The rain started in the middle of the night, carried on through breakfast on Sunday, and just wouldn't stop. It was the Belfry all over again. Lengthy discussions took place over whether to play, how long to play for, and whether the results should even count at all. Four players (thankfully two from each side) called in the union and refused to play.
The captains press ganged their remaining players into participating in order to get a valid result. Both teams seemed to believe they could win, though with only 6 matches to be played, ROW were especially confident of getting the 3 points out of 6 they needed to reach the 121/2 that would now be enough to regain the Dacoity Cup.
With Dudsbury Golf Club kindly agreeing to provide free buggies for everyone, it was agreed to play matches over 3 holes, the 10th, 11th and 18th, with 2 fourballs and 4 singles. The buggies meant that everyone would be a bit less wet and a bit quicker to finish (in theory).
While the eight intrepid golfers headed out bravely seeking sporting achievement, noble endeavour and honourable support of their captains, the four who had refused to take part sat in the clubhouse in shame, quietly coming to terms with how they had let their team mates down.
Day 3 Fourballs:
Hues & Hicks 10 beat Ramshaw & Talbot 8
Cartwright & Ives 4 lost to McDougall & Brownlee 6
So the fourball matches were split meaning ROW maintained their slim one point advantage going into the final four singles matches.
ROW 101/2 England 91/2
Day 3 Singles:
Hicks 5 beat Ramshaw 4
Cartwright 2 lost to Talbot 4
With the first two matches split, the ROW lead the overall contest 111/2 to 101/2 and needed just one more point from the last two to clinch victory.
Again it was skipper McDougall who did the business and clinched a rain sodden victory on a shortened Day 3, just as at the Belfry in 2015. Dave Hues managed a win in the last match but it wasn't enough for England to save the day.
Hues 5 beat Brownlee 2
Final Score: Rest of the World 121/2 England 111/2
ROW won the Dacoity Cup for the second time. England will be determined to win it back in 2019 but everyone will be hoping for just as close a game, and dry weather!
Paul Stone hits Shot of the Week
The Johann van der Merwe Memorial Trophy for the Shot of the Week was awarded to Paul Stone for his long putt on Saturday on the 8th hole. Having finished on the front of green, Paul sent his ball all the way up to the top tier and straight into the cup at the back of the green to clinch a deserved reward.
 |
| Rest of the World celebrate their win |
No comments:
Post a Comment