Dear All

As I had alerted in my September message, El Capitan has been on an extended break from the Park and his duties because of major heart surgery early in October. Thankfully, I can report that the operation was deemed a success (in the end a double bypass) and I am well on the road to recovery, though it will be early 2020 before I am able to swing the clubs in earnest.

Regrettably, Somerset once again fell short again at the last hurdle of a first County Championship, losing out to Essex. And then England produced a clunker in the World Rugby Cup final after what can only be described as a sublime and awesome performance against the All Blacks in the semi-finals. Despite the letdown, kudos to Japan for an exemplary hosting of the event and also providing some of the most exhilarating rugby I have ever witnessed in their epic match with Scotland (sorry Keith, Richard I, et al.)

It seems that I have chosen quite a good time to take a hiatus as the weather has deteriorated much since September and most of the reports seem to dwell on muddy conditions and worm casts, with temporary greens and even some hole closures making an unwelcome appearance.

Before I get into the reporting on all the recent action on the fairways, please take note of the plans for our Annual Dinner and Prize-giving which will take place on Saturday February 8th 2020 at Malden Golf Club.

ANNUAL DINNER
As Captains of the Club, both Deborah Potter and I would very much like to see heightened numbers of attendees for our Annual Dinner. In particular, we want to look to ensure that winners of assorted prizes doled out on the night are present to pick up their trophies and gift certificates. I am sure the Harringtons would be particularly delighted to minimise the number of trophies that they have to lug back to their home!

With Deborah and myself providing the commentary I am sure you can look forward to some bouts of humour and various names taken in vain!! SO MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND COMMIT TO JOINING US ON THE NIGHT SO WE CAN MAKE IT A MEMORABLE OCCASION.

KNOCKOUTS
With one exception, where injuries and illnesses have conspired to delay matches, the knockouts have all been concluded. In the JH Taylor for handicaps of 16 and below, Habib Amir was a comfortable winner over Jeremy Ryan by 4 & 3. Habib was less fortunate in the Men's Pairs where he and his partner Martin Heinrich were soundly trounced by Henry Lindesay-Bethune and our Vice Captain Kim Chaffart 5 & 3. In the Two Courses for handicaps of 17 and up Paul Green was unable to hold onto his title as he succumbed to Sunny Lall in a competitive contest 2 & 1.

The Ladies Challenge has still to be resolved and will feature Veronica Mitchell competing against Sheena Harrington as they wait for some dry courses and a full slate of holes! At least they have until the end of January to find a suitable date! In the Ladies Double C Lia Donath and Elaine Elborn prevailed in a hard-fought match 2 up over Cheryl Woodhouse and Maureen Slade.

Finally, in the Mixed Pairs Lia Donath secured her second match play title accompanied by Richard Inglis as El Capitan and Lesley Mason were soundly beaten 5 & 4.

MIDWEEK COMPETITIONS
With 21 pairs participating, the Midweek Autumn Pairs saw Brian Ransom and Seymour Laird prevailing on countback over Toby Hunt and Chris Jones after both pairs accumulated fine scores of 45 points. The October MW Medal was scooped up by Alvaro Garcia-Hoz with Mitchell Cohen in the runner-up spot. This was the last round for the MW Grand Medal which was secured by Brian Ransom with Mark Rosamond in second place. The MW President's Prize went to Tore Burman on countback over Vice Captain Kim Chaffart, both finishing with 41 points. The MW Charity Day was snaffled by Sheena Harrington from Mark Rosamond while the MW Harrington Trophy (three clubs and a putter) went to Oliver Khan with Rick Kimber in the runner-up spot. A MW Sweep at the end of October was won by Robin Thomas from Rick Kimber, with Jessamie Dunton-Rose, the first of the ladies. The MW November Medal saw Brett Colley in the winner's circle with Val Riziotis taking the runner-up position.

WEEKEND COMPETITIONS
The last of the Jubilee competitions, the Silver Jubilee, was unfortunately abandoned because of poor weather but the trophy was secured by Rhys Jarvis with James Barker (a welcome returnee to the fold) in second place. Likewise the October Medal was also abandoned the following week with James Barker in the winner's circle followed by Sean Thomas, while on the Ladies side it was Alison Chadwick in the winner's circle. The Charity Cup saw a good turnout of 50 golfers with Kerry Sargeant returning to a top spot from Richard Inglis. The end result of the two Charity days was an impressive 1,000 pound donation to McMillan. Well done everyone! The Lissaman Cup (three clubs and a putter) saw 56 participants in another great turnout with George Taylor taking the spoils and Robin Thomas the runner-up spot. George, Robin, Jessamie Dunton-Rose and Keith Cassidy all finished tied on 67 and only separated by countback. Robin then secured his second Sweep within four days to continue an incredibly rich vein of form with new member Damber Thapa securing a very creditable second place. The November Medal saw Jay Barker securing his second straight Medal glass after shooting a 67 gross. Gregory Jean-Baptiste continued his recent uptick in performance with a very creditable second place. Finally, the first of the Men's Winter Competitions was secured by Tamas Ladacs from Ollie Griffin.

Several accumulator competitions were concluded. In the Top Dog it was Chris Lordan finishing on top (he will be missed as he moves on to Ealing) with George Taylor in the runner up spot. The Anniversary Cup was secured by Henry Lindesay-Bethune from Barry Page. And in the Grand Medal Toby Hunt and Sean Thomas could not be separated as they both finished on 334 points. On the ladies' side it was Cheryl Woodhouse who took home the Duke's Eclectic.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sunday 17th November	Winter Competition Round 2 / P1 (Prince's)
Wednesday 20th November	MW Winter Competition Round 1 (Prince's)
Sunday 24th November	Champagne Chase (Duke's)
Wednesday 27th November	MW Winter Competition Round 2 (Duke's) [replaces previously cancelled event]
Sunday 1st December	Medal (Prince's)
Wednesday 4th December	MW December Medal (Prince's)
Sunday 8th December	Christmas Hamper (Duke's)
Wednesday 11th December	MW Champagne Chase (Duke's)
Sunday 15th December	Captain v Secretary Team Event (Prince's)
Wednesday 18th December	MW Xmas Cracker (Prince's)
Sunday 22nd December	Pairs Mixed Greensomes (Duke's)
Sunday 29th December	Sweep (Prince's)

AUTUMN MIXED
The last of our popular Saturday events took place with 12 pairs participating. Long-time leaders in the clubhouse with a score of 73.5 were Veronica Mitchell and Keith Cassidy but at the death they were superseded by Jessamie Dunton-Rose and Igor Peliugaev with a score of 72.5. El Capitan and former Ladies Captain Alison Chadwick came third in the associated sweep at 74.0. As always, this event was a fun social occasion and welcomed format. Members should really look to participate more in these Saturday events in 2020 as they are always highly enjoyable occasions.

Hit them straight!

Nigel Gaymond (El Capitan)
14 November 2019