Mendip’s annual running of the Flower Cup saw a reduced entry of 83 Competitors, due to the clash with the last day of the Ryder Cup. The excellent playing conditions led to some very good scoring.
Division One saw a four-way countback on 68, with Spencer Pocock winning ahead of James Baughan, Wayne Black and Ben Cox. Division Two saw a further countback on 68, with Neil Bath gaining his first victory for some time ahead of Phil Butcher, with Stephen Davis third with seventy, again after countback.
Division Three saw the best scoring of the day, with Nick Inskip third with 67, Peter Walsh second with 65 and a fine round of 64 from Colin Wiltshire. However, none of these were quite good enough to match Cup Winner, 21-handicap Paul Antell, with his excellent score of 63.
The Ladies’ Stableford competition saw a win in Silver Division by Liz Rose, with 35 points beating Anne Hopkins on countback, with Jean Padfield third with 34. Bronze Division went to Joan Clark, a splendid achievement for this senior player with 33, beating Cora Pavey and Carol Curtis, both with 32 points. Copper Division saw a win for Dee Garnsworthy with 33, with Elaine Richardson second with 32 and Gina Howard third with 28 after countback.
The Ladies’ Vyvyan Clare Trophy, played at the weekend, is a competition played against the card, and this year was won by Nichola Croft, +2, ahead of Jenny Merrett, +2, and Elaine Kitchenham, +1. The Coronation Cup, a KO competition, saw a win for Chris Williams, who beat Chris Atkinson in the Final.
The Ladies’ League season has now been completed, with mixed results for our teams. The Alliance A Team lost their final match, 6-8, against Farrington, with wins for Aimee Sawyer, Chris Olds and Jo Espley. Unfortunately, this means that they will be playing in Division Three next season, which is not surprising, having lost three key players this season.
The B Team suffered a heavy defeat when visiting Worlebury, with only Hilary Rowdon tasting success. However, they will remain in Division Four next season. The Ladies’ Inter-Club Team, however, under the Captaincy of Chris Williams, had an excellent season and gained a second successive promotion, and will play in Division One next season.
The Final Seniors’ Qualifying Competition of the year saw an entry of 71, and took place in near-perfect playing conditions. Division Three was won by Bob Smallcombe with 37 points, Selwyn Rees was second with 36 and Derek Strudwick third with 35. Division Two went to Robert Earney with 41, with Martin Osborne second with 39, beating Martin Russell on countback.
Division One saw a victory for Chris Bryant with 41, with Phil Butcher continuing his fine form in second with forty and a resurgent Mike Snaith third with 39.
The Seniors entertained Wedmore and clinched a 4½-1½ win, with victories for Alan Evans-Jones/Keith Beasley, Colin Davies/Kevin Carmody, Andy Frampton/Steve Cox and Philip Moores/Brian Say, with Alan Edwards/John Brooksbank gaining a half. This was followed by a halved match against Taunton and Pickeridge, this time with wins for Hugh Campbell/Henry Banks, Mike Snaith/Tony Taylor and Mike Sharp/Colin Davies.
Tony Williams