Stuart McAloone and Graham Troth in a keenly fought final beat Chris Rushton and Jono Edwards.
All four first drives were on the fairway, but Chris and Jono found the right rough with their third shots. Chris managed to get to the edge of the green and sank a wonderful long putt for the win, with their opponents missing their pars. The second was halved in three. All square playing the third, Jono hit a lovely pitch to 10 foot and sank the putt for a birdie, and in turn making it two up to them. The fourth was halved in four. That was followed by another win at the fifth and now three up. Stu and Chris found the green on the sixth, but Jono chipped close for a par and with Stu just missing his birdie, the hole was halved. Graham parred the seventh with a shot and at the eighth sank a nice eight foot birdie to reduce Chris and Jono’s lead to one. The ninth was halved, and so was the tenth, along with the next three holes. Chris and Jono won the 14th, and with four holes to go looked like the favourites to go on to win. But a par at fifteen by Graham was enough to win that hole and claw back a hole.
Chris’s drive at the sixteenth went left and it wasn’t found. Jono hit a lovely pitch from the right hand cut rough only to see it fall off the back of the green. He would go on to miss a down hill putt for par and take a five while Stuart claimed the four with a nice putt, and in turn the game was all square.
With decent drives off the seventeenth tee, it had become a tense affair. Graham from the middle of the fairway hit a six iron to fifteen feet and sank the putt for a birdie and for the first time in the game went one up. All drives hit the fairway on eighteen. Stu’s approach shot came up fifteen yards short of the green. Chris hit a wonderful hybrid that looked all over the flag but rolled off the back of the green. Jono’s iron just stalled against the wind and finished on the front of the green.
Graham’s six iron approach was hit nicely to pin high approximately fifteen foot away. Stu decided to use his hybrid to chip but left it fifteen foot or so short of the pin. Chris’s chip was good off the back of the green, but really needed to go in to take the game into extra holes. Jono’s long putt attempt came up short also. Graham didn’t need his birdie attempt putt as Stu rammed his fifteen footer in for a par to seal the win!
A wonderful final to be involved in. So much friendly banter, and that is what golf is all about.
