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Congratulations to Kevin Sherwin on becoming this years Tour Champion. It was simply a very good performance over the three days on three very different types of courses. Kevin adapted to the conditions and held his nerve on the last day to run out a very impressive winner.
The Tour started at Brunston Castle on a very windy and damp day. The weather had prevented the ground staff from cutting the fairways and the course played long. The day was won by Richard Meadowcroft (20) on 33 points who also added the Longest Drive award to his days tally. The Nearest the Pin was awarded to Mike Hughes. In second came Kevin Sherwin (24) on 32 points followed by Les Smith (14) on 31 points.
It was good to see Brian Abell back on the Tour following his absence from last year, even if it was only to pick up the Piggin Awful Trophy for 16 points—a trophy that Brian says belongs to him!. Good days golf on a course that we all said we would like to play again in better weather conditions.
It was then off to the South Beach Hotel and the start of the Pool competition organised by Phil Smith. Thanks Phil for organising this—the eventual winner on the Saturday night was Richard who picked up the money plus everything else in the bar!
On to Lochgreen on the Saturday for an early tee-off so that we could all watch the England World Cup Qualifier in the early evening. The tee started off lively with a competition for the Shortest Drive. Unfortunately we did not have a prize for this but this achievement cannot go un-rewarded so we do have a photograph of the eventual winner on the page somewhere. No clues but he then went on to win the Longest Drive at Lochgreen—Jon Downs. The course played very long and the Nearest the Pin was saved until the following day with no-one (out of 19 players-pretty poor really) not hitting the green.
The Stableford Winner for the day was Kevin Sherwin (23) with a fabulous 40 points and who later felt the backlash of the “Handicap Chopper”. The Chopper took 4 strokes off his handicap to clip his wings for the following and final days play. Everyone asked whether he could cope with such a drastic, but deserved loss of shots—only after the last days play would we find out. In second place at Lochgreen was Les Smith, our 2006 Tour Champion, who was having a good weekends golf. Bit quiet at the bar but easily recognised by one of the worst shirts you could possibly imagine—even the camera did not want to know!. Anyway a good 36 points for Les which kept him on the heels of Kevin for the last day at Belleisle GC. Having won the Nearest the Pin trophy the previous day at Brunston Castle, Mike Hughes wanted another Trophy and promptly helped himself to the Piggin awful trophy at Lochgreen for returning 22 points. The shirt competition in the evening was just too much for my camera!!. No one could compete with the “Mother of them all” (I wanted to type something else here!!!...but thought better of it) the shirt worn by Phil Smith stole the night for the “Simpson’s”. It was loud, it was colourful, you would not be seen dead in it outside of a shirt competition, but it has to be said it was not that bad. The reason he won was that the judge (one of the waitresses) just fancied the pants of Phil…..it just has to be said...even if Clare (Phil’s wife) does read this.
The Tour started at Brunston Castle on a very windy and damp day. The weather had prevented the ground staff from cutting the fairways and the course played long. The day was won by Richard Meadowcroft (20) on 33 points who also added the Longest Drive award to his days tally. The Nearest the Pin was awarded to Mike Hughes. In second came Kevin Sherwin (24) on 32 points followed by Les Smith (14) on 31 points.
It was good to see Brian Abell back on the Tour following his absence from last year, even if it was only to pick up the Piggin Awful Trophy for 16 points—a trophy that Brian says belongs to him!. Good days golf on a course that we all said we would like to play again in better weather conditions. It was then off to the South Beach Hotel and the start of the Pool competition organised by Phil Smith. Thanks Phil for organising this—the eventual winner on the Saturday night was Richard who picked up the money plus everything else in the bar!
On to Lochgreen on the Saturday for an early tee-off so that we could all watch the England World Cup Qualifier in the early evening. The tee started off lively with a competition for the Shortest Drive. Unfortunately we did not have a prize for this but this achievement cannot go un-rewarded so we do have a photograph of the eventual winner on the page somewhere. No clues but he then went on to win the Longest Drive at Lochgreen—Jon Downs. The course played very long and the Nearest the Pin was saved until the following day with no-one (out of 19 players-pretty poor really) not hitting the green.
The Stableford Winner for the day was Kevin Sherwin (23) with a fabulous 40 points and who later felt the backlash of the “Handicap Chopper”. The Chopper took 4 strokes off his handicap to clip his wings for the following and final days play. Everyone asked whether he could cope with such a drastic, but deserved loss of shots—only after the last days play would we find out. In second place at Lochgreen was Les Smith, our 2006 Tour Champion, who was having a good weekends golf. Bit quiet at the bar but easily recognised by one of the worst shirts you could possibly imagine—even the camera did not want to know!. Anyway a good 36 points for Les which kept him on the heels of Kevin for the last day at Belleisle GC. Having won the Nearest the Pin trophy the previous day at Brunston Castle, Mike Hughes wanted another Trophy and promptly helped himself to the Piggin awful trophy at Lochgreen for returning 22 points. The shirt competition in the evening was just too much for my camera!!. No one could compete with the “Mother of them all” (I wanted to type something else here!!!...but thought better of it) the shirt worn by Phil Smith stole the night for the “Simpson’s”. It was loud, it was colourful, you would not be seen dead in it outside of a shirt competition, but it has to be said it was not that bad. The reason he won was that the judge (one of the waitresses) just fancied the pants of Phil…..it just has to be said...even if Clare (Phil’s wife) does read this.
Oh, I think I was the one that everyone on the Quiz sheet predicted would be going to bed last on the Saturday night. I made the decision that, as so many of you were counting on the points, I could not disappoint you all, so I did stay up until the early hours to keep the night bar staff company. I made the fatal mistake of asking him directions for Belleisle Golf Club for the following day….some of you will know why that was fatal… I quickly went to bed!!!!
So, it was off to Belleisle Golf Club—a great course and one that everyone enjoyed the previous year—perhaps my favourite. The question to be answered -
could Kevin Sherwin cope with his reduced handicap of 19 and return a Stableford score that would give him the Stableford Tour Championship. Could he keep ahead of his playing partner Les Smith who was chasing him down on the last day...and who could see every shot unfold as he nervously went about the business of winning his first Tour win. He responded well, held his cool, kept his nerve and returned 29 points to beat Les by 4 points. The Stableford Winner at Belleisle was Steve Rushton with a fabulous 33 points who had a superb game of golf with John Smith coming second on 32 points. Hats off to you Steve, this was a great game of golf—having only been playing a few months. Well done—a great win. The Longest Drive went to Phil Smith and on the last day we had two Nearest the Pin Awards and they were won by Graham Cooke and Andrew Abell. Russell Howard picked up the Piggin Awful trophy for 16 points.
The Strokeplay Championship Trophy was awarded to Les Smith wh
o came in second on the Stableford and second on the Strokeplay. However, and has agreed prior to the weekend, the Trophy was awarded to the person in second place to avoid a member receiving two Trophies. Congratulations to Les on winning this Trophy and to Steve Rushton for finishing in third position overall—well played.
It was great to be back in Scotland and the hospitality at the Hotel was second to none. Great Hotel, great courses, great company and finally great play by Kevin and all of you. Thank you all for paying your deposits and balances on time—it really does help. Finally well done to Graham Cooke for a job well done as Captain.
Oh!!...and something else happened over the weekend that I could easily forget about. Port Talbot...no, Port Sound….no, I know...Port Vale something or other won the Match play Ryder Cup thingeemeejig...not that anyone cared..but credit where credit is due...it’s the only thing Vale will win this year. Well done to Peter and his Team.
So, it was off to Belleisle Golf Club—a great course and one that everyone enjoyed the previous year—perhaps my favourite. The question to be answered -
could Kevin Sherwin cope with his reduced handicap of 19 and return a Stableford score that would give him the Stableford Tour Championship. Could he keep ahead of his playing partner Les Smith who was chasing him down on the last day...and who could see every shot unfold as he nervously went about the business of winning his first Tour win. He responded well, held his cool, kept his nerve and returned 29 points to beat Les by 4 points. The Stableford Winner at Belleisle was Steve Rushton with a fabulous 33 points who had a superb game of golf with John Smith coming second on 32 points. Hats off to you Steve, this was a great game of golf—having only been playing a few months. Well done—a great win. The Longest Drive went to Phil Smith and on the last day we had two Nearest the Pin Awards and they were won by Graham Cooke and Andrew Abell. Russell Howard picked up the Piggin Awful trophy for 16 points.The Strokeplay Championship Trophy was awarded to Les Smith wh
o came in second on the Stableford and second on the Strokeplay. However, and has agreed prior to the weekend, the Trophy was awarded to the person in second place to avoid a member receiving two Trophies. Congratulations to Les on winning this Trophy and to Steve Rushton for finishing in third position overall—well played.It was great to be back in Scotland and the hospitality at the Hotel was second to none. Great Hotel, great courses, great company and finally great play by Kevin and all of you. Thank you all for paying your deposits and balances on time—it really does help. Finally well done to Graham Cooke for a job well done as Captain.
Oh!!...and something else happened over the weekend that I could easily forget about. Port Talbot...no, Port Sound….no, I know...Port Vale something or other won the Match play Ryder Cup thingeemeejig...not that anyone cared..but credit where credit is due...it’s the only thing Vale will win this year. Well done to Peter and his Team.
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ANNUAL TOUR TROON, SCOTLAND 2008 FINAL SCOREBOARD | |||||||||||
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Brunston Castle |
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Lochgreen GC |
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Belleisle GC |
TOTAL | ||||
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H'cap |
Points |
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H'cap |
Points |
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H'cap |
Points |
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POINTS |
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Andrew Abell |
18 |
19 |
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18 |
30 |
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18 |
29 |
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78 |
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Brian Abell |
30 |
16 |
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30 |
22 |
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30 |
23 |
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61 |
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Kevin Abell |
20 |
30 |
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20 |
33 |
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19 |
16 |
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79 |
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Graham Cooke |
18 |
18 |
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18 |
32 |
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17 |
23 |
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73 |
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Jon Downs |
17 |
29 |
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17 |
29 |
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17 |
22 |
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80 |
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Phil Greatbatch |
21 |
25 |
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21 |
26 |
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21 |
24 |
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75 |
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Ed Green |
12 |
16 |
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12 |
33 |
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12 |
24 |
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73 |
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Russell Howard |
30 |
25 |
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30 |
25 |
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30 |
16 |
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66 |
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Mike Hughes |
18 |
17 |
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18 |
22 |
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18 |
26 |
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65 |
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Peter Meadowcroft |
24 |
30 |
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24 |
34 |
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22 |
23 |
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87 |
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Richard Meadowcroft |
20 |
33 |
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18 |
35 |
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16 |
26 |
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94 |
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Steve Ruddell |
19 |
24 |
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19 |
30 |
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19 |
21 |
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75 |
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Steve Rushton |
30 |
30 |
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30 |
32 |
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28 |
33 |
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95 |
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Kevin Sherwin |
24 |
32 |
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23 |
40 |
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19 |
29 |
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101 |
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Peter Simms |
14 |
19 |
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14 |
27 |
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14 |
25 |
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71 |
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John Smith |
26 |
18 |
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26 |
23 |
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26 |
32 |
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73 |
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Les Smith |
14 |
31 |
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14 |
36 |
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13 |
30 |
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97 |
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Phil Smith |
8 |
30 |
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8 |
34 |
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7 |
22 |
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86 |
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Phil Stonier |
14 |
22 |
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14 |
26 |
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14 |
27 |
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75 |
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Andrew Abell |
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NEAREST THE PIN |
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Mike Hughes |
No Winner |
Graham Cooke |
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LONGEST DRIVE |
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Richard Meadowcroft |
Jon Downs |
Phil Smith |
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STABLEFORD WINNER |
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Richard Meadowcroft |
Kevin Sherwin |
Steve Rushton |
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STROKEPLAY WINNER |
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Kevin Sherwin |
Kevin Sherwin |
Steve Rushton |
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PIGGIN AWFUL PRIZE WINNER |
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Brian Abell |
Mike Hughes |
Russell Howard |
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OVERALL WINNERS | |||||||||||
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TOUR STABLEFORD CHAMPION |
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Kevin Sherwin (101 points) |
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2nd Place |
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Les Smith (97 points) |
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3rd Place |
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Steve Rushton (95 points) |
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TOUR STROKEPLAY CHAMPION |
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Kevin Sherwin (net 223 strokes) *Cup presented to Les Smith |
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2nd Place |
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Les Smith (net 229 strokes) |
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3rd Place |
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Steve Rushton (net 233 strokes |
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Kevin Sherwin
keeps cool and
wins in Scotland
