“LOCAL LAD” HANGS ON TO DELIVER FIRST TITLE AND LADIES CAPTAIN DELIVERS TWO IN A ROW

( Full results)    PHOTOS NOW IN !

The RAF Golfing community descended on North Cornwall for the first time since 2004 and returned the Championships to Trevose after a 7 year gap.

61 Men, 7 Ladies, Sponsors from Chemring Countermeasures, Thales and EADS DS as well as 2 DSBs (yes 2) attended this years Championships. I cannot confirm that this is a first for golf, to have 2 Director Sports Board (DSB) at an event; however, I can confirm that it has not happened in recent memory as AVM Chris Davison has been DSB for the past 8 years. It shows the high regard that the AVM has for RAF Golf that he chose to spend 4 days with us doing his handover to the new DSB (Air Cdre Barry Doggett).

Trevose’s issues have been well understood over the past few months and it had not been an easy decision to leave the Championships where they were. Credit must go to the Director of RAF Golf (Stu Halliday) for making that brave decision and whilst they were not the best greens I’ve ever seen they certainly were not the worst. The Head Greenkeeper, Neil Taylor hand cut the greens to 3mm each morning and double ironed them making sure that they rolled true and quick and as such they did not detract from the competition.

Monday morning saw the start of a busy day with the first of the men teeing off at 07:40 with a calmer wind than the practice day and in an opposite direction. The forecast was for dry, warm conditions however; in line with the first day tradition the early starters saw rain. At lunch tales of woe abounded the clubhouse (especially regarding escaping some of the new bunkers) however “Local Lad” Steve Davies lead the field with a 4 under par score of 68 and could have been better but for a bogey on the last. Chris Audin (the winner at Trevose in 2002) shot a creditable 73 and was the nearest challenger with Steph Usher on 75 and Ian Graham, Alex Stones, Billy MacLeod and Martyn Dove a shot back on 76.

The afternoon saw the sun come out and with the Trevose course definitely playing “Linksy” the key to making the cut would be distance control and bunker play. Some noticeable names were in danger of not being in the top 30 and ties.

Davies retained his lead but after having RAF old boy Mark Blaber on his bag for the afternoon his score of 80 brought him back to the field. Chris Audin was now in joint second with the RAF Captain (Dean Lewis) who had improved from his morning round with a 3 over par 75. Darren Gould had not yet managed to go “Deep” but his afternoon score of 73 was 8 better and moved him up 15 places to 4th. Adam Spear shot the rounds other low score of 73 and following his morning round of 81 moved up some 20 places.

The pre tournament betting list showing the top 7 was shaping up however there were two noticeable names missing; Stu Halliday and Billy MacLeod had both made the cut but following an 83 each they were off the pace. With the cut at 168 some 31 golfers would contest a further 2 rounds for the right to be crowned this years Men’s Champion.

Day 2 saw calm and dry conditions with the sun out and the temperatures rising. The Non-qualifiers went out in a scratch stableford competition which was won by Mal Wray with a 4 over par score with Ian Robinson and John Crawford one shot back. Mention must go to Nige Bottomley who finished 4th in the Stableford competition with the assistance on a Hole-in-One on the 225 yard par 3, 11th (with a 3 wood). This left the Membership Scheme worse off and his card is on its way to Keith Watt for the money.

The VIPs and Sponsors had gone out after the stableford and with the main competition not teeing off until 13:00 it would be interesting to see how the greens played following half a day’s growth. Round 3 is the traditional “moving day” and some players needed to score low to push for Inter-Service selection. The searing heat of the afternoon was proving to be too much for some but no hole attracted a double figure score as in the previous 2 rounds or would do in the last.

The best score of the round saw 3 players shoot a 74. Chris Audin continued to push the leader, Steph Usher moved in to the top 3 showing the potential that others had recognised in him throughout the season and Stu Halliday was moving ominously up the field but his round one 83 had left him 10 shots back. Steve Davies shot a 75 leaving him 3 shots clear. Ian Graham remained in the top 10 with his 3rd round of 76 and Andy Moss was creeping up the leader board and showed no ill effects from the bruising he had received whilst getting stuck in a window as he took the unconvential route of entering his accommodation through the window rather than the door.

The afternoon round also saw a first for a while; 10 VIPs, Officials and Sponsors marched out on to the course to watch the action from the various vantage points that Trevose offers. This was welcomed by the players and as all started to congregate around the last few holes the hold up on the 15th tee gave the players the opportunity to talk to the Sponsors without distracting them from the job at hand.

To Day 3 and Round 4; with the leaders teeing off at 10:00 the greens and light wind would offer no excuse although the inevitable pressure of winning, being in the top 5 and potential Inter-Service selection for any new boys might.

Stu Halliday continued his impressive run with a one over 73. Billy MacLeod shot the low round score (level par) 72 as did the RAF Captain, Dean Lewis. Stu and Billy both rueing their Day 1 scores but in true Scottish style shrugged it off as one of life’s mysteries. Both did however; secure top 5 places thus guaranteeing selection for the Inter-Services. Gordon Scarratt, back in his first Champs for a while shot a 74 to secure a top 10th place.

The disaster of the day has to go to Steph Usher who slipped out of contention with a disastrous 5th hole in which in the finest traditions of golf and sportsmanship he called a penalty on himself when others may have not. It is not for me to single out one specific player but over the past 18 months I have witnessed this individual develop into a RAF Golfer with huge potential and someone who will play Inter-Service golf without doubt. So take away from this experience that it was one bad hole out of 72.

With Lewis as the clubhouse leader on 302 the Northern Region Director, Ian Robinson, was seen sprinting up the 18th. There had been no dramas to date so the assembled masses wondered what the problem could be. “What are the rules on a play off”? he asked. This hadn’t even entered the thought process as Steve Davies had a comfortable lead however; this sent yours truly heading for the rule book and the clubhouse to come up with a cunning plan. With decision made a sudden death play off would take place, as they had used in the “Brabazon” Trophy, over the 10th, 11th, 17th and 18th if needed.

As the leaders came up the last Chris Audin birdied the last to finish on 301. This meant that a play-off was a real possibility as Steve Davies had an approximate 25 footer, for a birdie, to secure the title by one shot. He duly holed it to make it a closer finish than the round one 68 had suggested.

So with rounds of 68, 80, 75 and 77 for a total score of 300 Steve Davies clinched his first RAF Men’s Individual Championship.

In the Ladies competition 7 players battled it out playing 54 holes over 3 days.

Day 1 saw Michelle Burgess, the locals favourite, lead both the Gross and Net competitions from Rachel McAlpine. The Gross competition was always likely to be a two horse race but Claire Hill was only 3 behind in the Nett.

Day 2 saw the Ladies lead the field ahead of the Stableford and with Michelle and Rachel again playing with each other in a two ball there was a head to head matchplay feel about Round 2. Roles were reversed and with scores of 92 and 84 respectively it was now Rachel that led both the Gross and Nett.

Day 3 saw the Ladies go out behind the men and in reverse order. Rachel McAlpine managed to better Michelle’s score by 2 and retain the title that she had won at Fulford the year before. Michelle won the nett competition a trophy that she had previously held in 2002 funnily enough the last time the competition was held at Trevose.

2009 RAF Champions, Steve Davies and Rachel McAlpine

Full results

All are invited to the 2010 Championships to be held at Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire over the period 21–23 June.

                                   Words by Phil Crossland (RAFGA Finance Director)