125th anniversary going with a swing at Bognor

Bognor won the overall competition but there were prizes for the best combined teams. The winning team was Jane Russell and Louise Colvin with partners from Copthorne Rosie C-Hill and Jan Wilson.

Second were June Salt and Nicki Vincent with their partners from Copthorne Julie Weddell and Stefi Argnani. Third were Margaret Martin and Gill Harries with their partners from Copthorne Sue Walkden and Janet Scott.

Next year the competition will be hosted by Copthorne.

Bognor’s 125th anniversary celebrations got off to an excellent start when 112 senior gentlemen played in a four-ball better-ball Stableford competition. A best four-man team score was added.

Scoring was of a very high calibre. The course was immaculate thanks to Rob Brown and his staff.

After the game, the players were treated to an excellent buffet and all eyes were on the tremendous prize table.

The event was sponsored by Kevin Holland Funeral Services with special additions from the senior section.  

Prizes, presented by Kevin, were excellent with club jumpers, golf shoes, shirts caps and balls for the prizewinners while the first three also collected engraved cut-glass vases.

4BBB result - 1, Steve King and Malcolm Dodds 50pts, 2 Steve Flack and Mark Ireland 48, 3 Phil Conisbee and Bruce Williams 47 (cb), 4 Alastair Murray and Trevor Ridges 47, 5 Mike Hornby and Brian Boustead 46. Best four-man team results - 1 Alastair Murray, Trevor Ridges Mike Hornby and Brian Boustead 93pts, 2 Steve King, Malcolm Dodds, Mike Wilson and Horace Roberts 92; 3 Ian Bright, Sean Francis, Mike Matthews and Alan Saunders 91.

This event will be repeated next year to compete for the Holland Trophy and will become a great new addition to the seniors’ calendar.

Thanks went to the seniors’ committee for their hard work and to all the players for making the day so much fun.

The 125 Medal Day ran from 8am to 9.15pm and had three tees: white for men, yellow for seniors and red for the ladies.

On the white tees, Andrew Greig won on countback with nett 66. Alan Entecott was second on countback from Chris Lovell and Mark Prothero, all with 66.

On the yellow tees, Richard Riseborough won on countback with nett 65. Rod Searle came in second, with Steve King third with 66.

The red tees saw Nicki Vincent win with an outstanding score of nett 64, eight under handicap on the ladies’ card. Jackie Herbert came second, beating Rita West on countback with nett 70.

The winners and runners-up of each set of tees will win gold and silver medals donated by club president Peter Mitchell.

Congratulations go to the winners and thanks go to Peter Mitchell for his generous sponsorship.

CHICHESTER

Chichester ladies’ division-one team stayed unbeaten in the league rounds and will now play Highwoods in the quarter-finals on July 19.

Their division-three side won their last game against Royal Eastbourne and will meet Goodwood in the last eight on July 14 (pictured).

Caroline Hawkes and Fiona Walsh have qualified for the Coronation Foursomes area final at Caversham Heath on August 1.

SELSEY

The veterans’ section of Selsey GC had their presentation day, which started with 14 holes of golf for 36 members.

Presentations started with the St Wilfrid’s Hospice Cup being awarded to Jeff Wootton by the hospice’s Jasmine Cotton and veterans’ captain Reg Ewens, who later presented a cheque for £150 from the proceeds of the day to Jasmine for St Wilfrid’s.

Next award was to Harry Newman for winning the Ted Sherman Trophy, played for by members over 75. Harry is just over 90 and still playing very well. The presentation was made by veterans captain Reg Ewens.

The winter singles presentation to winner Richard Jarvis of the trophy, bottle of spirits and a glass was also made by the vets’ captain.

The Brexit Cup was awarded, also by the vets’ skipper, to winning pair Peter Hartard and David Winter.

Weekly winners and runners-up were awarded their bottles or vouchers, while thanks went to Tony Terry for organising the presentation day.

COWDRAY PARK

Cowdray ladies in the silver division competed in the Bowyers Cup, an 18-hole scratch strokeplay. This is played simultaneously with the ladies in the bronze division competing for the Stowers Salver.

Results - Bowyers - 1 Sue Brown gross 84; 2 Wendy Street 88; Stowers - 1 Brenda Rees gross 91; 2 Catherine Staples 93.

Roy Penrose has been Cowdray seniors’ match manager against Pycombe for ten years, but in his last fixture in the role, at the end of a high-quality day of golf, he was left to rue this was the strongest team Pyecombe had put out during his time and they won 5½-2½.

Penrose and partner John Lee led the teams out, but it was to be a baptism of fire for Lee (who takes over as match manager against Pycombe next year) when they came up against Pycombe captain David Leach and partner Peter Ferns, who were on top of their game.

It was a similar story for many Cowdray pairings, who generally played very well but found the downland course’s nuances being magnified by a stiff breeze. The locals had the experience to overcome these minor distractions.

Cowdray’s Derek Smith had a wonderful opening few holes with four pars and one birdie in the first five holes, but they were still only just level after five, but eventually they carved out a narrow win.

David Tilley and a newcomer to the seniors, Richard Shears, were the only other winning team. But Cowdray’s late stand-in, the dependable Ian Heustice, and partner Mike Cardiff battled to a respectable half.

The course was excellently presented on a lovely summer’s day, and the result apart, it was a very enjoyable day for Cowdray, with Pyecombe making them most welcome.

Cowdray look forward to returning the compliment and seeking revenge at home on Thursday, July 20.

Results: Roy Penrose and John Lee lost 6&5, Nick Austin and Richard Burden lost 1 Down, David Heard and Sam Howes lost 3&2, Mike Hughes and Barry Overington lost 4&3, Derek Smith and Dave Wickham won 2&1, Alan Gormley and Graham Ralph lost 3&2, David Tilley and Richard Shears won 2&1, Ian Heustice and Mike Cardiff halved.

CHRIS McDONNELL COLUMN

With the Irish Open, Scottish Open and The Open Championship in the space of a three-week period, July is the peak month for golf in the British Isles. Of course, the latter is the tournament that excites everyone most.

The Open is my favourite major tournament of the year, purely because a links-style golf course really tests all areas of a golfer’s game. To become Open champion you must be able to control your ball flight, have great imagination and have the capability of dealing with various winds and weather conditions.

This year The Open takes place from July 20 to 23 at Royal Birkdale, near Liverpool. Having played Royal Birkdale myself, I can attest that the course is very demanding from tee to green, with holes surrounded by huge sand dunes. The dunes make perfect vantage points for spectators, though, so it’s an excellent course for viewing.

My pick for this year is Englishman Justin Rose. For those of you who can remember, Justin Rose achieved global fame in 1998 at Royal Birkdale with an incredible fourth-place finish in The Open as a 17-year-old amateur.

He turned professional soon after and went on to the European Tour, where he missed a staggering 17 cuts in a row, enough for any young golf professional to rethink his choice of career. However, after this disappointing start he weathered the storm and in 2007 he became the number one golfer on the European Tour.

In 2013, when he was a Goodwood golf ambassador, he won the US Open Championship, the first Englishman to do so since Tony Jacklin in 1970. He also represented Great Britain in the Rio Olympics in 2016 where he won gold. 
Rose has overcome very tough times to reach such heights and is a fantastic role model for young people taking up the sport. A return to Royal Birkdale will certainly bring back fond memories and with his skills and experience I think he is a leading contender.

For anybody wishing to go up and watch The Open, it’s surprisingly good value for such a huge event. Under-16s go free and those aged 16 to 24 pay only £10.They also have camping packages for families wishing to go for a few days. I highly recommend it.

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