Golf: Chichester veterans enjoy sizzling Summer Trophy

The event is sponsored by the Royal Garden Hotel, whose proprietor Colin Lindsell is also a veteran and this year he supplied superb prizes with the first three receiving vouchers for the Chichester Festival Theatre.

The competition was close with Paul Compton setting the early pace with 39 points.

Phil Couchman had an inauspicious beginning but then recorded four pars in five holes to get his round going. There were no more blemishes as he went on to record a magnificent 42 points and gain a memorable victory, with his nearest challenger three points behind.

Result: Summer Trophy winner Phil Couchman 42pts; 2 Paul Compton 39; 3 Richard Holden 39; 4 Robert Stainsby 38; 5 David Wren 37; 6 Clive Boon 37. Nearest the pins: 4th hole Paul Hills; 6th Chris Penny; 13th Ray Harding; 15th John Parsons.

There were two excellent home victories for the veterans against Lindfield and Slinfold with just one match out of 16 resulting in a loss. They beat Lindfield 7½-½ and Slinfold 6½-1½.

Results v Lindfield: J Robertson & M Harrington won 3&2; M Hunter & P Green won 5&3; G Probert & N Wood won 7&5; N Moore & R Chandler won 7&6; C Goldsmid & D Galloway won 1 up; P Collyer & A Grant won 2&1; B Santer & D Blythe won 5&4; R Stainsby & J Fox halved.

v Slinfold: J Robertson & D Matthey halved; N Wood & R Stainsby won 4&3; K Jackson & C Goldsmid won 1 up; N Hobbs & A Grant won 3&2; M Hunter & G Williams won 5&3; J Styles & K Williams won 2&1; D Monkton & P Collyer lost 1 down; G Probert & D Blythe won 3&2.

COWDRAY PARK

Cowdray Park seniors returned to normality with a home game against Worthing, with eight of the home players playing for the 2nd day in a row. A number of the visitors had also competed the day before, and one of them, Bill Gardner, found the experience useful as he and his partner were the visitors’ only winners, with the home side running out 6½-1½ winners.

Seniors’ captain Sam Howes teamed up with Bernie May to give the side a solid start, when they showed their opponents no mercy and ran out 6&4 winners.

Club captain Harvey Terry, playing with Ian Heustice, put the home side two up before the visitors recorded their only victory. Cowdray regained the winning thread courtesy of Mike Hughes and George Crouch (2&1), and Nick Austin and Chris Hoare had a comfortable 4&2 win to put Cowdray 4-1 in the lead.

Colin Tebbutt and Barry Overington were made to fight all the way before closing out the tie by one up. The next match was halved before Alan Godfree and Mike Cardiff completed the scoring with an easy 5&4 win.

Results (Cowdray names first): Sam Howes & Bernie May beat Duncan Smeaton &Ron Simcock 6&4; Harvey Terry & Ian Heustice beat Mike Hyatt &Jim Rand 4&3; Peter Laws & David Tilley lost to Tony Bye & Bill Gardner 1 dn; Mike Hughes & George Crouch beat John Wood & Michael Machin 2&1; Nick Austin & Chris Hoare beat Keith Forshaw & Mike Hall 4&2; Colin Tebbutt & Barry Overington beat John Wilson & Rikki Cannons 1up; Peter Hallt & Ian Goodall halved with Robert Dargan & Gordon Harrison; Alan Godfree & MIke Cardiff beat Alec Price & Peter Feltham 5&4.

Cowdray seniors entertained their friends from The Dyke, just outside Brighton, in a match which always engenders a friendly atmosphere, with some of the home players playing their third round in three days.

Cowdray’s early mood was not helped when the first two matches went the way of the visitors against strong home pairings. Match manager Derek Smith and partner Dave Gaff were dumbfounded to lose 5&3 with 24-handicapper Howard Small playing way above his handicap to get the team off to a flying start.

In-form John Newman and Roy Penrose found the going tough and were outplayed to give the away team a 2-0 lead.

Big-hitting John Doran and a fit-again Rob Doney stopped the rot with a 4&2 win before the dependable pairing of Ian Heustice and Phil Morris levelled matters with a 3&1 win.

The final match from the first tee went to The Dyke, putting Cowdray behind. Thanks to clever placing by the match manager, the hosts asserted themselves by winning all three matches which started at the 17th tee.

Alan Godfree and Brian Carpenter drew Cowdray level with a 4&3 win before two recent seniors’ captains, David Tilley and Brian Brockhurst, were merciless in their 7&5 win.

Bill Hummerston and Eric Bounton completed the recovery with a 3&2 win to preserve Cowdray Park’s 100 per cent home record so far this season.

Results: Derek Smith & Dave Gaff lost to Ray Dennett & Howard Small 5&3; John Newman & Roy Penrose lost to Derek Chivers & Robin Brooks 3&2; John Doran & Rob Doney beat Gordon Crawford & Cliff Stuart 4&2; Ian Heustice & Phil Morris beat Graham Willis & John Boucher 3&1; Tony Pike & Mike Cardiff lost to Gerry Nash & Mervyn Allinson 2&1; Alan Godfree & Brian Carpenter beat Nick Goslett & Ray Bullock 4&3; David Tilley & Brian Brockhurst beat Peter Duncan & Roger Straker 7&5; Bill Hummerston & Eric Bounton beat Tom Bishop & Alan Drew 3&2.

Following his excellent win in the June monthly Stableford, the all-conquering John Lee leapt to the head of the Cowdray Park seniors’ Eclectic table, overtaking many division-one players along the way.

His score of 58½, after just six months, would have been a winning score at the year’s end in the past, showing how much the standard in the seniors’ section has improved in recent years.

Phil Harrison held on to second place while Dave Gaff continued his steady climb up the leaderboard to number three, having registered pars or birdies on all holes with the exception of the tenth.

John Kitchener, John Renwick and Dave Hirons have all made double-figure jumps into the top ten. New into the top 20 comes Graham Thompson.

Thirty-three Cowdray ladies played in the Grannies’ Stableford on a beautiful sunny day.

Results: 1 Polly Davenport 39pts; 2 Sue Brown 39; 3 Jenny Clegg 36.

A non-grannies’ stableford was played as well and the winner was Chris Sommerville with an amazing 40 points. Catherine Staples was second with 35 and Sandra Barber, also with 35, came third.

BOGNOR

A busy fortnight for Bognor GC brought three open tournaments and a host of internal and club matches.

The prestigious Purley Trophy is a 36-hole county scratch event.

Big events like this are their chance to showcase the course and what they have to offer – and it proved they’re good at what they do.

The course was presented in wonderful condition and the winner of the trophy was Richard Harris from Hayling with an incredible two rounds of 68, a total of 136.

Second was Connor Johnson from Worthing with 143, third David Tulley, also of Worthing, with 145. Club captain Simon Watts presented the prizes.

One of the club’s biggest events is the over-50s men’s open. The field was so large with 176 players they had a morning and afternoon competition and prizegiving.

The morning winners were Pyecombe, who won by considerable score. The afternoon contest was won by a Lee-on-the-Solent team, with a score so good it saw them become overall champions.

Bognor seniors held their open day and 60 entrants took part on a course in superb condition.

Again this year Chichester on their game and scooped a major slice of the prizes, but there were inroads into their domination by other clubs.

Special thanks go to open organiser Chris Hickling, supported by seniors’ captain Allan Delves and many helpers.

Results: Open Trophy Winner - Paul Compton, Chichester, 40pts; 2 Nigel Wood, Chichester, 40 (cb); 3 Mike Smuggs, Chichester, 40 (cb). Team winners – Chichester A (Norman Moore, Mike Harrington, John Styles and Mike Snuggs). Other notable winners: Div 1 – Peter Wright, Southwick Park; Div 2 – Paul Corris, Haywards Heath.

The Grayson Cup attracted an excellent field of 76 ladies and men. The winner was club secretary James MacLean with 40 points, just enough to beat Roy Tidy and John Cable on countback. Leading lady was Sue Meloy with 39.

Sixty Bognor seniors played in the Brian Poston greensomes. Brian was club secretary for many many years up to his retirement in the late 1990s and is still a regular player at the club.

The 2015 club captain Simon Watts and 2014 captain Ron Stevens were invited to play as a pair and won the competition with 47 points. Second were Derek Whiting and Barry Forey with 44 points, third on countback were Dave Chalmers and Paul Cooper.

Bognor Seniors visited Singing Hills and hosted Chichester. The team won 4½-3½ at Singing Hills with a great performance by Roger Selway & Clive Millett for a 5&4 win.

At home to Chichester, Bognor lost 4½-3½, their first home loss of the season. Tony Wells & Trevor Till played exceptionally well to win 5&4 against Chichester’s seniors’ secretary Jim Robertson and Graham Probert.

Bognor Men played two Wednesday night games. At Littelehampton they came away with a 5-0 win, though all games were tight.

Result: Richard Perry & James Maclean won 3&2, Simon Watts & Rob Comins won 2&1, Ian Hendry & Paul Brennan won 3&2, John Cable & Ron Stevens won 3&2, Mark Watson & Alan Badman won 1 up

Bognor then entertained Ham Manor. Ham deservedly came out on top, 3½-1½, resulting in them winning the Evening League with one game to spare. Congratulations go to Ham for an outstanding season.

Results: Rob Redmond & Steve Reddick lost 1 down, Simon Watts & John Cable won 8&6, Ian Hendry & Rob Comins lost 3&2, Paul Brennan & Ron Stevens lost 2&1, Ian Paine & Mark Watson halved.

SELSEY

The Selsey GC veterans’ section held their presentation day, starting with a nine-hole competition with a bumper 45 members teeing off.

The weather was ideal, with just one quick shower and a nice breeze to keep the players cool, and the course was in excellent condition.

After the competition there was a large presentation of prizes won by members over the previous two months, culminating in the main presentation of the St Wilfrid’s Hospice Challenge Trophy.

It was won by Brian Mariner – a very popular win as he had a hip replacement only eight months earlier.

The trophy was presented by Alisa Lakeman, an events and community officer from St Wilfrid’s Hospice and as it was the 25th year, the veterans raised a sum of £600 for the hospice.

The cheque was presented by veterans’ captain David Winter.

The monthly medal was won by Bobby Moore and was presented with an engraved glass and something to put in it by the vets’ captain.

GOODWOOD

Dunstan Thomas couldn’t have asked for better weather for their annual golf day at Goodwood. The Portsmouth-based technology firm, along with more than 20 customers from across the financial services and energy sectors, took to the stunning course in support of The Share Foundation.

The foundation was founded in 2005 to help young people growing up in disadvantaged circumstances to reach their full potential, by providing them with financial resources and education.

Ten years on, the charity continues to raise funds to increase the value of these savings accounts for children in care. Its dedication and passion in helping children prepare for adulthood, continues to help improve the lives of many young people.

David Akinsanya, a journalist and children’s rights campaigner who grew up in care, attended the golf day as a Share Foundation ambassador to award prizes during lunch. Dunstan Thomas matched all donations made to the charity on the day; helping raise a significant sum.

The charity recently launched a major campaign to raise £30m in the next five years, with the mission to increase each of the 36,000-plus active junior ISA accounts to £1,000.

Share Foundation’s founder and chairman Gavin Oldham said: “We are particularly fortunate to have Dunstan Thomas support us, once again, at this critical time.”

LITTLEHAMPTON

Littlehampton GC hosted a special 125th anniversary match, an invitation event for four clubs who celebrated the same birthday last year.

Defending 2014 champions Epsom, were joined by Limpsfield Chart near Oxted plus Tunbridge Wells in the team event of 16 players from each club.

Club captain Mike La Foret was a proud home captain as he led his side to victory in the four-way match with Littlehampton’s aggregate total nine points clear of Epsom.

In the mixed section, former captains Nikki Greenwood and Richard Jays won the Mills Trophy for a greensomes mixed Stableford competition, donated and presented by Brian and Ann Mills.

Their score of 39 points was one clear of Derek and Betty Kearney, who took the runners-up spot on countback from Mike Pickthall and lady captain Jean Humphreys.

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