2018 Major 1 The Oxfordshire GC
Traditionally, the first ACGA major of the year is a weekender and coincides with the first PGA major, the Masters. It was difficult to distinguish between the two stellar international fields assembled either side of the Atlantic. Would the golfing public concentrate on Jordan, Patrick,, Rory and the returning Tiger? or would the presence of Raf, Phillo, Tye, Tezza and TJ prove too strong a draw? Ultimately, the weather in Augusta drew most of the crowd, but all the excitement was present at the Oxfordshire Golf Club. Now back to reality……..
Twenty six golfers assembled on a mild, cloudy day, and once we’d had all the greetings, introductions, betting and general complaints about who hasn’t been playing and who needs “cutting”, it was down to business. Vice Captain Frank Skinner opened proceedings and then off all the competitors went to warm up and carry out last minute tune ups.
Twenty six golfers initially set off to claim the prize and bragging rights, but only twenty five completed the journey on the Saturday. Steve “Controversy” Garner pulling up lame with a touch of back trouble (probably caused by being out-driven by Cora…… or so Cora reliably informs me). The Oxfordshire was playing long and difficult. The wind, course length and difficult to read greens made scoring well a challenging proposition. 29 points was a popular score with four players hitting that mark. However, one or two players rose above the mayhem and pulled clear of the also-rans. Del Manderson, doing his best impersonation of Ray Charles, led the way with 35 points. Tony “TJ” Johnson was well placed with 34 points, closely followed by Ricky Coward (32pts) and Gary Hobbs (31pts).
Dinner and the evening’s entertainment were of a high standard. The meal was well received by all members and their guests. The after dinner presentations and the usual banter that followed were also a highlight. Special mention must go to TJ who gave a heartfelt talk on the life-saving importance of all men being checked for prostate irregularities. This is a charity that is very dear to the ACGA’s heart and the more we can do, the better it will get.
By Sunday morning, the weather had changed and had become dull and misty. Light rain fell for the rest of the day, but at least the wind had died down. Unfortunately, twenty five players were reduced to twenty four, as Raf Roberts also had to pull out with back trouble. This time, Cora’s long driving couldn’t be blamed. Raf was disappointed that he couldn’t pay out all his bets, but rest assured he has asked for them to be rolled over to the next event he attends…. The course played slightly easier, as the scores reflected. Austin “I only ever score 30 points…” Simmonds scored a creditable 36 points. In fact, nearly half the field scored more than 29pts, which was in stark contrast to Saturday.
After all the scores came in there was only ever going to be one winner. Del Manderson followed his 35pt round on Saturday with 38pts, to win by 9 points over Ricky Coward in 2nd place (32 + 32pts). Donald McLeod was 3rd (29 + 35pts). Special mention here to Donald, who was in pain for most of Saturday’s round and all of Sunday’s, with a recurrence of an old injury. However, he soldiered on to produce a great score. Beware the wounded golfer……
In his winner’s speech, Del thanked Tyrone “Coach” Carter for the hours of lessons over the past few months. They obviously paid off. Frank brought proceedings to an end, and it’s onwards and upwards to Burnham Beeches on the 11th May. Incidentally, for those interested, some guy called Patrick Reed won that other tournament that was going on at the same time as ours….