SOS Golf: WINTER CUP, ROUND 2

The second round of the Winter Cup.

A foggy morning at Wembley?

The tension was palpable. Would Don be able to see off the throng of challengers just a couple of points behind; or would a dark horse emerge and leap into an unassailable lead? Read on to find out more.

Got to get that caffeine fix before the game

For all that, it was a fairly gentle day, weatherwise. A short spell of drizzle caught the later players on the last couple of holes - otherwise that was it.

Fog's gone pretty quickly

And talking of later players, a special award goes to Group 3, who managed to finally complete the 18^th hole more than 40 minutes after Group 2 had left the field. Yes, they paid their fines.

Our own bionic man

There was controversy - of course, there always is - and in the interests of clarification, here’s a reminder from our captain.

Improving Your Swing Path You cannot bend, break or hack anything growing or fixed if it improves you lie, your stance, or your area of intended swing. The penalty for doing so is loss of hole in match play, or a 2 shot penalty in stroke play.

That’s right - no gardening during the round, and leave that chainsaw at home.

Here’s a sad, or at least sobering, thought:

James Johnstone, the starter at the Old Course at St Andrews, said the course is a destination for many golfers suffering from terminal illnesses. Playing at the birthplace of golf is their dying wish, sometimes literally. “I remember one golfer coming up the 10^th fairway wheezing and panting,” Johnstone recalled. “He said, ‘This course is going to kill me.’ It did. On the very next hole, he died of a heart attack.”

So, the novelties:

Men’s Longest Drive on the 15^th - Derek popped one fifty metres, then Brett smashed one to within twenty metres of the green. Mark Hill nudged even further but was just off the fairway. Mark Wilson overtook Brett, but Goochy beat them all.

Ladies Longest Drive on the 7^th - The usual suspects, Shelley, beaten by Lynne, then trumped by Lynley.

Nearest the Pin on the 2^nd - Plenty peppered the green, with the men’s tee pretty close today. Mark Hill managed one ten foot from the green on the right, (and finished with a 4!), but Goochy snuck inside him.

Nearest the Pin in 3, on the 5^th - Ah, the fifth. Earle put his name on the marker early, and pretty close too. It stayed there until Puggy came along and did even better.

Nearest the Pin in 2 on the 10^th - The big hitters all came to the party on this one - Brett, trumped by Goochy, over-trumped by Puggy again.

Yesterday’s results, the second round:

Which means, adding up the scores from the two weeks:

Group	Name	HDC 1	HDC 2	WC1	WC2	Tot	Position
1	Don Beesley	15	15	69	70	139	1
	Shelley Yeo	15	17	74	71	145	2
	Paul Gardner	10	10	74	71	145	3
	Tony Gooch	6	7	75	73	148	4
2	Gerry Tessier	19	20	73	76	149	5
	Derek Longhurst	25	26	74	76	150	6
	Mark Wilson	8	8	76	76	152	7
	Lynley Hunter	11	13	77	75	152	8
3	Earle Scarff	13	14	76	77	153	9
	Lynne Malone	15	17	77	76	153	10
	Gary Burgess	8	8	71	84	155	11
	Frances Longhurst	20	23	76	79	155	12
4	Colin Kerr	15	15	75	81	156	13
	Andrea Williams	15	12	79	79	158	14
	Brett Fordham	8	8	84	74	158	15
	Paul Cooper	12	13	77	81	158	16
5	Tony James	21	22	76	82	158	17
	Greg Bennett	22	23	83	78	161	18
	Barry Treak	20	21	83	81	164	19
	Peter Baird	20	21	77	87	164	20
6	Mark Hill			100	76	176
	Glenn Kelly			100	76	176
						200
						200