Thurlestone junior wins the Nick Faldo tour event

THURLESTONE ladies had an unusual competition on Wednesday, August 12, called a Rainbow Tees 123 Cha Cha Cha Stableford, played in threes and with varying scores to count.

Jane Edmonds, Sheila George and Sally Nelson Robert were the victorious trio with 80 points, ahead of Fiona Turner, Nikki Smith and Emma Turner (70). Twos were scored on the 17th by Jo Crispin and Bernice Sweetman.

Meanwhile, Thurlestone’s George Inch (pictured) played in the Faldo junior tour event played at Conway Golf Club on August 10 and 11.

He played some superb golf over 36 holes on the first day with rounds of 70 & 71, three under par, and topped the overnight leaderboard.

The final round saw him out last and a solid level par round was enough to win by three shots.

He has now qualified for the grand finals to be played in the UAE in November, on a course called Al Ain, and everyone at the club is super proud of George.

More news of Thurlestone juniors; the South Devon Challenge Cup team played in tough conditions at Borringdon and came tied second with Staddon’s second team on 74 points, Staddon’s first team leading the way with 78.

Thurlestone ladies’ Presidents team travelled to Honiton on for the President’s Trophy Quarterfinals.

They were drawn against Churston and won 4.5-2.5 so well done to them- they are now into the semis where they will face Teignmouth at Holsworthy in early September.

Lastly, the seniors visited close neighbours Bigbury for the return leg of the fixture. Having gained a 4-2 win at home, Thurlestone were looking to maintain their leading position for an overall victory.

Match captain Geoff Holt and partner Mark Greatorex started with a 3&1 win in the first match, followed by a 4&3 victory from David Hook and Mike Croft.

With Bigbury winning the following two matches, the overall final result was finely balanced, however, Ian Linkins and Steve Gallagher settled the nerves by winning their match 3&2. Jim Stewart and Owen Rees drew their match giving a 3.5-2.5 win to Thurlestone.

The final overall result was 7.5-4.5 and the nearest the pins were won by Mark Greatorex (Thurlestone) and Keith Naylor (Bigbury).

WITH an amber heat alert in place, the decision was taken that the Dartmouth ladies’ 27-hole Eclipse Trophy competition would be restricted to just 18 holes.

The decision was a good one - with temperatures in the high twenties, players were beginning to wilt as they approached the final hole and all agreed that a further nine would have been impossible.

While wilting slightly, Jan Cousins was also thriving in the heat. A par on the second is not unusual - it’s stroke index 16 - but the fourth (stroke index two) is a different matter, particularly at the moment when any less than perfect shot will finish in the penalty area.

Further pars on six and nine resulted in a 24-point front nine but “only” 19 points on the back. Her 43 points gave her not only the Eclipse Trophy but also a 1.6 handicap cut, which resulted in a long sought after return to Division One - congratulations Jan.

Way behind Jan, Marilyn Lucas beat Chris Mushens on countback with 33 points.

If the Championship course ladies ever thought that high scores and handicap cuts were their preserve, the Dartmouth course ladies would prove them to be very wrong. In their Stableford, 43 points was only good enough for second place.

Barbara Dally was the unlucky runner up - her fault-free front and back nine beaten by Sharon Jones. Sharon matched Jan’s par on the Championship fourth with a par on the Dartmouth course fourth, also stroke index two and followed it with three further pars to finish with 45 points.

Sharon and Barbara have played beautifully in recent weeks - reflected in 7.4 and 5.5 cuts in handicap since mid-July. Great play!

Kevin Bradley had to take up the handicap cut challenge on behalf of the men in their midweek Stableford. Although Kevin’s round included two blobs there were plenty of pars to more than compensate, resulting in a 43-point win in Division Two and a well-earned cut in handicap. Steve Atkins was second with 41.

In Division One, Paul Brown had a good back nine to finish with 41 points, holding off the challenge from Mark Whitworth by a single point.

As the week progressed, players were finding the heat more challenging and scores headed back to a more normal level. That said, the scores in the mixed Stableford were still above par.

Jodie Kenyon had a good 4-point first hole but was then undone by a couple of blobs on the back nine and she ended the day in second place, one point behind Bobby Wotton’s winning 39 points.

Whereas the Stableford is forgiving of a bad hole, the number keep growing in a Medal - a format which isn’t easy in the current conditions. The Men’s Monthly Medal was also the second round of the Badger Trophy, a scratch competition.

Richie Ogle posted a very respectable 79 in this round but had been unable to play the first round and so was out of contention for the trophy. Rob Haddy was second with 85 but was undone by a high score in round one, which left the way open for Paul Marels.

Fifth on Saturday with 88, his overall score was a trophy-winning 4 points better than Rob’s. Congratulations Paul.

The penultimate mixed friendly of the season saw Dainton Park welcomed to the club. The forecast for a slightly cooler day proved to be wrong but didn’t stop a closely fought contest, which Dartmouth won 3 -2. Many thanks to Carl, Chris and their teams for a lovely meal and looking after the teams in the club house.

Karen Oldrieve was playing in the final of the Race to Woodhall Spa this week - a great chance to play on the course which is home to England Golf.

Conditions in Lincolnshire were as punishing as those in the South West and the bunkers even more fiendish! Karen played well, finishing in the top half but not challenging the winners - a very respectable result in a national competition.