Cirencester Golf Club

Festival Week

Club Championship

TWO former professionals battled it out in a three-hole play-off before Charlie Harraway was confirmed as Cirencester Golf Club’s 2019 champion, and he did it in style with a closing birdie in front of the clubhouse crowd.

Charlie was a pro for two years back in the noughties at Taunton & Pickering GC and South Cerney GC before reclaiming his amateur status, while his great rival Gert Coetzee played on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa for 10 years.

Both were past club champions – Charlie in 2013 and ‘Gerry’ in 2017 – and both played some spectacular golf in the 36-hole championship.

They could not be separated at the finish when signing for 6-over-par aggregate totals of 148, which were excellent efforts in very challenging conditions.

On Saturday, they faced wilting temperatures in excess of 30 degrees, and although the mercury dropped on Sunday, the wind cranked up to 18mph.

Harraway, the brother of Cirencester pro James and a member of Gloucestershire’s B team, battled back from an opening 76 and made his intentions clear on Sunday by playing the opening five holes in 3 under par. He went on to post a one-over score of 72.

It could have been much better according to his playing partner Darren Robison, a former Ciren Town player and one-time club champion himself, who said: “Charlie was driving really well and could have gone so low today. He missed a couple of short putts and had good birdie opportunities on the last three holes.”

Harraway rued those misses when Coetzee birdied 16 and the 18th with a smooth 15-foot putt to add 75 to his 73 on the first day and force the play-off.

But the South African, who turns 50 next year and has aspirations to join the European Seniors Tour through the qualifying school in Portugal, three-putted the first extra hole and was always playing catch up from that point.

Harraway’s ruthless par-par-birdie play-off figures sealed the deal.

“I was very pleased with the way I drove the ball but I thought I may have been one or two shots short when I finished,” said Charlie.

Coetzee said: “Sadly, I have not been playing well for the last couple of months and when I double-bogeyed both 12 and 14 I thought my chance had gone. But at least I was able to force a play-off.”

Alex Hobson (74, 78) and Hamish Mason (77, 75), two former club champions, claimed joint third spot with creditable scores of 152.

RESULTS

1st: Charlie Harraway (76,72) 148; 2nd: Gert Coetzee (73,75) 148; 3rd: Alex Hobson (74,78) 152; 4th: Hamish Mason (77,75) 152; 5th: Lewis Flett (78,75) 153; 6th: Steve Bishop (78,76) 154.

Harraway (11) beat Coetzee (14) in a three-hole play-off.

Victoria Cup

NEIL LITTLE played golf that was as scorching as the conditions on Saturday to set up an almost unassailable lead in the Victoria Cup, the handicap equivalent of the Club Championship, with a nett 63 off his rating of 15.

Fortunately, his automatic three-shot cut to 12 did not become valid until after the tournament and he was able to hang on to a two-shot winning margin when posting a nett aggregate of 139.

He again played some superb golf on the second day and would have won by a country mile but for an 8-5-8-6 finish as understandable fatigue – mental and physical – set in.

Neil joined Cirencester – his first club – only last October and has made great strides from his opening handicap of 18. He won the April Monthly Medal off that handicap.

Lewis Flett and Tony Wilkinson signed for 141s with the youngster taking the runner-up spot on countback.

RESULTS

1st: Neil Little (63,76) 139; 2nd: Lewis Flett (72,69) 141; 3rd: Tony Wilkinson (68,73) 141; 4th: Andy Bradley (76,66) 142; 5th: Alan Hughes (74,68) 142; 6th: Nick J Brown (71,71) 142.

Charlie Harraway, right, the Cirencester Golf Club champion for 2019, and Neil Little, who won the Victory Cup at the weekend

Charlie Harraway, Cirencester Golf Club champion 2019

Neil Little, 2019 Victory Cup winner

Men’s Open

EIGHTEEN teams battled out the Men’s Open on Wednesday with home players dominating the prize fund.

Each team had four players, with the best three scores to count.

Terry Hambling is often a demon in team events and led his inappropriately-titled Also Rans to an emphatic success.

Terry, 77, may now boast two new knees and a replacement hip but he once had a handicap of 2 and he can still play a mean game on his day.

Along with his 2018 Gillman Salver runner-up partner Pete Crawford, plus Steve Sweet and Steve Titchener, they scored a remarkable 124 points.

Paul Sheen and Eamonn Cuthbert have a pedigree of winning team events at the club and they went close again, partnered by Andrew Rhys-Evans & Bill Peach, when racking up 120 points.

Winners: ALSO RANS (124pts)

Terry Hambling, Pete Crawford, Steve Sweet & Steve Titchener (all Cirencester).

Runners-up: BAD ABBOTS (120pts)

Paul Sheen, Eamonn Cuthbert, Andrew Rhys-Evans & Bill Peach (all Cirencester).

Best Visitors’ Team: HAZBEANS (119pts)

David Morrison (Ashford Manor Golf Club), Bert Keefe (Corhampton), Terry Worth (Ashford Manor) along with Cirencester’s David Soar.

Fourth place: SUNNINGCESTERS (116pts)

Adam Collins (Cirencester), Gerry Coetzee (Cirencester), Jamie Bathurst (Sunningdale) & Jeff Brantly (Cirencester).

Nearest the Pin (on 2nd): Neil Timbrell (The Wiltshire).

Nearest the Pin (on 13th): Pete Crawford (Cirencester).

Seniors’ Texas Scramble

IT could not have been tighter at the top of the leaderboard in the Seniors’ Three-Man Texas Scramble, which was played on the Monday of Festival Week, with less than a point covering the first six teams.

The format was stableford played off 15% combined handicap.

Neil Selby, Pat Waldron and Graham Marshall just got their noses in front with 60.5 off their team handicap of 6.5.

RESULTS

1st: Neil Selby, Pat Waldron & Graham Marshall (67-6.5 = 60.5);

2nd: Brian Whittaker, Mike Burbage & Neil Halls (68-7.1 = 60.9);

3rd: Ken Mills, John Binder & Chris Watson (69-8 = 61);

4th: John Hall, Mark Woodhead & Andy Ponting (66-5 = 61);

5th: Dave Jones, Tony Crowther & Nigel Curtis (66-4.8 = 61.2);

6th: Paul Sheen, Eamonn Cuthbert & Bill Peach (72-10.7 = 61.3).

Ritchie Salvers

KAREN PRACY-JENNINGS gained a well-deserved double triumph when taking both the top prize in the gross and nett competitions for the Ritchie Salvers for lady members.

On day one, 12-handicapper Karen rallied after a 9 on the 3rd hole to drop just three shots to par on the back nine. And she was just four over par through the first 11 holes on Sunday.

Karen is one of the most popular members of the club and her double triumph was met with much delight by the ladies’ section.

RESULTS

Gross – 1st: Karen Pracy-Jennings (88,85) 173; 2nd: Deb Organ (91,84) 175; 3rd: Irena Windslow (91,88) 179; 4th: Alison Henshaw (86,95) 181; 5th: Julie Clough (96,87) 183; 6th: Jane Brodrick (95,89) 184.

Nett – 1st: Karen Pracy-Jennings (76,73) 149); 2nd: Irena Windslow (79,76) 155; 3rd: Jayne Worthington (77,78) 155; 4th: Jane Brodrick (81,75) 156; 5th: Kate Dymoke (77,79) 156; 6th: Deb Organ (82,75) 157).

Karen Pracy-Jennings, winner of the Ritchie Salvers

3 Clubs and a Putter

Winner: Mark Bisset.

Two-man Texas Scramble

Winners: Tom Waller & Chris Yeates.

Ladies’ Ping 4 Ball Better Ball

1st on countback: Elizabeth Anderson & Jane Muncer (41pts); 2nd: Sheila Telling & Blanche Neal (41pts); 3rd: Kate Dymoke & Fiona Fyfe (39pts).

President’s Day

IN the absence of the convalescing president Trevor Hing, Bob and Sally Hadley stepped in and master-minded a splendid President’s Day.

There was a huge turnout for this ever-popular event which effectively kicked off the club’s Festival of Golf – and the tone for the week was set with some spectacular scoring.

Youngsters Sam and Ryan Peare maintained their family’s excellent run of recent form when topping the leaderboard in this pairs’ better ball event with an astonishing 49 stableford points – 13 under nett par.

The Member and Guest prize went to Pete Stone and his partner, the Lilley Brook GC chairman Tim Clink, who will become President of the Gloucestershire Golf Union next year. They came in with a storming 45 points.

And the Mixed Pairs went to home player Blanche Neal and Mark Neal, who plays at Lilley Brook, with an exceptional 44 points.

Congratulations to them all.

Seniors’ Section

Cirencester 4 Ross-on-Wye 4

AN extraordinary job by the green keeping staff allowed the seniors match between Cirencester and Ross-on-Wye to take place despite the course being closed for most of the morning due to heavy overnight rain.

The course was miraculously playable by the 1pm start time – apart from the bunkers which were treated as ‘Ground Under Repair’ and a great match ensued, with a halved result at 4-4.

Cirencester's winning pairs were: David Soar & Mark Woodhead (4&3); Clive Bennett & Charles Reed (2&1); Martin Harrison & Keith Hodgson (4&3) and Brian Sheffield & Neil Halls (2&1).

Everyone was appreciative of the efforts by the Ross players to travel to Cirencester, in the hope of the match going ahead.

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