A somewhat depleted field took to the course to battle the wind and rain. It was already reduced in numbers because of the Ride London road closures, but less than 50% of those on the start sheet materialised to play. Scores, it is fair to say, were definitely weather affected with none of the 14 playing to the SSS of 37 points. No doubt most were in shock after some 6 weeks or so of blazing sunshine.

After the front 9, Martin Heinrich appeared not to be bothered by the conditions with his 21 points, but he could only muster 15 on the back 9. However, his 36 points secured him the win by 4 points from Luis Oroval and Peter Jagger both on 32. Results…

CSS was 34 points meaning that Martin gets a 0.6 reduction to his handicap.

A slightly reduced field (mainly due to NAPGC comps) braved the hot conditions for the Edward Cup. Winner on a commendable 42 points was Stephen Haworth with Jeremy Ryan 2nd 41 points on countback from Peter Needham and Oliver Maskell 4th 40 points. Leading lady was Ann Gardner 38 points. Results…

CSS was raised one from SSS to 37 points. Peter was cut two playing shots.

Ladies

The leaders after the first week were in full fight mode and both Veronica Mitchell and Alison Chadwick recorded net 68s for the second round. With the ball rolling ever further as the ground gets paler and harder by the day there were 12 birdies recorded by the ladies, which must be a record for one day. R2 Results…

It would have required a monumental effort by the field to catch the leaders in the gross, and though most played either to handicap or below, it was nowhere near enough to catch them. Habe Crocker therefore retains the Club Championship with a 154 with Veronica 10 shots behind on 164. Overall Results…

As is often the case, the result was reversed for the Handicap Cup, with Veronica 9 shots ahead of Habe. Results…

With only 5 competitors in the higher handicap division, there is only a winner for the Pembroke Cup and Lady Captain, Alison Chadwick, held onto her lead after the first round in a much tighter competition to hold off Joan Mulcahy by one shot. Results…

With such good scoring CSS was reduced by 1 to 72. Both net winners earned playing handicap reductions, with Veronica getting an ESR of one shot to drop her to 13.6. Joan followed up her cut of last week with a further cut and Avi Murphy was the last of the ladies to cut her playing handicap.

Men

The course is keeping its links look and feel. Fairways are still offering interesting roll after carry but the greens were a tad slower but also more receptive.

In the Senior Division Chris Lordan went into Rd 2 with a small lead over the defending champion Jay Barker. The two contestants both went out in 37 gross. It has to be noted that one player in their flight may have been a bit more nervous than normal. How else do you explain the fact that he topped his tee-shot and didn’t make it past the ladies tee? Both Jay and Chris had volatile backward nines. In the end Jay proved to be a bit better in limiting the damage. His gross score of 78 is enough to retain the RPGC Club Championship. Results…

Aidan Hurley put in the best score today (76 gross), closely followed by Seong Lim (77). Roger Rojas (78) and Jeremy Ryan (79). Captain Nick Rogers’ weird preparation didn’t yield the expected results: he spent last night watching Pretty Woman (!) from start to finish. He can’t even blame anybody else because the choice of movie was all his doing.
Congratulations to Jay.

In the Junior Division Peter Harrington started the day with Tony Kopczak breathing down his neck. The club’s secretary was able to turn the tables on the chasing pack. The good front 9 was followed by a steady back 9. A score of 86 (gross) added to previous week’s score of 81 makes Peter the winner of the junior division by 5 shots (he narrowly avoids an ESR). The round of the day goes to Paul Neuhardt whose 88 (gross) gets rewarded with a new handicap of 21. Well done Peter. Results…

In the Handicap Trophy for the best net score Peter Harrington was a clear winner on 126 over brian McMahon on 131. Results…

The net (sweep) for the day was won by <tba>. Results…

In conditions rapidly resembling the African Serengeti during the dry season, 20 competitors (half the field) returned scores in the 60s. Very early clubhouse leader Jon Cooper held sway with 64 but was soon trumped by yet another fine round from winner of Claret Jug Bruno Clerckx. Bruno also returned lowest gross – nice one Bruno. A clutch of 64s returned by Jack Evans, Jon and Toby Hunt. Impeccable 65s came from Seong Lim, Gunnar Sundberg, Jon Ramphul, Peter Needham and Oliver Maskell. Leading lady was Gina Jillett 67. Results…

Reflecting conditions, CSS was pared back one from SSS.

Amit Acharya joined the ‘Twos’ at the 4th in a round marred only by some loose drives.

Ladies

No great surprise that the leader of the gross competition is Habe Crocker with a gross 74. The closest contender is Veronica Mitchell who played six under her handicap to record a gross 80. The remaining competitors will have to put in some sterling performances next week to catch them. Results…

In the Handicap Cup, positions are reversed in the low division with Veronica some four shots ahead of Habe with the rest trailing some way off. For those with handicaps over 18, in the Pembroke Cup things are a lot closer. Joan Mulcahy leads the way on a net 66 from Alison Chadwick and Fiona Coombe on 68. Results…

CSS went to 68. All of the above receive cuts to their handicaps, with Joan earning an ESR of an additional shot. Special mention to Jane Fraser who recorded a rare eagle on the par 5 9th hole.

Men

Things sort of went like planned in Round 1 of the Senior 2018 RPGC Club Championship with Jay and Chris slugging it out. Both players matched each other with scores of 36 gross on the way out. An untidy 18th hole by Jay allows Chris to take a slender one shot lead into next week’s final round. Keith Cassidy played an excellent back 9 to remain in contention with a score of 74. Richard Owen was the surprise package of the day. He matched Keith’s score of 74 and earns a spot in the 1st group out next Sunday. Pete Davis, Tim Meyer, Aidan Hurley and Damian Hackett (who will probably be sued by the people of Richmond Park for denting every tree on the front 9) are back on 76 and need to pull out all the stops to have any kind of chance. Results…

The “juniors” seemed to enjoy the extra roll/bounce on the course a lot better than the seniors. The Secretary Peter Harrington for once wasn’t on handicap marking duty and slides into 1st place with an 81 gross (more on his net score later …). Tony Kopczak did an excellent job matching Peter’s score. But the countback rule pushes him into 2nd. Charlie Whiteman (83), Anis Driaa (84), Nathan Street and Steve Cross all have a chance next week to catch Peter. Results…

In the Handicap Trophy for the best net score Peter leads on 59 over Tony 61 and Richard 62. Results…

CSS: 66 (net). Chris’ handicap gets a small cut. Richard Owen gets rewarded with an ESR of 0.5. His new handicap now stands 11.

Slightly cooler conditions than of late prevailed and with no recent rain to assuage variable bounces some areas of rough had been cut back from the fairway.

Captain Kim Chaffert led from the front recording an amazing 64 and lowest gross. Bruno Clerckx challenged on countback 69 from Michael. Choo, Chris Jones and Jon Ramphul. Following her victory on Sunday, Alison Chadwick led the ladies with 70. Results…

Reflecting the conditions, SSS was lowered by one. Kim may have to self-administer an Exceptional Scoring Reduction having set a marker net differential of -6!

Unsurprisingly, Kim leads the Midweek Anniversary Accumulator after two round on 139, just one clear from Michael Choo. Ann Gardner, Chris Jones and Sheena Harrington provide the immediate competition on 145. R2 Leader board…

Going out really early wasn’t the best plan of action. None of the very early starters completed all the 18 holes. A tidy 68 by Jay Barker couldn’t prevent CSS moving temporarily up to 73 for the men. The nice weather and the course conditions seemed to inspire (or favour – make your choice) the ladies today. Ladies’ Captain Alison Chadwick withdrew at the last minute from the Men’s Invitation yesterday. It clearly helped her focus on today’s comp. A net 67 safely guided her to victory. Her competition handicap also drops back to 20. Jay’s held off a very steady round by Tenesi (68 net) to keep 2nd place. Ronnie’s improved play on the back 9 moves her into 4th (70 net) . Keith Cassidy and Seong Lim complete the Top6. Just to prove that it is worth to keep at it: Jeremy Thompson didn’t finish the 2nd hole. But his perseverance over the remaining 16 holes yielded the equivalent of 41 stableford points. As a reward his competition handicap now stands at 14. Results…

CSS: 70 (Men)/72 (Ladies)

In the Anniversary Trophy standings, Jay keeps his lead ahead of Keith Cassidy. R3 Leader board…

A great turnout considering it was going to be touch and go as to whether we’d be back in time for the 3pm start of the England v Sweden game. Ten pairs fought it out in blistering temperatures, umbrellas and wide brimmed hats were the order of the day.

Ann and Tamas got off to a flying start with a birdie on the first, however their back 9 let them down with a blob on the 12th and only managed 3rd place, a consistent performance with 20 out and 20 back could have been enough to secure victory on a normal day for Ronnie and Pete, however this wasn’t a normal day. Jon and Susan had a mediocre front 9 but warmed up for an exceptional second 9, scoring gross level par and 24 points, winning the men’s invite with 42 points.

And to top off the day, England progressed to the next round.

Another glorious summer day greeted competitors for the July medal. An even-paced but spectacular 64 from Cathy Stavely won the medal with Oliver Maskell close behind on 65. Oliver was one under par standing on the 13th tee but then unfortunately dropped more than his handicap in two holes. There then followed excellent 66s from Michael Choo, Paul House and Jeremy Thompson. Results…

CSS remained at SSS 67 (Men) and 69 (Ladies)

In the associated Midweek Grand Medal after 5 (of 8) rounds, the early leader is James Barker chased by Chris Jones 366 and then just 44 shots adrift Paul Grand. R5 Leader board…

Ladies

As the course starts to resemble the savannah, the ball was running forever. But the combination of this with the rough still heavy and dense and issues with correct clubbing meant that the winning score was 2 over the SSS at 71 and CSS remained at 69.

After the front 9, not many would have put money on Gina Jillett being the eventual winner having used up 13 shots of her 15 handicap by that point. However, a little bottle of prosecco after the 10th provided the necessary boost and she only dropped a further 3 shots on the back 9 to win on countback from Elaine Elborne. Results…

Men

The course must have been starting to feel like a Russian Roulette or a penalty shoot-out. Extra bounce on the fairways is making it nearly impossible to judge where the ball will come to a standstill. Conditions were pretty tough. Just 9 of 41 players remained in their buffer and 15 players didn’t finish all the holes. To put that in perspective: that is 36% of the today’s field.

Paul Hackett took victory with a solid 66 net. Seong Lim played a strong back 9 to finish 2nd with 67 net. The star group today was the 8.24 tee-time. Shaun Dupreez recorded a 68 net. His clubhouse lead didn’t earn him the cocktail glass but 3rd place will do nicely. Captain Nick Rogers played an excellent front 9 but four wobbles on the back 9 prevent him from finishing higher than 4th (the wobbles were a 7 on 10, a 5 on 17 and a 6 on 14 & 18). There clearly was a Crocodile Dundee dress code in that group. Peter Osgood only emulated the Captain dress code but not his scoring … Mark Laverty and Kerry Sargeant complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 67

The round was the fifth of eight rounds for the Grand Medal Trophy. Jon Cooper retains his lead but is just one of a handful to have recorded 5 rounds. R5 Leader board…