The Thomas Cup, a two day Ladies’ Stableford competition took place last weekend at Farrington Park. This is one of the major

competitions of the ladies’ calendar and since its inception eleven years ago, is kindly sponsored by Paul and Liz Thomas.

No competitor can win more than one prize so not only is there a handsome trophy to be won, but there are prizes for “Best Round of the Day” on both days (not including the overall winners) , “Nearest the Pin” and the two spot birdie prizes.

There was a strong field with a wide span of ages and handicaps, proving that the new WHS handicap system allows everyone to compete equally.

Day One weather was perfect for late summer golf, sunny with a slight westerly wind which helped on the longer par 5 holes, although rain in the preceding days had slowed the fairways and greens. Scoring was moderate with one player scoring more than the required 37 points to play to par and the rest of the tightly bunched field mostly scoring 30 points or above.

In the Nearest the Pin competitions, Libbie Dezis was nearest the pin on the par 3 8th and finished with a par; Kay Clarke had a fine tee shot to the par 3 15th green, so close it was almost a hole in one and she made the subsequent putt for a well deserved two spot birdie. Other two spot birdies were scored by Jane Ball (5th) and Rosi Brown (10th). At the end of a long day’s competition, the leader was Jane Ball with 39 points, closely followed by Frankie Dezis with 37 points, current Thomas Cup holder, Jackie Walker and Libbie Dezis with 36 points apiece.

So it was all to play for on Day Two. Scoring was higher, although the Day One leader, despite birdieing the 5th hole for a second time and winning the Nearest the Pin on the par 3 10th, could not capitalise on her score from the previous day.

Pauline Brixey won the other Nearest the Pin on the 5th hole, finishing with a par and two spots were also scored by June Symonds and Mandy Hobbs at the 5th, Dawn Stacey (8th) and Frankie Dezis (15th). Four players came through the field to score over 37 points, meaning that the overall scores for the prizes were going to be close.

Jackie Walker made a very good defence of her title finishing in fourth place with an overall score of 73 points. Scoring 40 points, Mandy Hobbs had nine pars to add to her birdie and came through the field to beat Jane Ball on countback for second place after both finished on an overall score of 74.

However, the round of the day came from the youngest player in the field, Libbie Dezis. Libbie scored 43 points in a brilliant round which included three birdies at the par 5 13th and 18th and the difficult par 4 17th hole to take the Thomas Cup with an overall score of 79 points. This win caps off a fine month for Libbie, who became the Nett Champion at the Ladies’ Club Championship a fortnight ago.

Thomas Cup winner : Libbie Dezis (36 + 43 = 79)

Runner-up: Mandy Hobbs (34 + 40 = 74)

Best Round of the Day:

Day 1 : Jane Ball (39)

Frankie Dezis (37)

Day 2: Pauline Brixey (39) and Dawn Stacey (39).