2014 Captain’s day and season summary.
"Kevin Romps Home by a length"...
Kevin "Romps Home" At Lingfield To Claim His First Major
So it came to pass that the ACGA faithful were asked to assemble for one final time in the 2014 season. To congregate in honour of our Captain who was having her last hurrah before handing over the reigns. The assembled throng were asked to don their “happy” faces and duly did so much to the satisfaction of our cameraman and video producer Simon and to the titillation of many onlookers. Our sponsors for the day Legacy Wealth Management would have been pleased to see a turnout of nearly 50 souls to which to make their pitch as would our guests of honour Prostate Cancer Research and the Barbados Tourist Board.
However, there were other important matters to settle over the imposing and impressive 6,511 yards 18 hole parkland course which is home to Lingfield Golf Club. The surrey treasure which shares the same acreage as the Lingfield Racetrack was built in 1987 and will stage the climax to another ACGA season. The usual ACGA bonhomie and banter was more than a match for the overcast sky and the promise of rain. The 36 members and 5 guests (including longtime ACGA supporter DJ Spoony - finally making good on his 2013 Dinner & Dance promise) were the actors who would take part in this climatic piece of golfing theatre. Among the questions to be resolved were
"Can " Danny hold off the rest and win the coveted Order of Merit?
"Could" Roger dethrone Richard as Birdie Champion?
"Who" would claim the last major title at stake in 2014?
Of the 10 only those in the top 5 had a chance of winning and Danny, Steve, Frank and Gary were duly drawn together in the traditional last group shootout to see who would be crowned the Champion Golfer of 2014. Victory for any one other than Frank would see them add their name to this illustrious title for the first time. And if Frank could prevail it would be his first title in the colour TV era! (Frank has won 2 order of merits – the inaugural title in 1994 and again in 1996). It has been a very, very long wait for our beloved founding father – and no one would begrudge him a 3rd title almost 20 years after his last. If Order of Merit titles were handed out on sentiment, certainly Frankie would win hands down.
However, it is on the fairways and greens that titles are decided and the other guys in his 4 ball would certainly not hand it to him on a plate. The winners of the last 2 majors the Mr. Bombastic Steve Garner and Mr. Rock Steady D-Mac are not only in pole position but are both hungry for the win and will not relinquish their advantage easily. Although the bookies were not plying their trade on the Racecourse today, it would have been a brave soul to wager a lot of money on the winner coming outside this dynamic duo. And finally Gary Cameron maybe the outsider in the party with 49 points to make up he needs to win today in order to stand a chance.
THE BIRDIE CHAMPION
The other title at stake was the Birdie Trophy although this appears to have been sewn up. Barring a birdie blitz from the likes of Steve, Gary, Richard or Randy, it seems certain that Boom Boom will dethrone the reigning and two time winner Richard Payne and claim seems scarcely believable, a first win as the Birdie Champion.
Other than those going for the season long prizes, today also offers the tantalising once in a season chance to secure a major title without having to go around twice! Other than the usual suspects, (Randy, Richard, Malcolm, Roger et al, could today be the day that perennial imposters such as Ernie, George or Mickey finally break their ducks? Could Jacqui make is a truly memorable captain’s day? How about Ossie Roberts fresh from is exploits in the Scotland? Can old timers Del Manderson go one better than West Herts this time, or maybe someone from left field such as Terry Morris to mark his come back year in style. Or could it be one of the quiet ones (Wayne Callender, William Burnett, Kevin Thomas … ) who have been honing their game over the summer and ready to pounce in this Lingfield Sprint ….
The rain duly came 30 minutes or so into the start of proceedings but thankfully held off for the remainder of the day. As the scores came in it became clear that anyone playing to par today would be a worthy effort, maybe a winning effort. The average stableford score was 26.3.
The Also Rans
Just as quickly as the sky above cleared and the moisture evaporated into the lush fairways so too were the hopes and dreams of those seeking to win this title. Armed with nothing other than “happy” smiles and hard luck stories one by one they came off the 18th with their scorecards and stableford scores resembling a computer programmer’s tool rather than golfing excellence. Biting the dust in the bottom 3rd of the table were TJ, Leon, Mayhe, Mickey Ernie (again!), Andy and Greg.
Andy’s Lament
Andy had the misfortune to suffer a fate that will live long in ACGA folklore and longer still in the minds of those who witnessed it first hand. Playing the 14th Andy was greenside in 2 and had the rare opportunity of gross par. Picking up the story he said “I played a great chip it was the perfect weight and heading directly towards the flag. Then out of nowhere this dog came and jumped up and caught the ball in its mouth mid flight and ran off with it. After I recovered from shock we retrieved the ball my playing partners demanded that the shot was retaken. The ball was all mangled and chewed up and needless to say I duffed the second attempt and ruined the hole.” He then added with a straight face only Mr. Ferdinand could pull off “If it wasn’t for that dog I could have won!”
Mid Table Mediocrity
The next band of players had mid table mediocrity as there reward for 4 and half hours toil. Among them were the current Captain and her predecessor. So too was Ossie maybe showing that he had nothing left after his escapades in the Highlands. A few unliklely lads in Richard, Malcolm, Raf, Randy and Lee would have surely expected much more at the start of the day. Others such Ray J, William Burnett, Tunde, Wayne Callendar, David Williams and Ricky Coward will be pleased with a score in the mid to high twenties.
The Top Ten
So to the top ten which rather fittingly was filled by those scoring 30 points or more. With a creditable 30 points each the ASBO WPL pairing of Austin and Bose as well as Steve Lee Sang should be pleased with their day’s work. Bose will have particular gripes with holes 3, 5 and 7 and 12 as he only took 1 point from the 8 on offer here. Steve will look back with regret at the 3rd and 9th where he had nothing to show for this efforts.
The Top Five
The final top 5 places saw 2 multiple winners who are at last showing some decent form this year. The 4 time Major Winner Leo “The Dread” Faure bagging his first top 10 of the year. Similarly the 2012 Order of Merit winner Keith Murray had his first top 5 since sealing the 2012 Order of Merit with a win on the 2012 Captain’s Day. Welcome back to the top table gentlemen, hope this is sign of things to come 2015.
The Winner
The best score on the day however and the only person breaking par with 38 points was Kevin Thomas to win his first title by a comfortable 4 points. Kevin becomes the only first time winner this year and the 74th different person to win a major. He matches brother Chris who also has 1 major title however he still has to bow to his older brother who has a Order of Merit and Singles Title under his belt.
It was a remarkable round of golf by Kevin who certainly came out of left field. His previous two outings this year gave no hint that this performance was in his locker. A 31st placed finish at West Essex was improved by 22nd place at Dyrham Park. However, only the foolhardy would have wagered any money on Kevin beating all comers in such testing conditions and on such a difficult danger filled course. His round hints of maybe more accolades to come as it showed he did leave some out there. With trebles on the par 3s 5th and 9th and another treble on the dangerous funnel shaped 17th, further improvement is certainly there for all to see. He however countered those blobs with no less than 6 pars and adorned his round with 2 birdies coming at the 6th and 10th - a stellar effort and very worthy winner.
After receiving his major winning trophy and the Sponsors trophy Kevin was very gracious in his victory speech, thanking he playing players and fellow members. There was also a shout out to his big brother to whom he can big up his chest – in the family bragging rights.
LONGEST DRIVE & NEAREST THE PIN
The Longest Drive was won by Malcolm O’Garro with a 270 yard monster on the 15th.
Whilst the nearest the pin was won by Austin who had only 25 inches left for his birdie putt after teeing off on the Par 5th. And yes he did make the birdie!
THE RACE FOR THE ORDER OF MERIT
And what about the Order of Merit and Birdie Titles? Could Danny hold his nerve and see off the challengers? Was it to be a case of “Old Time Something Come Back Again”? The eagerly anticipated Battle of Lingfield turned into something of a damp squib; such was the dominance of the winner and faltering play of the nearest challengers. In the four ball group of death, the scores were 33 points, 30 points, 28 points and 23 points.
Order of Merit leader in the morning, Danny started badly with a couple of bogeys but it soon got worse. He had to wait until the 8th for this first par and by then he had blobs on the 5th and 7th. Although there was a birdie sandwiched in between the blobs he closed the front nine with double and by this time needed snookers to win the Order of Merit. The back nine was better in the sense that he picked up 4 pars but these were cancelled out by 4 blobs. Although the magic wasn’t there today, Danny can be satisfied with a year of consistent excellence in which he won his second major, had a narrow second place and 3 other top 10 finishes. The second best golfer of the year … still has a certain ring to it … doesn’t it?
Gary’s game needed to special today if he was to stand any chance of challenging. Although 28 points was above average on the day it was not the required standard to win and get the 100 points he needed to force his way into the shakeup. Never the less making the top 10 for the 3rd straight year and his second top 5 for the 2 of the last 3 years, and surely it only a matter of time before lady luck smiles on this consistent golfer ands he land the big one. In the meantime 4th place was his reward for his efforts in 2014.
So it was left to Old Man River – the Bajan Braveheart to take up the fight. And it was a creditable showing – 30 points in those conditions shows that this Old Lion and legend still has a heart for the battle. But on this occasion it would not be enough. The top 10 showing on the day earned him enough points to hold on a top 3 placing in the 2014 Race for the Order of Merit and who knows maybe there is another Champion Golfer title waiting in the future for Frankie.
The day’s big mover in the OoM Race was the consistent Roger Goddard. Although only playing in 4 of the 6 events he had garnered enough points to be in the top 10 albeit 137 points adrift and out of the running for the top prize. Now playing off his lowest ever handicap with the ACGA of 4, “Boom Boom” had a great day today. Does he ever have an off day when he turns up with the ACGA? With the best gross score on the day of 78 including 5 pars and studded with 4 birdies he was a model of consistency. In fact so consistent was his round that he worst score was a double. And although he had 3 of those his excellent play on the other 15 holes was good enough for a 34 points and second place on the day. This was Roger’s 3rd near miss this year having placed second in the “photo-finish” at Brookmans Park and 3rd at Dyrhams Park.
Frustratingly Roger remains on 4 major victories (a feat he shares with 8 other golfers - and has to wait until 2015 to have another go at matching Ty Carter’s 5 titles and go further up the all time list of major winners.
This however gave him enough Order of Merit points to crash into the top 5 from only 5 events. Roger finished only 88 points adrift and would have won his first Order of Merit title with 2 top ten finishes in the two events he missed. This mirrors his 2013 season in which from only 3 events he had 1 win, 1 second place and 1 top 15 finish. Surely on this evidence, Roger only needs to play in 6 events next year to win his first Order of Merit title.
STEVE GARNER IS THE ORDER OF MERIT WINNER
So one by one they fell and it was left to the one man … looking down from the elevated position as the Champion Golfer of the Year, the Order of Merit Winner, arise Steve Garner, short in stature but long in verse and golfing accolades in 2014. This is Steve’s first Order of Merit and he becomes the 15th different golfer to hold this honour. Steve had a solid round today. In the heat of the final group he held his nerve whilst others faltered to compose a respectable gross score of 81. This was good enough for 33 stableford points and 3rd place on the day. His round comprised 4 ugly doubles, but with 7 pars and 2 beautiful birdies on the 7th and 10th it was wonderfully efficient golf, and just the form he needed to secure the coveted Order of Merit title. Looking back over a year of excellence Steve won his second Major in August, he had a second place at Dyrham Park to go with his third place today and 5th place at the Warwickshire. So make that 4 top 5 finishes this year! In his acceptance speech to a standing ovation, Steve could not resist having a dig at those who have frequently commented on his shortcomings in the height department. Steve said “for all you with your short man jokes … I’m looking down on all of you now”. This brought the house down as it did the curtain on another wonderful chapter in the ACGA story.
THE BIRDIE CHAMPION
Roger had 4 birdie advantage going into the final day, and in the end this advantage was never challenged. He picked up another 4 birdies on the day twice as many as his nearest rivals to claim his first Birdie Champion Title. This is a fitting award for the last person to get a hole in one! With this title Roger crashes into the top 10 of most titles won in the ACGA honours board. He now has 6 but still has some way to challenge Ty Carter and Daryl Oxley’s impressive haul of 14 titles.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
Malcolm O’Garro was named the Most Improved Player for 2014. Malcolm’s handicap (now the 2nd joint lowest of 4) has improved by 3 shots this year. The joint highest reduction and yet he has remained competitive at this new level. With this award Malcolm has opened up a new page amongst the elite within the ACGA and can now rightly claim immortal status. He has now won every title on offer within the society a feat no one else has managed.
The Captain made a presentation of a cheque for £1670.21 to Mr. David Annand an ambassador of Prostate Cancer UK.
This was the total raised over the 2 years for the charity.
OUR LADY CAPTAINS FINAL BOW
Then for the final time as Captain, to a rapturous ovation Jacqui gave an emotional speech in which she highlighted the successes over the past 2 years. She thanked the members of her committee and said “I am proud of have led this marvellous association and prove that a woman can do the job”.
Well said Captain and well done.