The Farrington Park Ladies’ Club Championship took place on 7th and 8th August; two days of medal competition on the 18-hole Duchy course.
The nature of golf’s handicapping system meant that the Ladies, with a range of handicaps from eight to 37 and an even wider age range of ten to 72, could all compete on an equal basis.
After weeks of glorious summer weather, it was a disappointment that the weather on Day One was wet with some sunny intervals and quite cold temperatures. One minute, everyone was donning wet weather gear, only to shed it ten minutes later when the sun emerged and the temperature rose.
Gross scoring was high for the majority of the field, only the top three places played close to their handicap par. The youngest player in the competition, Libbie Dezis, showed the way to her peers with a fine nett-72, her closest challenger Carol King had a nett-74.
Libbie’s elder sister Frankie had a two spot birdie at the par-three 8th hole to help her to a nett-76, just beating Liz Thomas on countback. Lally Gibson had a two-spot birdie at the par-three 5th hole, the only other player to achieve this over the two days.
Day Two saw the Ladies starting in reverse order, with the leaders going out last. Many must have hoped that the slightly better weather would help them to improve their scores, but a gusty wind and rock hard fairways and greens did not always help the players’ golf balls to stop where required!
Rosi Brown improved upon her Day One score, finishing in third place with nett-76. Liz Thomas showed a welcome return from injury, being beaten again on countback for the second day running. Carol King showed her consistency with another nett-74 and Frankie Dezis improved on her Day One score with a nett-73.
The Ladies gathered on the clubhouse patio to hear the announcement of the final results and presentation of the trophies by past captain, Rosi Brown. After two days of intense competition, Frankie Dezis was declared the Club Champion with a gross-165. Second gross and winner of the “Not so Young” Trophy (for Ladies over a certain age) was Lena Warren, with gross-180.
The Nett Champion was Carol King with the lowest nett score of 148 and second-lowest nett was Libbie Dezis with 150.
In her victory speech, a clearly delighted Frankie thanked everyone who had helped to organise the competition and the green-keeping team for their presentation of the Duchy course fit for a Championship competition.
Jane Ball