Golf round-up: The latest news from Harrogate & district's courses

Knaresborough GC

Despite peppering his round with birdies, George Firth had to put his foot down over the back nine to see off the challenge of the ever-combative Ivor Roy in Division One of the Knaresborough GC Medal.

Firth shot a one-under 35 over the back stretch to ensure his 69 had the edge over nearest rival Roy, also on 69.

“Solid golf, nothing too special” was his over-modest judgement. Three putts rankled, but four birdies swung the balance.

A wedge to six foot ensured the first at the short third, three fine shots to the long eighth left him the four-foot birdie putt.

Then a four iron off the tee and a chip to two feet sealed the third, while a similarly confident approach at the long 17th saw him sink a three-footer for the four. Tom Halliday finished third with 70.

Two narrowly-missed birdies at the first and fourth fired up Flemming Dalgard in Division Two. A host of fairways in regulation followed as his driver delivered in style.

A four iron and pitching wedge left him just over three feet for birdie at the 14th, but it was a big sigh of relief when he eventually found the ball after a bad hook into trees at 16. Double bogey was definitely a lucky escape.

Second on countback was Grant Dalton, third on 70 was Graeme Sharp.

A four-under 68 capped a winning round in Division Three for John Tonkinson, with Paul Weston second on 69 and John Foster third on 70.

It’s not true of course that everything comes to he who waits, but winning the Mr and Mrs trophy after almost 30 years of entering the competition was not without a sense of ‘job done’ satisfaction for Mike and Pat Mckay.

They finished on 44 points in the annual greensome event, followed by Sue Robertson and Kevin Bates on 42, and Mike and Sarah Pedder on 39.

Julie Lovell and Richard Binns led the field in the Mixed Pairs Trophy with an even-more handsome 45 points, with Malcolm Lawrence and Pamela Hunter second on 41, and Barry McDermottroe and Julie Hargreaves third on 38.

By his own standards, Carl Peirson’s golf had been in the doldrums - until “a few days of practice” supercharged it to clinch a scorching Division One success in the Pro Stableford.

The impact was immediate: a wedge from 116 yards to post a hole in one at the third, then three successive birdies at seven, eight and nine, the latter two par-fives.

At the seventh, a driver then wedge to 12 feet nailed the three while at eight and nine his new seven wood conjured some magic as it found the green in two to find the cup comfortably with two putts for the birdie four.

The harder back nine saw some putts just missing but his day wasn’t finished. Peirson, off one, found the 18th in two where a 30 foot birdie resulted in a three under 69, 41 Stableford points.

Tom Halliday got the better of Graham Oxley on the countback to close out on 39 points.

With an equally good score, Henry Webster took the honours in Division Two after what he felt was “nothing special.”

So often a player’s verdict after a trouble free round, but he acknowledged that hitting greens and “better-than-normal” putting was a key ingredient, especially when you sink a 30-foot putt at the long eighth for birdie.

A par round of 36 points earned Trevor Skinner victory in the third division, while Paul Weston on 35 and Aland Kitching on 32 finished second and third.

It’s been a been a week to celebrate in the Peirson family, as wife Louise continued to register improvement by winning the Ann Balsdon Millennium Bowl with a 72.

There was no hole-in-one at the third - a la Carl - but a birdie two certainly perked up her round.

Solid driving and evading tree trouble plus that indispensable - good putting – accounted chiefly for her success.

This is not that surprising when you note that her handicap index has dropped a steep 20 points to 30.1 since she joined the club last April.

Di Hayward was close behind on 73 for second place, with Linda Lawson finishing third on 76.

The always-tenacious Janice Spink led the way home in the ladies’ Nine hole Accumulator with 20 points, ahead on countback of Chris Fitchett, with Eileen Peters third on 18.

Harrogate GC

The Ladies' June Medal also incorporated the Jubilee Salver. This trophy is awarded to the player with the lowest nett score in the Medal.

Congratulations go to this year’s winner, Celia Fowler, who managed a fine nett 68. Results:Division One - 1st Nicola Butters, 93 – P.H.23 = nett 70; 2nd Caroline Wood, 91 – 18 = 73; 3rd Jenny Hill, 91 – 16 = 75.

Division Two - 1st Celia Fowler, 98 – 30 = 68; (Winner of the Jubilee Salver); 2nd Margaret Brown, 100 – 29 = 71; 3rd Tina Meadows, 112 – 38 = 74.

Division Three - 1stClaire Hall, 124 – 48 = 76; 2nd Elizabeth Goody,​117 – 40= 77; 3rd Lindsay Bancroft, 123 – 40 = 83.​ Nine-hole Medal - 1st Margaret Lander,65 – 32 = 33; 2nd Claire Hall, 59 – 25 = 34; 3rd Carol Coleman, 61 – 24 = 37.​

There was another large field for the Midweek Stableford, where, again, there was some formidable scoring, meaning that things were very tight at the top.

There was a terrific battle between the single-handicappers Matt Fowler and Paul Farrand and, ultimately, they could only be separated after a countback.

After both men scored 38 points, it was Fowler who came out ahead to take third place.

Also tied one point better off were Ian Watson and Mel Goody. Watson has enjoyed a good run lately and that form was enough to see him take the win.

Results: 1st I. Watson, (P.H. 15), 39 pts.(bb9); 2nd M. Goody, (34), 39 pts; 3rd M. Fowler, (3), 38 pts. (bb9); 4th P. Farrand, (7), 38 pts.

Last week’s turn-out was relatively small for the ladies' competitions as quite a few were at Oakdale GC’s Invitation Day and some were on holiday.

Playing in the Par/Bogey Competition, Louise Wright produced an amazing score of six-under against the course. Results: 1st Louise Wright, P.H. 24, score, 6; 2nd Elizabeth Goody, P.H. 39, 0; 3rdLindsay Bancroft, P.H. 40, 0. Nine-hole Stableford - 1st Margaret Lander, P.H. 32, 25 pts; 2nd Lynne Shears,​P.H. 26,​18 pts; 3rd Dawn Eades, P.H.17, 18 pts.

Nine-hole Belmont Stableford -1st Margaret Lander, P.H. 23, 20 pts; 2nd Christine Holland, P.H. 24, 12 pts.

The second Midweek Stableford of June attracted a huge entry of 78 players and they certainly enjoyed favourable conditions.

The competitive nature of this weekly feature continues to produce good scores and crowded leaderboards, and last week was no exception with five players covered by just two points.

Derek Hood survived a shaky start to return with 38 points and take fifth place.

Three players came in on 39 points and the 'card play-off' saw Neil Patience in the prizes for the first time.

He secured second place from Steve Erskine, who made a welcome return to leaderboard in third, while another good week for Mel Goody saw him take fourth place.

Simon Butterwith was the winner, with a score of 40 poits.

The June Medal was played the day after Harrogate GC hosted the latest round of the Y.G.U. Order of Merit event for the Vardon Grip Trophy.

Thus, the players had to contend with a course set up to test the best amateur players, with fairways displaying “bags of run”, very fast greens and tricky pin positions.

In addition to the course set-up, competitors experienced humid and, at times very blustery wind, with storm clouds threatening.

Remarkably, despite all of the above, those in contention still manage to produce exceptional scores.

With a gross 67 and a nett 5 under par, the best score of the day saw Lewis Delaney win Division One by 2 shots from Jonny Goodall, who seems to be recapturing his best form.

Neil Fegan built on his success in the Belmont Bowl, taking third with a 2 under par 67.

Graham McKay and Carl Winston were tied also with an under-par score of nett 68. McKay’s better back-nine earned him fourth place.

A countback was required to determine the top two in Division Two, and it was the in-form Robbie Whellans who came out on top after he and Nick James returned with an excellent nett 65.

John Meredith, nett 67, took third place ahead of four players signing for the course par score of 69.

Henry Weemes had the better back-nine to seize fourth spot from Antony Armstrong, John Parkinson and Jonathan Pepper.

Neil Patience’s week got even better as he secured the Division Three title after scoring a fine nett 67. Behind him were four players tied on nett 69.

The required count-back gave Chris Schofield second place from Philip Rhodes, Arthikan Sivanandarajah and Robin Hinchley.

The Harrogate GC pair of Ann Lancaster and Pat Capps have qualified for the Ladies' County Finals after their fine showing at the Regional Finals, played at Saltburn.

The Ladies 'A' Team played Ilkley GC at home. In a tough match Ilkley prevailed 3.5-1.5.

The Ladies Weekend Team drew at home with Woolley Park 1.5 each.

The Seniors' local derby at home to Pannal GC resulted in a 4.5-1.5 win.

Oakdale GC

The Jubilee Mixed, the first of the mixed board competitions took place recently, with partners drawn randomly.

It was a large entry, with a lot of new faces taking part and the scoring was good.

The eventual winners were a last-minute pairing. Debbie Brecht stepped in at short notice to play with Shane Stanley and they managed a very creditable 43 pts.

Their playing partners, Jamie Letts and Judy Foxton, came in second with 41 pts.

Oakdale's 'A' Team played Ilkley GC at home and enjoyed a convincing win 4.5 to 0.5.

The Scratch Team hosted Huddersfield GC the following day and lost 3-2 in what was a close contest.

On a cool and blustery day, seven pairs from Oakdale went to Saltburn to play in the regional final of Ladies County Foursomes.

There was a large field and scoring was difficult, but the seasoned pairing of Anne Jones and Jayne Nicholson scored 36 pts and now progress to the competition's final, to be played at Scarcroft GC in August.

The Ladies played the June Medal across two days. This was also a qualifier for the Webster Bowl, with the top eight nett scores qualifying.

The overall winner and Division One winner was Jane Henderson (17) with a stunning nett 63.

Second was Oakdale's Lady Captain, Allison Wormald (14), with nett 71 & third was Kate Key (23) with nett 72.

Coming home in top spot in Division Two was Julia Whittington (25) nett 74.

The Nine-hole Stableford competition was won by R Hague with 13 pts.

The Men's Monthly Medal was played on Saturday June 7 with 114 players taking part.

The best gross score of the day was John Watchorn (5) with an excellent 71.

The best nett score and the winner of Division Three was Joseph Key (19) with a 64. Michael Barker (18) was second and also took the Division Two title.

Division One was won by Carl Westerman (8) with 66 nett.

Twenty-five twos were recorded, with Lee Jones scoring two of them.

The Wednesday Medal attracted 103 entrants and the best overall score and winner of Division One was Mark Sanderson (9) with 67 nett.

The Division Two winner was Daniel Burgess (17) with 70 nett, while Division Three went to Andrew North (26) with a 68 nett.

Just 10 twos were recorded on the day.

Rabbits Captain’s Day was played on Sunday June 8.

The good weather lead to excellent scores with Paul Ibbetson serving up a solid 42 pts, with Steve Heninghem second with 38 and Andy Laycock third on 36 pts.

The Junior Stableford was played the same day and won by Patrick Short (34) with an excellent 41 pts. Edward Thirsk (40) was the runner-up with 39.

Pannal GC

Tuesday June 10 was Ladies Invitation Day, and 17 teams of four took part in an AMAM competition (two scores to count, with all four to count on the 18th).

The winning team, with a score of 88 points, was Katie Burke and Rachel Laycock with their guests, K Appleton and Joanne Clark.

In second place, with 84 points, were Joy Bowler and Rebecca Booth with their guests, Sue Severn and C Lewis. Lady Captain Vicky Eyre and Helen Mountford, with their guests S Huddy and K Sutton, came third on 82 points.

The Centenary Porringer Medal was held on Saturday June 14.

Ian Douglas won Division One, going out in 34, coming back in 36 with four birdies and 12 pars, beating R Allan Cooper in a card play-off. Will Eardley took third.

Tim Rhodes won Division Two, going out in 40, coming back in 40 with 10 pars, beating Mathew Atkinson by one shot. Philip Cave finished in third spot.

Bella Mountain won Division Three with a score of 71, beating Simon Barnicoat by one shot, while Michael Rhodes was third.

Rudding Park GC

The Ranger Trophy, held on Saturday June 14, was a pairs scramble format, which added an extra layer of fun and strategy.

Rudding Park’s two newly-crafted holes, recently opened on the course, added a refreshing challenge to the already dynamic pairs scramble format, pushing competitors to adapt and collaborate effectively.

After close finish, Richard Williams and David Foster came out on top with an incredible nett score of 60.3, taking home the prestigious Ranger Trophy.

Right behind them, Guy Jenkins and Julian Henrey grabbed second place with a solid nett score of 62.5.

Andrew Capener and Graham Salt took third with 63.3, and Chris Triggs and Stephen Bailey weren’t far behind, finishing fourth with 63.7.

This year’s competition was combined with the Summer Pairs League, an annual series running over the summer months with a different format each time.

After two events in the league, the current leaders are Dave Foster, Ian Rotherham, Paul Thompson, and Richard Williams, who have all shown amazing consistency so far.