Watson Trophy - 13 June 2020

Watson Trophy - 13 June 2020

Watson trophy - the contenders

Stuart Mason (80/13/67) is our 2020 Captain , and in this extraordinary year the club has had to manage the pandemic on behalf of the membership then endure a long wait until mid-June to finally start our Board Competition summer season under his stewardship . Despite these pressures Mr Captain has ‘hit the ground running’ with a superb display to take the 7th Board Competition of his career with a performance built on a high standard of iron play , magnificent course management and one where he was able to retain and improve his score whilst others fell away .

Mason started steadily , playing the tricky opening couple of holes to handicap before recording back to back net birdies then again playing to handicap until a (net) birdie on 9 took him to -3 at the turn which meant he was just one shot off the lead . Crucially whilst others faltered Mr Captain steadied his game to par the opening three holes of his back 9 with holes 10 and 12 net birdies , almost holing his wedge approach on 12  which elevated him to lead just one stroke ahead of the field . The next three holes were to prove crucial and Mr Captain again went into steady mode , playing Amen Corner to handicap ... by the time he stood on the 16th tee he had increased his lead to 4 strokes despite not gaining any strokes personally given the frailty of his challengers over those same holes . Curiously Stuart finished his round dropping his first shot of the day at the benign 16th and he could afford to net bogey the final hole to finish with a net 67 and compile a total an astonishing 19 shots better than his last competition one week earlier . He  outlasted his 51 rivals to stroll to a victory which has built on his wonderful 2019 season where he captured 4 Board Competitions . This ends his barren showing on ‘even year’  Board Competitions . The handicapper duly noted his continued improvement and docked his handicap by 1.1 to a new mark of 12.0 .
 

Peter Higgins (94/25/69) has had a good start to the season and was a countback second place only one week earlier which shaved his handicap to 25 . Today he has built on that promise by completing his best summer round for 3 years in finishing in second place today . He started his round (like so many higher handicappers ) sluggishly , dropping shots to handicap on each of the opening three holes before steadying over the rest of his front  9 highlighted by net birdies on 6,7 and 9 (tempered with a further reverse on 8) to get to the turn on +1 , 5 shots off the pace .Peter maintained his position , playing to handicap on the next 5 holes before crucially taking closer order with a net birdie on 15 to leave him in fifth place still 5 shots away but only a shot away from a trio of players in second place .With his golf muscles now fully functioning Peter finished his round well and gained shots on the final two holes to finish 2 under his handicap , snatching second place on countback . The handicapper noted his efforts for the second consecutive week , this time cutting him by 0.8 to a new mark of 24.3 to put the rubber stamp on an excellent start of the season .
 

John Thompson (94/25/69) is one half of the dynamic duo that is breathing life into the club’s  social media ( with golfing partner and big rival Matt Astbury ) and has registered his best summer score for nearly a year with his performance today . Your scribe has played with him on three occasions this summer and there is no doubt that he is a prodigious talent , capable of hitting the ball long and straight but an ability not yet honed enough to give him the consistency to significantly lessen his handicap . At the end of last season he had dropped from 28 to 25 which is the mark he has started on this summer season after a successful winter campaign .

Today JT started well and a tap-in net birdie on the opening hole was followed by a further easy gain on 2 ... the rest of his front 9 saw him drop just one stroke to handicap on 5 despite an enormous initial drive with his only further success a net birdie 4 on 6 . He got to the turn handily placed on -1 which was 3 shots off the lead and told his playing partners that he much preferred playing the back 9 ... we were not prepared for the sensational salvo that followed as he pitched in from the side of the green on 10 to score a net eagle 3 then astonishingly for a man of his handicap sent his approach shot on 11 within 9 inches of the pin for a second successive net eagle 3 to catapult himself to the heady heights of 5 under his handicap which meant that he stood on the 12th tee now leading the competition .
JT has been working with his coach Matt Mew on honing his swing to extend his already huge hitting and , doubtless fuelled by the consecutive net eagles it was no surprise that he went for a huge drive on 12 but wickedly hooked it to the left side of the neighbouring 8th fairway ... he wasn’t able to regroup and stumbled to a net bogey 8 on a hole that he has regularly scored 5 on. Although that only cost him a shot , a wayward iron on the ever testing 13 found water and an overhit third shot through the green then scuffed 4th that didn’t get the ball back on the green saw him finish the hole with a net triple bogey 7 which sadly brought him back to -1 .Thompson played the next 3 holes to handicap before getting his final gain on 17 with his net par at the last bringing his adventure to a close at -2 , an effort which provoked the handicapper to give him the largest cut of the day , dropping 1.2 to a new mark of 24.0 . A round achieved with snatches of brilliance mixed with a general lack of course management but an undeniable golfing rollercoaster . JT harvested one Board Competition last season , the Stableford-format  Golden Jubilee Cup and that format undoubtedly lends itself to his ability to score heavily without the fear that medal golf brings . 

Matt Goodall (79/9/70) had a notable summer campaign last season which saw him take BOTH new Board Competitions on offer ... this season saw him play well on the initial qualifier event finishing in the top 10 then the following day finish 23rd 12 points behind your scribe ( who won that event )  . 13 days later he teed up for the opening Board Competition of the season in the company of three former Captains of the club ...  old chum Norman Crowther with long established pair Gordon Boardman with Alty legend Bernie Wood testing out his newly repaired knee to the bargain . The quartet were notably enjoying the day and it reflected in their front 9  scoring ... Matt had a stellar front 9 which was a gross +1 which equated to a -3 return , highlighted by a net eagle on 4 , net birdies on 5,7 and 9 with his only reverses coming on the supposedly benign 3rd and 8th holes . 

The long-serving former Secretary and Committee member sadly faltered slightly from the high standards of his initial 9  . At the turn just one off the lead held by his playing partner Matt started poorly with another reverse on a short par 4 10th then a net DB on 13 to fall further back and although his final 5 holes saw him achieve net birdies on the tricky 14th and 17th , a further reverse on the benign 16th meant that he finished on -1 and a credible 4th place that he will doubtless feel could’ve been better ... nevertheless a fine effort with the bonus that he achieved the lowest gross score of the day .The handicapper saw fit to dock him by 0.2 to a new mark of 8.8 . 

Gordon Boardman (81/11/70) is a multi Board Competition winner with 12 Board  Competitions to his name but hasn’t entered the winners circle since his Roberts triumph of 2016 . Known primarily these days as the (long-suffering) lifelong devoted chum of Alty legend Bernie Wood , Gordon has maintained his low handicap over many years by his ability to play consistently well .Today he was to show his talents with a superb front 9 ironically matching the gross 36 of his playing partner Matt Goodall . GB started with a net eagle 3 on the opening hole and although he was to suffer a reverse on 3 he regrouped and scored net birdies on 4,5 and 7 to get to the turn leading the field at -4 and doubtless dreaming of a return to glory . Sadly he was to suffer back to back reverses on the benign 10th and 11th , then playing to handicap before a further  dropped shot on 15 left him 4 shots off the pace .Playing the final holes to handicap meant a -1 finish and fifth place on countback with his round eerily similar to his playing partner in its frailty on the ‘easier’ holes . A welcome return to form for the Alty stalwart and a definite positive start to his 2020 Board Competition campaign . The handicapper cut his handicap by 0.2 to a new mark of 10.6 , a great way to start the season !

Special mentions ...

Ian ‘Cheets’ Cheetham (99/27/72) suffered the angst of a horrible start today with a net quad bogey 9 at the tricky first hole to immediately put his delicate golfing constitution under threat ... the lefthander regrouped well and a net birdie 2 on 3 was the highlight of a front 9 that saw him make a further gain on 6 but sadly reverses on 5,7,8 and 9 meant that he reached the turn at +5 , 9 shots off the pace . Ian is known for his relentless practice regime and he is undoubtedly in possession of a fine swing which frustratingly can lack consistency but was good enough for him to take his first Board Comp last season playing his part in a pairs victory with his golfing ‘other half’ Andrew Window , both of whom are now are Committee members .
Cheetham refused to be bowed for the frailties of his opening 9 and responded superbly on a back 9 which was undoubtedly more troublesome to members today . He scored -4 which included net gains on 11,14,15,17 and 18 with his only torment a net double bogey 6 on 13 . Ian came to the attention of the handicapper who has given him his first ever cut since he joined , a drop of 0.4 to a new mark of 26.9 ! 

Norman Crowther (65+3 holes/8/NR) is probably the first NR golfer that your scribe has mentioned in this section in nearly 100 reports ... the reason that he is highlighted is because he was in a group that included front 9 leaders Goodall and Boardman ... whilst they were both playing superb gross 36 golfing Cinderella Norm NR’d on 4,7 and 9 to effectively finish his interest with the competition . Did NC continue to be a sideshow in his quartet in the back 9 ? Absolutely not ! He produced a superb gross 37 which was the best of the day highlighted by a net eagle on 17 but also containing net birdies on 12,14 and 15 with curiously his only reverse coming on the benign 16th . His efforts are a reminder to us all that there is never a better place to test your game than actually on the course no matter how badly you start even if you NR ! In his case he effectively outshone the two front 9 leaders from the turn and gained a huge dollop of self-respect by refusing to let the course better him .
 

Best gross ...

Matt Goodall (79/9/70) has bagged his first ‘best gross’ mention since your scribe began the practice.

Defending Champion watch ...
David Christian ultimately cruised to victory in this event last year but how did he fare in his efforts to defend the trophy ?
(114/20/94) - as his regular golfing partner I was a witness as  sadly his campaign to defend the title ended ignominiously after just one hole as a catalogue of errors saw the defending champion record 12 to immediately drop SEVEN shots ... to be fair DC currently has ongoing injuries to his back and shoulder which severely restricted him today . Apart from a net birdie on 4 his card was dotted with purple and further torment with a bunker on 16 caused a quint bogey 8 there . To his credit he refused to NR and he  limped home in 40th position with a net 94. 

Lineal Defending Champion watch ...

As the 2018 winner Brian Cawley was unable to play to actually defend his title last year your scribe thought it apt to declare him as a lineal defending champion given that he still has to be beaten in this event since his victory.
 (101/22/79) the long awaited return of the 2018 Watson winner to see if he could reclaim the trophy was as  inglorious as the 2019 defending champion . The affable Alty treasure never got going with net birdies on 3,5 and 12 his only highlights on a round that never saw him in contention . 

Overall , a day where the majority of the field came dressed for inclement weather when we were treated to a dry day with light winds (and bemoaned the decision to wear long trousers) conditions that usually can result in low scoring but which saw only one man effectively tame the course whilst others could only do it in snatches .A great opener for the Board Competition season  ... roll on the next one ! Our greens are gradually recovering and the next few weeks will continue to provide a stern test for us all .