2015 Dacoity Cup Day 1

Stone lays foundation for Rest of the World lead

The 2015 Dacoity Cup got underway on Friday at The Belfry, on the Derby Course.

 

The highlight of Day 1 was a captain's performance by Rest of the World skipper Paul Stone, who holed a long putt on the last green to clinch a come from behind victory over opposite number Derek Ives. Is this the moment the tide finally turned against England?

 

With seven men on the England side, and six representing the Rest of the World, three of the four matches were three balls, with only the lower of the two players Stableford scores counting from the pair, against the solo player. The fourballs were combined Stableford scores as in previous years. In the singles, one player from Engand would be drawn against a Bye for ROW, meaning that their match would not count towards the Dacoity Cup. 

Threeballs/Fourballs Results:
Pete Coupe  38pts beat Brownlee & Talbot 24pts
Dangerfield & Hone 21pts lost to Van der Merwe 22pts
Ives & Cartwright 27pts lost to Stone 28pts
Hicks & Hay 65pts lost to Dunbar & McDougall 67pts
Rest of the World 3 England 1

Singles:
Dangerfield 21 lost to Van der Merwe 22
Ives 27 bt Brownlee 24
Hay 33 bt Dunbar 30
Coupe 38 bt Talbot 32
Cartwright 30 lost to McDougall 37
Hicks No result v  BYE
Hone 27 lost to Stone 28
Rest of the World 3 England 3

Score at end of Day One:
Rest of the World 6 England 4
So ROW head into Day 2 with a lead for the first time in the history of the competition...

Belfry Preview

Dacoity Cup  2015 Preview

Golf's least prestigious team event gets underway on 24th July at the Belfry with Derek Ives once again leading his England team, who are still unbeaten in the Dacoity Cup, against the Rest of the World. The weekend will also feature the 17th annual Bandit Trophy, over the Brabazon Course on Saturday. The Rest of the World will be led by Paul Stone, who controversially defected after discovering his African ancestry. Paul was a member of Derek's winning English team at the first Dacoity Cup at Celtic Manor. Now he takes on his former skipper at another famous Ryder Cup venue. Here are their team lineups:

 
England

Derek Ives (Captain)
Pete Coupe
Alec Hone
Ken Hicks
Stuart Hay (Bandit Trophy holder)
John Dangerfield
Paul Cartwright
 
Rest of the World
Paul Stone (Captain) - Africa

Johann Van der Merwe - South Africa

Mike Dunbar - Scotland
Alan McDougall - Scotland (well as much as Paul Stone is from Africa)

Dave Talbot - Ireland

Vidal Brownlee - Spain (well as much as Mac is from Scotland)
 
 
 
 
 
  

There will be 3 balls, 4 balls and singles matches each day with 15.5 points needed to win the Dacoity Cup.
Friday - The Derby Course from 2.04pm
Saturday - The Brabazon Course from 9.50 am - The Bandit Trophy
Sunday - The PGA National Course from 9.30 am
 
Mike Dunbar's Course Guide
In case you have never played at the Belfry before, The Elgin marble, Mike Dunbar has made a special reconnaissance visit to give you some tips on how to get round the key holes.
 
Brabazon Course

2nd Hole

"This is a short par 4 so a good scoring opportunity, but a water hazard in front of the green means the sensible play is to take a 5 iron off the tee, and another one to the green."

 

7th Hole

"A tough par 3 with a green surrounded by bunkers so distance control is all important. I reckon it's a solid 5 iron."

 

8th Hole

"Water bloody everywhere, be careful. Stick to a 5 iron and you'll be ok"

 

10th Hole

"Signature hole, driveable for the pros, but the sensible play is a 5 iron short of the bunker. That leaves a 5 iron into the small green with water in front."

 

15th Hole

"A 5 iron should leave you short of the fairway bunker. Then lay up with a 5 iron short of the water. Another 5 iron avoids the deep bunker short of the green - you don't want to go in there without a picnic. A dink with a mid iron - say a 5 - and you're on the green."

 

18th Hole

"A classic. Remember Big Sam bringing the Ryder Cup back home? Relive the moment with a booming 5 iron to just clear the water off the tee, a 5 iron to lay up short of the water in front of the green, then its just a 5 iron to the green. Golf shouldn't be complicated you know. 

Even Bigger Shock as Rest of World Captain Unveiled

We have all got used to players' ancestors and distant relatives being proactively uncovered in order to enable them to qualify for the country of their choice rather than their country of birth. Football, rugby and cricket have all experienced controversy associated with thus trend. Well now it has reached the world of golf, and the Rest of the World in particular.

It was announced today that Paul Stone will not only join the Rest of the World team in this years event, despite having been on the winning England side at Celtic Manor in 2013, but also that he will do so as captain.

Rumours are already circulating that this is a conspiracy to install an English plant and throw the matches and ensure another English victory. Such talk is hardly surprising given the recent corruption scandals surrounding Split Bladder and his cronies. But Stone brushed aside questions about whether  he had accepted a bribe of a single room in order to switch sides, or to help the organisers unseat the previous captain Mike Dunbar after his own email scandal became public.

Paul is adamant that his heart is now with the Rest of the World. "I have recently taken the opportunity via National Geographic to take a DNA test that researches your ancestral make up. I am 10%‎ neanderthal (actually we all have a bit of neanderthal in us but let's put that to one side) so I am happy and proud to represent Africa in the Dacoity Cup."

Shock as Rest of the World Captain Resigns "By Mutual Disagreement"

The latest controversy to dog the Dacoity Cup concerns last year's Rest of the World Captain Mike Dunbar. He has resigned following the leaking of the following email he sent to ODCOC official Paul Cartwright:

Paul,

 

Just to clear a few things up:

 

1.       The money was just “resting” in my Bank Account.
2.       The rumours about the emus are TOTALLY unfounded.
3.       It wasn’t me wot dun it.

 

If you could release that to the world’s press (especially to the ‘Exchange and Mart’ who had three paparazzi following me over the whole golf weekend), then all should be straightened out.

 

Mike

Mike's position as ROW captain has been in doubt since senior team member Alan McDougall was openly critical of Dunbar's methods whilst sat alongside him at the press conference immediately following their defeat at St Pierre last July. The outspoken McDougall's attack on Dunbar was seen as disrespectful of the veteran Scotsman, and shocked the golfing world at the time. Others said that McDougall's comments were not wrong, but were delivered at the wrong time, with his disappointed captain sat just a few feet away.

Following the press conference, the ROW team was awash with criticism of the criticism of the criticism of the criticism. It was generally thought wrong for McDougall to criticise Dunbar for criticising Talbot for criticising Van der Merwe for criticising Brownlee for criticising Dunbar for criticising Maloney.

 

With such division in the team, these latest email revelations were the last straw for Dunbar. It was thought that despite qualifying for the ROW team this year, he might refuse to compete, and that his full set of five irons might be advertised for sale when he walked  away from the game. He has since said he intends to take part, but has refused to captain the team.

Previous captain McDougall “hasn’t ruled out the possibility of being captain again in 2015”. However, negotiations are said to be ongoing between the Official Dacoity Cup Organising Committee and other parties. One insider was reported to have commented on the prospect of McDougall returning as captain by saying "fat chance". It was unclear whether this was cause for optimism on Mac's part or not.

Ives Stripped of Nearest the Pin Prize

Stunning new photo evidence has surfaced which finally settles the controversy over the Nearest the Pin competition at last year's Bandit Trophy!

Derek Ives was eventually awarded the prize after a protracted debate about how the nearest ball in the group in front of him, struck by Paul Cartwright, was marked. Derek somewhat cheekily assumed he had won the prize when his ball landed on the green, because he did not think there was any marker on the green when he arrived. Paul had however left a scorecard pegged into the ground, on the green, which was marked with the words "Nearest the Pin - Dacoity Cup". This in fact marked the position of his ball, though Derek had not realised this, and therefore made no comparison to check whether his ball was closer than the marker.

Previously undiscovered photos have recently arrived at the headquarters of ODCOC which clearly show Derek's ball further away from the hole than the scorecard used as a marker by Paul.


























In a statement, an ODCOC spokesperson said "the evidence is clear. As was thought by many at the time, Paul Cartwright's ball was nearer the pin than Derek's, and it is a travesty that this could not be verified at the time. Unfortunately Derek disregarded what was a traditional Bandit Trophy method of marking the nearest ball to the pin. We can only assume that this was a careless error rather than any sort of foul play but only Derek will ever know the true answer to that."

The official ODCOC ruling is that the Nearest the Pin prize for 2014 should now be retrospectively awarded to Paul Cartwright. Ives has therefore been stripped of his prize.

This has led to speculation over whether Ives should continue as England Captain at this years event. He was not available for comment. ODCOC said that a final decision on this years captaincy in the Dacoity Cup has yet to be made. They refused to say whether this latest controversy will affect the decision.

ODCOC President responds to corruption scandal

As President of the Official Dacoity Cup Organising Committee (ODCOC) I am saddened by todays developments. To see the reputation of this great competition tarnished by the arrest of several ODCOC officials in dawn raids this morning at the Sticket Inn in Newquay is a cause of great disappointment and concern. There have been many accusations made about the way Dacoity Cup venues have been selected and I have refused to believe there has been any wrongdoing. However it seems that the authorities have clearly identified some corrupt individuals within the ODCOC organisation. I will leave them to deal with them in the proper way. I must make it quite clear that I have never been aware of, or had any involvement in any bribes, kickbacks or sweeteners in connection with any bidding process for any Dacoity Cup. I have taken significant steps in each of my 12 terms as President of ODCOC to root out any malpractice and eliminate the criminal and immoral fraternity from our proud organisation. My commitment to throwing out all corrupt individuals is what I believe has led to my repeatedly unopposed re-election to the Presidency, and I shall continue to fight for the rights of ordinary people to enjoy the Dacoity Cup safe in the knowledge that it is all more or less above board, generally speaking.

Despite the alle

gations surrounding the way in which the contest to select the 2015 venue was conducted I see no reason to rerun the original vote or relocate the event, and so it will go ahead at the Belfry as planned on 24-26 July 2015. Coincidentally, payment in fact is now due as follows:

Mr Brownlee and Mr Dangerfield requested single rooms so you need to pay £445.28 (Vid please pass this on to John I don't have an email for him)

Everyone else is sharing and need to pay £327.28.

Funds should be paid to Paul Cartwright via his Natiowide account - sort code 070116 account number 30916488, or by cheque to 10 Castle Rd Tongwynlais, Cardiff CF15 7JQ. As soon as possible please to allow time for funds to be diverted via Switzerland, Nigeria and various other places, and by 14 June at the latest.

Meanwhile I will be working as hard as I can to restore public trust in the Dacoity Cup.

Thank you for your continued reluctant acceptance of my ability to remain in charge.

Split Bladder, President ODCOC.

2014 Dacoity Cup Day 3

Dacoity Cup Heats Up on Day 3 (Old Course):
The concluding day of the 2014 Dacoity Cup was even hotter than the previous two. The temperature was soaring and so was the atmosphere! Would England melt?

Despite the pressure on Derek Ives as his England team faced a ROW backlash, all was not well in the Rest of the World camp either, with questions asked about the loyalty of some members of the team who were caught wearing their oppositions badge on their hat. Could they really mount an effective last day charge with "Twat It" Talbot seemingly unsure if he was on the right team?  

Fourball Results:

Ives & Hone 57 beat Van der Merwe & Maloney 45
Derek led from the front, forming a good partnership with Alec. But had Derek done enough to inspire the rest of his team?

Cartwright & Hicks 44 lost to Dunbar & Talbot 50
Coupe & Hay 51 lost to Brownlee & McDougall 60

The answer was no, as the Rest of the World took 2 of the 3 fourballs to close the gap to 11.5 to 9.5. The tension mounted as the singles draw was revealed match by match.

Singles Results:

Hicks 21 lost to Maloney 27 - England 11.5 v ROW 10.5 - look at Derek sweating!

Cartwright 23 beat Talbot 22 - England 12.5 v ROW 10.5 - hear Dave swearing!

Hay 21 lost to Brownlee 31 - England 12.5 v ROW 11.5

Hone 29 beat Van der Merwe 18 - England 13.5 v ROW 11.5 - Alec guarantees at least a tie for England!!

England Retain Dacoity Cup

Coupe 30 beat McDougall 29 - England 14.5 v ROW 11.5 - Pigeon secures the win!!

Ives 28 halved with Dunbar 28 - An honourable half between two skippers who both put themselves in the last match hoping that the whole thing would be decided before then!!

2014 Dacoity Cup Result:England 15 Rest of the World 12

England proved to be the bigger bandits for the second year running...

 

Shot of the Week:

The Rest of the World had one winner though. Johann's brilliant 6 iron second shot to the 17th finished 8 feet past the pin and won the Shot of the Week. If you look really really closely, you can see it here:

So another win for England, who will be defending on home turf next year at The Belfry. See you there!