Friendlies
Friendlies
Mitcham – Home Leg
Result: Draw 2-2
The home leg of the Richmond Ladies v Mitcham Ladies match took place on Saturday 10th June on The Duke’s Course.
Mitcham brought out their “big guns” for the 4 ball better ball match. The trophy has been in the firm grip of Richmond Ladies for the last two years, so it appeared that they want it back.
The team consisted of Lena Kenny, Julie Smith, Sheena Harrington, Maureen Slade, Lia Donath, Jan Oliver, Doreen Dolby and Cheryl Woodhouse.
It was a perfect summer’s day and the match ended in a 2 all draw.
The Richmond Ladies entertained their guests at a new venue, Brula, for dinner afterwards.
The away match is to be held on 12th August.
Rickmansworth Friendly Match
Report due soon. More…
Rickmansworth – Away Leg
Result: tba
Report to appear here.
Ladies Mitcham Friendly Match
The Ladies lost narrowly on the day away at Mitcham but won the two-legged event. More…
Mitcham (Ladies) – Away Leg
Result: 1½-2½ Loss
Overall result: 4½-3½ Win
The second leg posed much more of a challenge to RPGC ladies than the home leg. Conditions at Mitcham are always very different from those at the Park, having to contend with the ‘Mitcham bounce’ as well as greens that run true but which have many more contours than we are used to. But our decisive win in the home leg ensured that we retained the trophy.
Sadly the sun decided not to shine for much of the match and we all got a good soaking before it was over. Despite the weather we all enjoyed our match and the hospitality of the Mitcham ladies and we let their ladies have sight of the trophy during dinner before we took it home for another year.
The team comprised:
Sheena Harrington & Julie Smith
Ann Gardner & Veronica Mitchell
Tracy Wright & Doreen Dolby
Cathryn Leftwich & Cheryl Woodhouse
Ruffian’s Ryder Cup
Result: 12-3 Win
This year’s event took place at Richmond Park on Friday July 22nd and Saturday July 23rd. Ludlow brought a team of 8 men and 2 ladies, captained by Michael Hinks-Edwards (an ex. RPGC member) and including their club professional, Dan Francis. RPGC were represented by Paul Appleton, Jon Cooper, Julian Diamond, Paul Grand, Peter Harrington, Toby Hunt, Dave Marsh, Richard Owen (2005 team captain), Ian and Julie Smith.
The first day’s four-balls went well for RPGC, with a 4 to 1 lead built up for the second day. The Ruffian’s dinner took place on Friday night at the Orpheus Greek restaurant in Richmond. The RPGC team left the restaurant shortly after midnight but the Ludlow team stayed on well into the early hours.
Saturday’s singles started at 11am and the momentum built up by the RPGC the previous day was continued. All of the RPGC players played well and the final landslide result (RPGC 12 points, Ludlow 3 points) was the biggest victory in the competition so far. All of RPGC’s players scored points for the team on Friday, Saturday or both days.
At the presentation ceremony after the match, when the Ryder Cup was handed back by Ludlow, we were thanked for our hospitality and promised a stern test next year at the racecourse.
These are photos of Friday evening at the restaurant.
Rickmansworth Friendly Match
The Men granted a 2-4 advantage to the visiting team. More…
Rickmansworth – Home Leg
Result: 2-4 Loss
Winning pairs: Tony Archdale & Tony Pickard, Paul Grand & Toby Hunt
Losing pairs: David Marsh & John Ahad; Also: Stan Potts, Vic Wadley, Geoff Foreman, Bob Marshall, Peter Cunningham and one other.
I can advise that the Rickmansworth home friendly was lost 4-2 in perfect golfing weather. Unusually, play took place on Prince’s. The return match will require effort, skill and luck to reverse the form.
The pairing of Paul and Toby led the way by securing a 6&5 win over the opposing Captain Gary and his partner Gordon. With 46 points the home sweep was also theirs.
After the match with splendid wholesome food at The Dysart, their captain revealed Rickmansworth’s proud tradition competing in Bournemouth week with some personal anecdotes from his 12 attendances.
Smokers will recall a loud clatter in the outside seating area which turned out to be a boomerang that went astray from Richmond Park. Fortunately nobody was injured and the owners rather sheepishly collected the object.
Mitcham (Ladies) – Home Leg
Result: 3-1 Win
The first leg of this annual friendly between Mitcham & RPGC took place on Saturday 11th June with the Richmond Ladies running out winners 3-1.
As current holders of the trophy this gives us a great head start for retaining it this year. The Mitcham team was fielding a relatively inexperienced side as many of their ladies were competing in a NAPGC event, however, this merely meant that we Richmond ladies had to give that many more shots as their handicaps were quite high.
Everyone enjoyed both their match and the meal afterwards at the Dysart. Indeed there were many comments on how well we treat them after the game, which compensates for the lengthy time spent on the course!
The team comprised:
Sheena Harrington & Doreen Dolby
Maureen Slade & Kate Friswell
Cathryn Leftwich & Jini Beacham
Lia Donath & Ann Gardner
Well done ladies and let’s make sure we win at Mitcham!