June 2001
Lady vice-captain Jane Fletcher enjoyed a remarkable Bank Holiday weekend at the beginning of May with major competition wins at home and away.
On Friday, May 4, partnered by ex-Werneth member Jill Gibson, she won the Ladies’ Open at Mere Golf and Country Club, where Jill is now a member.
Two days later, playing with her father, Clifford, she triumphed again in our own Mixed Open with a score of 72-5.6-66.4.
And to add to her holiday joy she and vice-captain Brian Hope won their first round Hetherington Cup match at the 13th a day later.
Terry Marner and Denise Fletcher (82-13.8-68.2), were runners-up in the Werneth Open, and Terry again came second, partnered by Joe Cassidy, in the Wrigley Cup competition at North Manchester 24 hours later.
After a four-year stint as our
stewards, Keith and Maureen resigned at the end of May to take up similar duties
at Greenmount Golf Club, Bury. They have been replaced by Carol Buckley and her
daughter Jayne – a highly qualified chef.
Both of them, of course, were already well-known to our members. Carol’s
husband, Roger, and son, James, are playing members, and Carol has been a
regular member of our bar staff – and acting steward during holiday periods
– for several years.
Dale Hobson, partnered by Pike Fold’s Bob Rutter, won first prize on Invitation Day with a fine score of 45 points, two better than ex-Captain Peter Griffin and the Brookdale president, Vaughan Olivier.
Third
place went to Mel Robinson and S. McEvoy who edged out Nick Fallows and Alan
Rochelle (Oldham) who, in turn, had a better back nine than Stewart Taylor and
Chris King, captains of Oldham and Crompton respectively.
Tony
Bozward and Martin Diamond, of Aulton Park, won the sixth prize and Peter Davies
was nearest the pin on the 6th.
Ex-member Charlie Stewart brought a party of twenty from his new club at Fleetwood to compete in our Seniors’ Open – and they went home with many of the prizes.
Most successful of
all the 159 entrants was the Fleetwood greenkeeper, Mr J. McLaren, who had the
longest drives on both the 8th and 13th holes, and also
hit his ball nearest the pin on the 6th.
The overall
winners, and the pair in the 131-141 year age group, also came from the Fylde
coast.
Adrian Brierley,
partnered by Mr D. Heginbottom, kept Werneth’s flag flying by clinching third
place with 42pts.
All eighteen holes
were sponsored, the weather was fine, and a profit of
£510 was achieved, of which £50 was donated to the ladies’ section in
appreciation of their invaluable help on a hugely successful day.
The twice-delayed
seniors’ Spring Meeting finally took place in late May with Norman Harrop
triumphing with 43pts – five more than the runner-up, Julian Pragg.
Eric Webb won the Veterans’ Trophy – a board comp. – with a score of 81-21-60 – on June 12. Runner-up was Tom Blackshaw (85-22-63) on a card play-off from the evergreen Les Lawton, who still plays off a handicap of seven.
The medal round
which accompanied this event was won by Paul Higgins (76-15-61), who held off
8-handicapper Geoff Dawson on a CPO.
The Mellor Cup
Qualifier was won, appropriately enough, by Jim Mellor with a score of 70-9-61
with Tony Bozward again among the prizes in second place (82-20-62).
13-hole medal – David
Bielby (net 43), Paul Durkin (net 46).
Single Stableford – Andrew
Green (36pts), Nick Fallows
(35 pts).
May monthly medal
1st Div. – Geoff Dawson
(69-7-62), Ken Holt
(74-11-63).
2nd Div. – Andrew Green
(77-17-60), Mukhtar Hussain (86-23-63) on CPO from Michael Royle (87-24-63).
Single Stableford – Alan
Palmer (41pts), Mukhtar Hussain (39pts).
Medal round – Duncan Hough
(76-13-63), Simon Stott (69-5-64)
on CPO from Lee Rowbotham (72-8-64).
Chronicle Cup qualifier:
Peter Griffin (68-6-62), Alan Milligan (83-18-65).
Better-ball medal: Steve
Hamer and David Barnes (net 60) on CPO from brothers Lee and Aaron Rowbotham.
Fourball Sunningdale – l.
David Bland and Andrew Green
2. Roger and James Buckley.
June monthly medal –
1st Div - Michael Fogo (77-13-64), Nigel Wareing (76-11-65).
2nd Div. – David Barnes (79-20-59), Paul Walker (77-15-62).
Three-man team event –
Duncan Hough, Simon Stott, Steve McNamara (82pts), Adrian Buckley, John
Armstrong, Paul Rowbotham (81pts) on CPO from Paul Ashton, Chris Cordwell,
Arnold Sykes.
The club lost two more long-standing members with the deaths, within days of each other, of Joan Smith and Derek Cooper. Both were aged 78.
Joan, who had suffered a long and painful illness, met her husband, ex-captain Joe Smith, when both were members of Oldham GC. She had also been a keen bowls player and painter.
Derek Cooper, a fine tennis player in his youth, died suddenly at his home.
Brookdale’s Stephen Olivier won the Chronicle Cup, played at Werneth, with a score of 77-15-62, beating our own young Paul Ashton (72-7-65), into second place.
The best gross score was a level par 68 by Brookdale’s one-handicapper Nick Deme, and the 1st Div. Winner was Cliff Bird, of Saddleworth (75-10-65), from Gary Lever, of Brookdale (69-3-66).
But Werneth dominated the second division, with Dave (D.J) Wright first (82-15-67), and the ever-improving Mukhtar Hussain (87-20-67), in second place, beating Lewis Cordwell on a card playoff.
Forty eight youngsters from twelve clubs posted some great scores – including six twos – in dry and windy conditions when the club staged a Junior Golf League fixture.
The best gross score was a fine 72 by Nick Thornton, of High Legh GC, but Werneth’s Jonathan Wilde had the best net score – 91-28-63.
Other prizes went to Steve McPherson (Flixton), and Greg Barnes, of Gatley.
The Grasshopper Trophy competition will be held on Saturday, August 18. The date was omitted from the club handbook.