WINTER LEAGUE RESULTS 2008
|
3rd Leg - The Shropshire G.C.
The
final leg of the 2008 Winter League was played on the Silver and Blue
courses of The Shropshire. Thankfully following the preceding days
torrential rain, the members were greeted with bright but breezy
playing conditions. It proved to be a strange, yet enthralling
tournament, with the golf being a mix of the very good, bad and the
downright ugly!! It culminated, however, in one of the closest ever
finishes in Winter League history.
Andy Paddock and Ian Smith
both started their rounds strongly and after 4 holes were tied for the
lead on 8pts, with Dave Turner a point adrift in third. Ian, showing a
welcome return to his form of the late 90’s, narrowly failed to become
the first player to gain 5pts on one hole when almost birding the Par 4
4th, where he received two shots.
The swirling wind and tricky
slick greens were making scoring difficult and the round was proving to
be a real war of attrition. Ian and Andy maintained their steady play
and reached the turn tied for the lead on a hard fought 16pts, with no
less than 4 members Dave, Andy McLeod, Kevin and Rob Orrock tied for
third, two points adrift. After struggling on holes 5 through 7 Dave
vaulted himself back into contention with a remarkable birdie at the
testy Par 5 9th. After a “duffed” second shot he was faced with a mere
250 yards to the green. This intimidating shot was treated with distain
as he found the front of the green and duly holed a 15 footer for his
net eagle!!!
Despite both Andy P and Ian suffering a scoreless
hole early into the back nine, they still maintained their lead on 18
points after 11 holes but the gap was narrowing with Kev, Andy Mc and
Rob all tied for third, one point back.
Every player was
experiencing fluctuating fortunes. No one could seemingly string a run
of decent scoring holes together to distance themselves from the field.
After 14 holes 3 members, Ian, Dave and Rob were tied for the lead on
24pts with Andy P, Andy Mc and Kev a further two points back. Ominously
for the rest Rob, looking for his third consecutive Winter League
victory had quietly moved into a tie for the lead with some steady play
on the back 9 and his unprecedented Winter League Slam was becoming a
real possibility!!!
Both Ian and Rob however failed to score
at the lengthy Par 4 15th and Dave and Andy P were now tied for the
lead on 25pts with remarkably 4 members Ian, Rob, Kev and Andy Mc only
one point back in a tie for third!!! The final three holes would prove
a real battle to find the winner.
Dave, playing in the first
group out, set the clubhouse target of 33pts. After hitting consecutive
poor tee shots, he scrambled to a vital net par at the dogleg Par 4
17th and a net birdie at the Par 3 18th. Those following would now have
to produce something special to catch him. Andy Mc gained an impressive
net eagle at the 17th and despite going scoreless on 2 consecutive
holes on the back 9 still had a chance of victory. However he found
trouble from the tee and recorded a net bogey. Kevin produced a gross
par at the 17th and was now the only member capable of catching Dave.
From a virtually impossible position at the right side of the 18th
green he failed to chip in which would have given him the outright
victory. His net par tied him with Dave but ultimately lost on
countback, 14pts to 13pts over the final 6 holes.
For the
second consecutive year Dave claimed victory in the final leg. Despite
suffering three nil returns his final score of 33 points was a
commendable performance considering the conditions. His ability to
scramble points from seemingly impossible positions secured his win.
Kevin was agonisingly runner up for the third consecutive tournament
and was left ruing a missed tap-in which would have given him the
outright win. Yet his Winter League performances have been extremely
consistent and he claimed outright second in the overall Winter League
08 standings. Andy P and Andy Mc, producing his highest Winter League
position, were tied for third on 31pts.
Rob’s dream of
completing the Winter Slam faded down the stretch but he was safe in
the knowledge that his Winter League crown was safe. His overall play
during this years Winter League has been formidable and he will be
certainly tough to beat come the summer!!!
This draws to a
close the 2008 Winter League, a highly successful and enjoyable event.
We had 3 good courses and deals and yet again we were lucky with the
weather. It is now onto the Summer Calendar with our first event, the
inaugural May Masters, being played at the awesome Kington Golf Club. I
can’t wait!!! I boldly predict that this summers competitions will all
be close affairs and I truly believe that anyone of our members can win
any event.
Congratulations again Rob on winning the 2008 Winter League Championship for the second time, you thoroughly deserved it.
FINAL RESULTS
| Pos | Player | Pts | Par 3 | Par 4 | Par 5 | Bir | Par | Bog | DB+ | WL |
| 1st | Dave Turner | 33 | 7 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| 2nd | Kevin Oldfield | 33 | 8 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 8 |
| t-3rd | Andy McLeod | 31 | 7 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| t-3rd | Andy Paddock | 31 | 7 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 5 |
| 5th | Rob Orrock | 29 | 9 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| 6th | Ian Smith | 26 | 5 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 10 | |
| 7th | Bob Taylor | 25 | 7 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 12 | |
| 8th | Martin Rainer | 18 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 | |
| Totals | | | | | | 2 | 28 | 47 | 67 | |
* Dave won on countback - Dave 14pts, Kevin - 13pts (last 6 holes)
HOLE-BY-HOLE PROGRESSION
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Dave Turner | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 28 | 30 | 33 |
| Kevin Oldfield | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 27 | 30 | 33 |
| Andy McLeod | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 30 | 31 |
| Andy Paddock | 3 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 31 |
| Rob Orrock | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 29 |
| Ian Smith | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 |
| Bob Taylor | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| Martin Rainer | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 18 |
2nd Leg - West Midlands G.C.
West
Midlands Golf Club provided a potentially stern examination for the 2nd
Leg of our 2008 Winter League. It was our second visit to the course,
and in January 2007 it had produced one of the closest ever Winter
League competitions.
The 9 members struggled on the innocuous
looking opening hole, a 340 yard Par 4, with only Dave Turner and Rob
Orrock registering net pars. The 3rd hole, a lengthy 582 yard Par 5,
was played directly into the strong wind and this allied to a
ridiculously difficult pin position resulted in all members recording
scores of gross double bogeys or worse. Undoubtedly this is this
toughest Par 5 we have ever played in any of our competitions.
After
9 holes Steve Knight and Rob were tied for the lead on a commendable 18
points, with Martin Rainer 2 points adrift in third place. Andy McLeod
had almost become the first Society member, to my knowledge, to score 5
points on one hole. His tremendous approach shot to the Par 4 8th,
Stroke Index 1, finished some 10 feet from the hole. Receiving 2 shots
on this hole, a gross birdie (net albatross) looked likely, however
much to his annoyance he unfortunately three putted.
Steve
continued his fine play with net pars on the opening two holes of the
back 9. However a net bogey at the testy Par 5 12th hole resulted in
Rob and Kevin Oldfield joining him in the lead on 23 points. Dave was a
further two points back in fourth on 21 points. Dave had produced a
remarkable turn around in fortunes. He had recorded, after a good start
to his round with 5 points after the opening two holes, a disappointing
10 points on the opening 9 holes and at one stage trailed the leaders
by 9 points. However gross birdies at the 10th and 12th holes, along
with a gross par at the 11th had vaulted him back into contention.
Rob,
playing some excellent golf, wrestled the initiative away from Steve
with a string of gross pars and with three holes to play held a narrow
1 point lead over Steve, with both Kevin and Dave a further 2 points
back on 29 points. Rob further extended his lead with a fine gross par
at the tricky Par 4 16th and the destiny of the 2nd Leg and the overall
Winter League championship seemingly lay in his own hands.
However
Kevin produced an excellent gross par at the Par 4 17th and playing in
the first group out now had the opportunity to put the pressure on Rob
at the intimidating Par 3 18th with its island green. His tee shot
found the green and his resulting gross par set an excellent clubhouse
target of 37 points.
Rob stood on the 18th tee one point
behind Kevin. He now needed a mere net par to clinch the title, no
bargain in the strong swirling wind at this great finishing hole. His
tee shot initially looked destined to find the lake, however it stopped
precariously close to the edge, but his resulting net par clinched the
2nd Leg and this combined with his excellent win at Cleobury gave him
the overall victory in the 2008 Winter League Championship.
Rob’s
38 point haul was an impressive performance and his overall Winter
League triumph was fully deserved. He has produced two consecutive
rounds of 38 points and is certainly the man to beat at present and has
now remarkably won three consecutive Society competitions!!! Kevin
should be proud of his achievement with his second consecutive runners
up spot in this years Winter League, but has come up against someone
who is “on fire” at present. Steve and Martin were both tied for third
place on 34 points. Steve was left ruing only one point from the 16th
and 17th holes, whereas Martin charged from the pack with five
consecutive gross pars to finish, but it was a little to late.
West
Midlands GC had provided yet another exciting competition. Surprisingly
scores, despite the strong wind and testy pin positions on some holes,
were overall much better than our visit last year. Of 9 players 4 found
water at the 18th, a slight improvement on last year. Dave produced the
shot of the day, holing an amazing downhill 40 foot putt at the Par 5
12th for a birdie.
Although the destiny of the overall Winter
League Championship has been decided we still have a trophy to play for
at The Shropshire in late March. Rob, in literally his own back yard,
will be looking to become the first ever Society player to complete the
Winter Slam. Can anyone stop him? At the moment that looks unlikely
with his Tiger Woods like form. Only time will tell, but I hear
Ladbrokes are already refusing to offer odds on him!!!
FINAL RESULTS
| Pos | Player | Pts | Par 3 | Par 4 | Par 5 | Bir | Par | Bog | DB+ | WL |
| 1st | Rob Orrock | 38 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 10 |
| 2nd | Kevin Oldfield | 37 | 9 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
| t-3rd | Steve Knight | 34 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 5 |
| t-3rd | Martin Rainer | 34 | 11 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| t-5th | Dave Turner | 31 | 7 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| t-5th | Bob Taylor | 31 | 8 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 1 |
| 7th | Andy McLeod | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 9 | |
| 8th | Andy Paddock | 29 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 6 | |
| 9th | Gary Purchase | 18 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | |
| Totals | | | | | | 2 | 43 | 52 | 65 | |
HOLE BY HOLE PROGRESSION
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Rob Orrock | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 29 | 31 | 34 | 36 | 38 |
| Kevin Oldfield | 1 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 29 | 31 | 34 | 37 |
| Steve Knight | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 28 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 34 |
| Martin Rainer | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 27 | 30 | 32 | 34 |
| Dave Turner | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 31 | 31 |
| Bob Taylor | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 30 | 31 |
| Andy McLeod | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Andy Paddock | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 29 |
| Gary Purchase | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
1st Leg - Cleobury Mortimer
Rob
Orrock produced a fine all round performance, in trying playing
conditions, to comfortably win the first leg of the 2008 Winter League.
Seemingly endless days of heavy rain had left the course very wet, with
the greens damp and slow.
Bob Taylor struck the first tee shot
of the 2008 season, with a booming drive down Badgers Sett‘s generous
1st fairway. Initially members struggled to come to terms with the
swirling wind and misty rain, and the first two holes failed to produce
any gross pars. Reigning Winter League champion, Dave Turner, made an
encouraging start to his defence and after 9 holes had secured 17
points to hold a slender one point lead over Rob, Andy Paddock and
Keith Watson.
Keith, who had previously won all 3 competitions
held at Cleobury, recovered from an indifferent start and for the
second consecutive year he birdied the testy long Par 3 8th hole for a
net eagle. His fine tee shot ended up ten foot from the hole. He
quickly followed this up with a net birdie at the 9th.
Deer
Park, our closing 9 holes, had produced some excellent scores on our
visit last year. This year it again provided some good scoring. On
reaching the 14th tee the contest was wide open. Andy Paddock (25pts)
now held a one point lead from Rob (24pts) with Keith (23pts) and Kevin
Oldfield (23pts) tied for third. Dave’s chance had seemingly
disappeared after struggling on the opening two holes of the back 9.
Rob
started to gain control after a net birdie on the short Par 3 14th. He
then produced a blistering run with further net birdies at the 15th,
16th and 17th holes. Standing on the 18th tee he had amassed 36pts and
seemingly held an unassailable three point lead from Andy Paddock.
After surviving an edgy approach shot over the water to the closing
hole, Rob secured a net par to finish with an excellent 38pts and
clinch the 1st Leg.
Andy Paddock finished with a commendable
34pts to tie for second with fast finishing Kevin, who had produced a
terrific rally with a back 9 of 21pts. Keith (33pts) looked to be on
his way to his fourth consecutive victory at Cleobury but never
recovered from a wayward tee shot at the 13th hole which resulted in a
lost ball and a scoreless hole.
Rob’s win puts him in pole
position to claim his second overall Winter League title in three
years. His new Wilson Ultra irons are certainly paying dividends as he
has now won two consecutive Society competitions. He had comfortably
won The Open back in October at Kington and his overall performance at
Cleobury suggests he will extremely difficult to overhaul.
However
it is not totally clear cut as the 2nd Leg will be played at West
Midlands Golf Club where Andy Paddock was victorious last year in one
of the closest ever Winter League competitions. Kevin should be
encouraged with his comeback at Cleobury and West Mids expansive
fairways may benefit him if he can reproduce his excellent driving with
his Dunlop Cube. West Mids also offers the finest closing hole we play,
a daunting 150 yard Par 3 with an island green. Only time will tell how
important this hole will be, but something tells me it will have major
significance on February 24th!!!
FINAL RESULTS
| Pos | Player | Pts. | Par 3 | Par 4 | Par 5 | Bir | Par | Bog | DB+ | WL |
| 1st | Rob Orrock | 38 | 12 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 10 |
| t-2nd | Andy Paddock | 34 | 8 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 7 |
| t-2nd | Kevin Oldfield | 34 | 11 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 7 |
| 4th | Keith Watson | 33 | 12 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| 5th | Dave Turner | 30 | 9 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 2 |
| 6th | Martin Rainer | 28 | 8 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| 7th | Andy McLeod | 25 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 0 |
| 8th | Bob Taylor | 21 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 0 |
| Totals | | | | | | 2 | 26 | 61 | 55 | |
HOLE-BY-HOLE PROGRESSION
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Rob Orrock | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 27 | 30 | 33 | 36 | 38 |
| Andy Paddock | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 28 | 31 | 33 | 34 |
| Kevin Oldfield | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 34 |
| Keith Watson | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 30 | 33 |
| Dave Turner | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 |
| Martin Rainer | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 28 |
| Andy McLeod | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| Bob Taylor | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
FINAL WINTER LEAGUE STANDINGS 2008
| Player | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg | 3rd Leg | Overall |
| Rob Orrock | 10 | 10 | 2 | 20 |
| Kevin Oldfield | 7 | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| Andy Paddock | 7 | 0 | 5 | 12 |
| Dave Turner | 2 | 1 | 10 | 12 |
| Steve Knight | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Martin Rainer | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Andy McLeod | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Keith Watson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Bob Taylor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Purchase | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
|
| Ian Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
(Best 2 from 3 scores to count)
WINTER LEAGUE SCORES RANKINGS
| Player | Rounds
| Par 3 Pts | Rank | Par 4 Pts | Rank | Par 5 Pts | Rank |
| Rob Orrock | 3
| 33 | 1 | 52 | t-2 | 20 | 2 |
| Kevin Oldfield | 3
| 28 | 2 | 59 | 1 | 17 | t-3 |
| Dave Turner | 3
| 23 | t-5 | 49 | 4 | 22 | 1 |
| Andy Paddock | 3
| 26 | 3 | 52 | t-2 | 16 | t-5 |
| Martin Rainer | 3
| 23 | t-5 | 46 | 5 | 11 | 7 |
| Andy McLeod | 3
| 25 | 4 | 44 | 6 | 17 | t-3 |
| Bob Taylor | 3
| 22 | 7 | 39 | 7 | 16 | t-5 |
| Keith Watson | 1
| 12 | 9 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 |
| Steve Knight | 1
| 13 | 8 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Gary Purchase | 1
| 3 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 4 | t-9 |
| Ian Smith | 1
| 5 | 10 | 17 | 9 | 4 | t-9 |