Watson Trophy 30th June 2019

Watson Trophy 30th June 2019

Watson Trophy contenders

David Christian has taken the second board competition of his Altrincham career with an ultimately dominant victory in the Watson Trophy . He had a rollercoaster front 9 ( starting with reverses on the opening hole ,7 and a net double bogey on 8 with gains on 2,5,and a net eagle on 6 ) to get to the turn on level par 4 shots off the lead ... your reporter had the honour of playing with DC and his efforts on his back 9 were truly magnificent . He immediately gained a shot on 10 then a net eagle 3 on 11 took him to -3 and into the lead ... back to back net eagles on the teak-tough 14 and 15 meant that he had gained SEVEN shots on his previous 6 holes and had effectively turned the comp into a procession . Christian could afford to net bogey the easy 16th then play the final two holes to handicap to finish on 6 under  87/22/65 and 3 strokes clear of the 50 strong field . The handicapper reacted swiftly and docked him 1.8 to a new mark of 19.7 .

Gary Gilbert had played extremely well the previous day to finish a creditable third place in the James & Roland West Shield . Today he again played solidly in his front 9 and gains on 3,4 and 7 put him in a strong position as he stood on the 8th tee at 3 under and just one shot off the lead . Inexplicably he faltered and dropped a shot on the two benign final holes to get to the turn 3 back from leader Gary Shaughnessy .

His back 9 started poorly with a net bogey 4 on 10 but he got the shot straight back with a birdie 3 and consolidated his momentum with further gains on 12 and 13 to get to 3 under to momentarily join new leader David Christian at the top of the leaderboard . A further gain on 15 and par on 16 saw him now 2 shots behind Christian with 2 holes to play ... sadly Gilbert was to limp home dropping a shot on the final hole to end his campaign on 80/12/68 and his second placed showing of the weekend . The handicapper cut his handicap by 0.4 to leave him on 11.4 .

Paul Southworth harvested 6 Board Competitions between 1999 and 2009 and left the club for a period before returning 3 years ago ... today he has put up a strong showing and he maintained the consistency which he had shown in previous weeks highlighted with a placing in the Gellatly just 3 weeks earlier . His front 9 included gains on 5 and 7 with his only reverse on the innocuous 6th hole to leave him 1 under at the turn and 3 shots off the lead . A strong quartet of pars ( including gains on 12 and 13 ) strengthened his position and got him to 3 under and joint leader . Sadly he crucially suffered back to back net bogeys on 15 and 16 to fall away and although he regrouped to reclaim those shots with successive net birdies on the final holes his 79/11/68 gave him an encouraging third place finish on countback deserving of an 0.4 cut in his handicap to 10.7 . 

Gary Shaughnessy is one of our most decorated high handicapper with 8 board competitions in his Alty career ... he has always been capable of producing the occasional stellar display , usually in the genre of pairs competitions ... now on a 29 handicap , his front 9 catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard courtesy of net birdies on 3,5 and highlighted by a net eagle on 4 ... he did not drop a shot in that period and stood proudly at 4 under at the turn . Unfortunately Gary was unable to sustain his form with two shots immediately dropped on 10 to quickly surrender his advantage... although he immediately regrouped with a net birdie on 11 that was to be his last gain with further reverses on 12,15 (double) and 18 sending him tumbling down the leaderboard to finish 101/29/72 and in twelfth position .

special mentions ...

Ian Wood 81/11/70 ...a fine round from one of our longest hitters with a stunning start putting him -3 after 4 holes with his overall  highlight a great net eagle 3 on 14 but who was to finish 5 shots behind the winner with too many leaked shots on the ‘easier’ holes ( 4 on stroke index 13,15 and 16 (double) ... a 1 under finish was still good enough for 4th place .

Bernie Wood ... one of three Woods in the top 10 , evergreen legend Bernie has not had much success of late and his front 9 was reflective of his frailties on the front 9 with only one gain ( 4th ) against reverses on 5,8(double) and 9 to get to the turn well down the field at 3 over . He started the back 9 sluggishly with another shot dropped on the benign 11th that  seemed to signal a further decline down the leaderboard ? But Wood Sr regrouped magnificently and gained 3 shots over those testing closing holes to record the second equal best back 9 of the day and a respectable 9th place finish .

Best gross ... Stewart Royle 75/5/70 had the lowest round of the day and finished in fifth place today ... three birdies ( 5,11,18 ) in the round were the highlights for the former Club Champion .
 

Defending Champion watch ... sadly 2018 Watson Trophy winner Brian Cawley was not in attendance to defend it .