Nov 18th - It's a Knockout! Tony Triumphs, Robs Roy
In a glittering awards ceremony held at uber-cool society hangout The Tipsy Toad in St Peter's, Tony Burt was crowned the Order of Merit champion for 2009, beating Roy Gallichan by a mere two points. Brave Roy had attempted to keep his title challenge on track with an early come back but couldn't fight nature and Tony's 12th place was good enough.
Tony was in England with some youngsters that he is grooming, but was able to give the following quote when told of the result "I wish I could be there. I'm well chuffed, superb, in shock, gobsmacked. Thanks to everyone on the Committee for all their hard work, see you at the Royal. Superb. Well Chuffed." Fortunately, Tony lets his specially cut down clubs do his talking.
In a generally low scoring event, Martin Paton won the Norman's November Order of Merit with a tremendous 24 stableford points, beating Mick Kenny's excellent 22 points into second place.
The Birdie King was tied in the end, Paul Horgan and Jason Quenault each receiving a trophy to ensure no countback squabbles (Jason won on count back) could ruin a great night.
Finally, Dan Hare was awarded Clubman of the Year before the Society's thoughts turned to the Royal.
All handicaps are be up to date, Order of Merit final position is in place, Royal teams will be announced in the next couple of weeks.
Congratulations to Tony !
Nov 10th - Knockout titles decided
And so another season draws to an end, with both the Knockout and Plate being decided in the last week.
In the Plate, Mike O'Loughlin beat Andy Dingle with a birdie on the last for his win.
Meanwhile, in the Championship decider, Paul Horgan gave Graeme A'Court 15 shots over 18 holes and won on the first extra hole. Paul had had to birdie the 18th to take the match to extra holes, so well done to both of them for having such a good match.
Given that this time last year Graeme was still recovering from falling off a roof, he is due congratulations for getting to the final.
Roy Gallichan will have to wait til next year to try and win the Crown - he was forced to cede his semi final after sustaining a serious hand injury. Can he "hold on" to win the 2009 Order of Merit ? We will find out on Saturday evening.
Oct 24th - Merit won by Bob - par for Le Corre's !
Bob Le Corre, 13 handicap on 9 holes, won the October Order of Merit, sponsored by C5 Alliance, with an oustanding net 30 strokeplay, 6 under par, on the South course at Les Mielles.
Runner up was Mark "Chamois" Duckett with 32 shots, pipping Mick Le Brocq on countback to the Runner Up prize. Michael Fitzgerald refused to bow to his chronic back pain and continued his excellent run of form with the lowest Scratch score of 38 shots.
Jon Welsh claimed a deserved second consecutive silver tray for worst score with an appalling net 44 - if as expected he is last again in November he gets to keep it !
Tony Burt and Dan Hare failed to capitalise on Roy Gallichan's absence through injury til the end of the season. Shane (Jonny Tourette) Whitwell however made a move to trail Roy by 5 points going into the last round, with both Stuart Hall and Barry Dawkins moving into contention.
Can Roy win the Order of Merit despite not playing the last two rounds ?
Paul Horgan (3 for 18) and Graeme A'Court (18), who turned 60 last week, will meet next week to contest the Society Championship match - results to follow !
Oct 8th : Annual Dinner, November 14th at Pomme D'Or
Dear All,
Nearly time for another annual dinner - the Pomme d'Or is once again booked for 14th November 2009 and we ask that all members make a special effort to attend. We hope to see as many as possible with their partners so we get a good turn out. We are in the top room at the Pomme which has recently had a million pound refit so we would like to fill as much space as possible.
We expect to keep ticket prices to £25 but will confirm along with menu very shortly. The hot/cold buffet we have had in recent years has been excellent.
Please could you reply to me with an indication if you are likely to attend (with partner?) so we can give the hotel an idea of numbers.
Look forward to seeing as many members as possible to support the society, sponsors and our retiring Captain.
Regards
Jon Welsh
Newsflash:
Vice Captain, Roy Gallichan has become the latest victim of the St Peter's Health and Safety curse, unfortunately suffering a serious injury to his hand after a fight with some tiles whilst at work. We're all wishing you a speedy recovery and making the most of your time to come up with entertainments at the Royal
Oct 2 : Combined Servicing
The Jason Quenault-led Combined Emergency Services team gave St Peter's a lesson with a 8.5 - 1.5 hammering last Friday.
Team leader for the day Dan Hare (1 up with 2 to play) lost on the last to Jason, and the only bright spots for St Peter's were a win by Nigel Gillard and a sporting half for Colin Streets.
Regrettably the furze fire on Saturday came too late to save St Peter's.
It should be noted that the Combined Services team also featured wins from Malcolm Pallot and Stuart Hall - regrettably they don't seem to play as well when in the red or white top.
Sept 29 :The Cap Fitz
The St Peter's September Medal, sponsored by Syvret and Turner and Roger Pugsley, was won by Society fines master Michael Fitzgerald with a tremendous 24 points at Les Ormes.
Fitz bravely overcame his chronic bad back to shoot a 3 under par 29, evidently his recent visit to a specialist in the USA helped.
His 4 birdies were matched by Paul Horgan.
Lol Staley came in second with 21 points off 9.
Roy Gallichan took advantage of some easy conditions to come third and has now moved into the overall lead.
Paul Horgan has overtaken Roy Gallichan in the birdie king competition by one.
Michael is shown celebrating with close friends at the Tivoli on Saturday night.