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Never has a bacon sandwich had such an effect on the outcome of the LC Trophy.
The decision by Danny to make himself a sandwich at his mums before leaving for the course made the difference. Paul was comfortably leading with 4 holes to play. But he faded due to tiredness brought on by not having lunch or a late breakfast and could only manage 4 points in the last 4 holes. Danny however, used the extra strength gained from the late breakfast and he powered home with 10 points over the same holes to overtake Paul and sneak the win by a single point.
An unexpectedly stunning day in late September with sharp blue skies and a strong sun set the scene for the afternoon at Deangate Ridge. Sadly, due to a combination of work, injury and one with whereabouts unknown only 7 regulars made the start with an additional guest player for the day in Steve Hewitt making up the two four balls.
We had a slightly delayed start as good old SatNav took Les on the longest possible route through the most traffic to the course and he arrived with just 5 minutes to go. Then having to wait to pay his green fees while the Pro had shut up shop to visit the toilet meant he rushed on to the tee after Antony, Danny and Cliff had already driven. He promptly sliced his opening shot wildly into the ditch on the right and just to prove it was no fluke, did it again with his provisional. Never good to start without preparation.
The open fairways of Deangate were clearly not wide enough as I saw almost everyone looking in the bushes or trees at some point, including me. The course, while it is open, hides a number of well placed bunkers and sneaky ditches which caught good shots sometimes.
After Les’ opening blob, he made par on the second with a stunning long 40ft put and then took the running with some strong point scoring on the following 6 holes. He scored consistently and reached 31 points after 16 but the final two holes yielded two more blobs and thus ended his chances. Another who perhaps should have had a bacon sandwich?
Cliff had the shot of the day with a 60 yard chip and run that went in for birdie on the 7th. He blobbed 4 holes on the opening 9, yet still managed 14 points. Any kind of scoring on those holes could have meant a better day for him.
Antony had serious trouble with his putter. He was guilty of getting the line right but with the touch of a sledgehammer, finding the putt coming back further away than the original. Quite often he 4 putted after decent tee to green play.
I did not do anything spectacular. I have played better and scored worse. But what I did do was drive well and sink putts. I saved at least 4 points with fairly longish efforts. Even when I lost my only ball of the day on the 14th I managed to salvage a point with a long putt.
In the second group, Lynda returned to action after a two year break with some fine steady play. Some very consistent golf and she only missed scoring on two holes and even matched her new husband over the closing holes. I think that 36 handicap of hers could see her contend very soon.
Tony and his 8 iron never really got going. A run of 10 points around the turn was the highlight but then just ten more points from the final eight holes meant he also ran out of steam.
And what of the title holder Paul? An excellent 19 points on the way out that included two birdies, put him well clear of the field at the half way stage. He followed this with another birdie on the 11th and a net birdie on the 12th and surely he felt he had it in the bag. Looking at the cards, Paul was 5 points ahead after 14 holes. But then hunger took its hold, he started to drive poorly while Danny’s energy reserves were boosted by that bacon sandwich and he found the final fairways, greens and sank the important putts including a text book straight drive, pitch and two-putt par on the 18th to give him 3 final points and seal his victory for the first time.
It was a shame that the others could not make it. It was another great day and hopefully now with weddings out of the way the Trophy can be played for at its proper slot of early June.
The afternoon of Friday 5th or Saturday 6th June 2009 will be the date of my defence. The Friday is the preferred day but I understand how work is with many but we will look to tee off about 2pm. So mark it in your diaries and calendars now.
1 - Danny Ruler - 37
2 - Paul Walsh - 36
3 -Steve Hewitt - 35 (guest)
4 - Les Hewson - 31
5 - Cliff Humphrey - 28
6 - Tony Botting - 28
7 - Lynda Walsh - 25
8 - Antony Baker - 25
When scores level, position decided on countback of last 9 holes.