Match Play Semi Final

The start time for the semi final of the Match Play Competition was scheduled for 8.20am, one of the earliest in recent memory, and the sun had barely risen over the coastal scarp.  Nevertheless, all the players arrived in time and after a short delay the competition got underway.

The official BOM weather forecast said "Cloudy. Very high (near 100%) chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening - 20 to 30 mm. The chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon and evening. Winds north to northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h tending north to northwesterly 15 to 25 km/h in the late morning and early afternoon."

Other, less scientific, sources forecast "Thunder, lightning and rain; flooding, wind damage likely!" 

In any event, the game was played in brilliant sunshine and moderate wind with not even a distant rainbow to suggest rain!  BOM nearly got it right as a substantial rain system descended from the north west around noon and passed to the west of Rottnest Island and hit Mandurah with a good soaking! 

Later that evening the Perth coastal strip received a number of heavy showers confirming, once again, the rain gods appear to favor the SOS Golf Group!

Shelley, Bernie, Frances & Brett on the 1st tee

Barry, Bernie & Paul waiting for the start.

Barry, Earle, Steffanie & Greg casting long shadows at the early start!

Bernie, Earle, Steffanie & Frances framed by blue skies !

The match referee was Earle Scarff, who was standing in for Club Captain Gary. However, the competition was played without incident and without the need to tap Earle's prodigious knowledge of the Rules.

The Play

The semi finalists all wanted that trophy!

The 4 match players set forth as the first group and all managed to produce commendable strokes off the 1st tee.  So far, so good!

No equipment issues to speak of, although Stephanie's buggy got flattened by a sudden wind gust while she was trying to putt out on the index 1, Hole 11.

No distracting behavior was reported! 

Derek and Frances reflect on their scores.

Match Play Semi Final

For the first time in SOS Golf Club history two women have secured a place in the Match Play Final to be held on the Tuart Course on 12 September 2020.

Congratulations go to Stephanie who beat Peter 2 up, and to Bernie who beat Greg on the 14th hole, scoring 5 and 4.  Many of Bernie's drives were awesome, particularly the one that scored the longest drive of the day! Stephanie just had to wait until Peter hacked his tee shot on the 18th tee into the water, something Peter had developed into an art form over recent months! 

Match Play Competition
Quarter Finals Matches			Semi Finals Matches		Finals Match
Player	Ranking	Winner	Player	Winner	Player	Winner
Shelley	1
v		Peter
Peter	8		Peter
					Steff
Steff	5		Steff
v		Steff
Brett	4
Kerry
v	7	Bernie
Bernie			Bernie
					Bernie
Greg	6		Greg
v		Greg
Tony J	3

Stableford Competition

While the match players set off as the first group, the rest of the SOS players enjoyed a Stableford competition which was won in emphatic fashion by Colin Kerr with 41 points and a 4 stroke margin!

Frances Longhurst secured 2nd place with 37 points, with Barry Treak in 3rd place with 33 points.

Stableford on the Tuart - 15 August 2020
		H/C	Score	Birdies
1	Colin Kerr	14	41
2	Frances Longhurst	19	37
3	Barry Treak	21	33
4	Don Beasley	11	32	Eagle/HIO
5	Phil Wear	20	29
6	Tony James	22	29
7	Brett Fordham	9	28
8	Tony Gooch	5	27
9	Derek Longhurst	20	26
10	Glen Pope	6	26
11	Glen Kelly	19	25
12	Paul Gardner	9	25
13	Earle Scarff	12	20

Birdies data not available. Will be included later! 

    Colin wins by 4 strokes scoring 41 points with a handicap of 14 !

Frances takes 2nd place with 37 points, 4 strokes ahead of 3rd place.

    Barry in outright 3rd place on 33 points.

Eagles

Don scored an Eagle on the Tuart's hole 6 by making a hole in one!

Those that witnessed it said it was a classic double bounce and 'in the hole'.

Congratulations Don!

Golden Hole

No winner today, so the carry forward jackpot should be around $120.

Novelties

Novelty	Hole	Contenders	Winner
NTP in 3	2	Steff, Paul	Tony Gooch
NTP	6	Bernie,	Don (HIO)
LD	15	Steff	Bernie
NTP in 3	16	Greg, Derek, Don	Colin

The Raffle

Congratulations to Phil Wear who won the Raffle's first prize with number 66 and collected the Scratchie.
A welcome change from the run of 1st prizes won by the Vickie and Earle in recent weeks! 

However, co-incidences were still in play as Tony Gooch then proceeded to win the next 3 golf ball prizes in a row! 

Phil Wear collects the 1st prize Scratchie !

Tony Gooch wins 3 balls in a row!

Birthdays

Congratulations to James Weaver who celebrated his birthday on 14 August.

We trust that, like the cat below, he celebrated his birthday in style!

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

The SOS annual 'Christmas in July' event was again held in August for the benefit of those that wish to celebrate the event at a cooler time of the year.

Hosts Kerry and Paul - with hats

Kerry and Paul, both English tragics and about to return to the 'Old Dart', again provided their home for the venue and put in a great amount of work to make it a warm, entertaining event with a sumptuous table of traditional fare. Many others contributed to providing dishes and helping to make the event a great success.

The Secret Santa present picking and swapping was also a source of much fun with a number of presents being swapped multiple times, much to the distress of some.

The following photos provide a glimpse of the merriment!

The turkey, ham and all the trimmings was delicious and the deserts, including traditional brandy cake, sauces, pavlova and whipped cream topped off a culinary sensation !

A competition was held for the best Christmas hat with many fancy creations vying for the award!

Bernie and Matt have recently announced their engagement and several toasts were made to wish them a long and happy future together !  💍  💎  💐

Barry's Tyrolean hat with Christmas embellishments !

The back of the Hat !

Paul had several changes of hat during the evening !

And many thanks to Kerry and Paul for their hospitality in hosting the Christmas in July (or August) !🎇  🎉  🎄

NEXT TWO WEEKS

The SOS Spring Cup will be held over the next 2 weeks, being played firstly on the Tuart Course on 22 August and on the Old Course on 29 August.   This is a stroke competition and Richard Yeo is the current holder of the Spring Cup.

End