial ‘super 6’ scores with his magnificent victory in the Geoff Gibson (where he posted his lowest seasonal score of 77) . He was to improve his overall score with his only gross win of the season in the Old Hall Trophy where he again bettered 80 (79) then followed that up with another excellent gross 80 in the Dave Barton Shield to finish on 477 , losing out for fourth place only on countback but having the consolation of beating his great friend Mark  Snape by four strokes . Overall a magnificent effort which cemented Keith’s’ place as one of our most talented golfers . 

Mark Snape - 8 entries , 7 completed rounds , no gross wins (481) best score 77 

Although sixth placed , Mark has managed such a high finish despite only featuring in 8 qualifying events this season , the first one being the abandoned West’s’ shield comp . He put together a solid initial ‘super 6’ that he completed in 484 strokes then improved his score by three in his final outing with a gross 80 in the Jubilee Trophy to finish on 481 , a supreme effort from an individual who does very little practice and relies on his natural talent .
  

Special mentions ...

The individuals that managed to finish in the top 10 of this prestigious event ...

7th placed Derek Cullen 493 strokes in 11 events with a best score of 80

8th placed Ged Grogan 495 strokes in 13 events with a best score of 80

9th placed John Cullen 498 strokes in 9 events with a best score of 81

10th placed Nathan Butterworth 498 strokes with a best score of 77 

Congratulations to all these players who are truly our ‘elite’ 10 .