What a great way to end your year as Captain of the golf club as Tony Negal shot an excellent nett 66 to win the Gold Division Medal and George Will Trophy played over the West course over the weekend on countback with a treble bogey thrown in too! The runner up was Tom Ellis who also shot a nett 66. Bill Wheeler took third spot with a nett 67 on countback from John McKenna.
In the Silver Division there was a plethora of 67's as Iain Thomson took top spot from runner up Bob Stevens, in third place it was Mark Riddoch and fourth was Geoff Standford. All four could only be separated on countback.
When you win the club championship you would have had a great year. To win a medal as well, surely has put the cherry on the cake for Mark Peache. Mark won the medal in style too as he shot a nett 63 on the West course to win by a clear three strokes. Michael Lawrence took the runner up position with a nett 66 on countback from Shaun Ryan, both having shot nett 66's, Henry Gunning was fourth with a nett 68.
We have one of our past juniors Sophie Bargeron at college in the States at the moment at Armstrong University in Savannah, Georgia. Sophie played in her first tournament for her college over the weekend in South Carolina and started with an excellent 1 over par 73 in the first round on the Saturday, to be leading scorer for the college that day and in 5th place in the tournament overall. Sunday was a bit tougher and she shot 78 - with a gross total of 151, placing her 15th in the competition overall in her first outing.
Seniors Ten Counties South Eastern Championship
On Monday, 29 September 2014, Kent hosted the Seniors Ten Counties South Eastern Championship at Littlestone.
The championship is played for annually between Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Essex & Buckinghamshire with 3 medal scores out of the team of 4 counting for the trophy.
Kent finished with a total of 235 six ahead of second placed Berkshire on 241.
The winning Kent team consisted of:
Ingrid Long - Sundridge Park & Kent Senior Champion
Tita McCart - Sundridge Park
Kim Morris - Sundridge Park
Gerry Bray - Littlestone
Well done girls!
The photo shows from left to right, Tita McCart (SPGC) Ingrid Long (SPGC), Kent President, Audrey Disbury, Kim Morris (SPGC) and 4th team member Gerry Bray (Littlestone).
After last week's thrilling Ryder Cup, the European Tour remains in Scotland this week for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. David Howell defends the title over the Old Course St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.
Fresh off their stunning victory at Gleneagles, four members of the victorious European Ryder Cup team will play again this week. World Number 1 Rory McIlroy will tee it up, so too Martin Kaymer, Victor Dubuisson and Stephen Gallacher. European Captain Paul McGinley is on the start sheet, together with his Vice-Captain Padraig Harrington.
Other star names playing this week include: Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Colin Montgomerie.
Two competitions run concurrently at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Firstly, a professional 72-hole strokeplay tournament and, secondly, a pro-am competition where the lowest score between the professional and his amateur partner is taken at each hole.
The first three rounds are played over St Andrews Old Course, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie and those who make the cut play a final round over the Old Course. The split of venues provides spectators with a unique opportunity to get close to the professionals and to their famous partners. Over the first three days, admission is free with a ticket price of just £20 (£15 for concessions) on the final day at St Andrews.
Among the celebrity amateurs playing are film and TV stars: Hugh Grant, Damian Lewis, Greg Kinnear and Kyle MacLachlan, rock legends Don Felder, Huey Lewis and Tico Torres and many great sporting idols including Sir Bobby Charlton, Johan Cruyff, Sir Ian Botham, Shane Warne, Brian O'Driscoll, Sir Steve Redgrave, Tim Henman and Damon Hill.
The Dunhill Links Championship was first contested in 2001 when Paul Lawrie was the champion. He holed a putt from the Valley of Sin to take the title by a single stroke. In the proceeding years this event has been won by some of the European Tour's biggest stars. Padraig Harrington has twice been victorious and Lee Westwood, Colin Montgomerie, Robert Karlsson and Martin Kaymer have all been champions.
In last year's competition England's David Howell overcame America's Peter Uihlein at the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to take the title - his first European Tour win since the BMW PGA Championship of 2006.
Howell is excited at the prospect of defending his title. "It will be lovely to come back as defending champion. It's a real privilege and I shall enjoy every moment of it," he said. "The win last year was a long time coming, seven years after my previous win and I could not have wished for a better place to do it than St Andrews."
Player Watch:
Rory McIlroy is 4-1 favourite. Who might surprise the World Number 1?
Shane Lowry - The Irishman is a great links player and was tied third in this event last year. He was also tied second in his last European outing - the ISPS HANDA Wales Open.
Tommy Fleetwood - Also tied second in Wales, Fleetwood has showed excellent form in recent weeks. He finished on 21-under-par in this event last season, just two strokes behind David Howell and Peter Uihlein.
Richie Ramsay - Fourth, eighth, ninth and 17th in his last four European Tour starts, Ramsay is another man who tends to perform well on the links. He's from Aberdeen so is no stranger to cold, windy conditions. He was tied fourth in this tournament back in 2009.