Club Championship season has continued as both Bury St Edmunds GC and Flempton GC held their most major of competitions this past weekend.
Flempton held their Men’s Championship, which is 36 holes played across two days, with the Briggs Cup going to the player with the lowest gross score.
This year that was won by Jack Rust with scores of 75 and 69 – two shots better off than Dan Wilson in second.
Jack Rust and Andrew Sandford were among the prize winners at Flempton Picture: David Knight
Meanwhile, the Vincent Goblet is awarded to the nett champion, which this year was Andrew Sandford, whose nett 137 was good enough for a one-shot victory over David Daniels.
Elsewhere, at Bury St Edmunds GC, the Men’s and Ladies’ 36 Championship are run concurrently, as well as a 9-hole Course Ladies’ Championship.
For the men it is the Championship Trophy for gross and the Bobby Jones for nett, while the Ladies play for the Championship gross and Millennium Plate for nett.
Russell Oakey was the victor in the Men’s Championship with a level par gross 144, Ben Whittaker was second on the same score but ineligible to win the trophy.
In the Ladies’ gross, Jasmine Points successfully defended her title with a 154 total across the weekend, with Alice Barlow second on 158.
In the Bobby Jones, Ben Johnson claimed top spot on nett 140, Johnathan Wiseman was second, and just like at Flempton, he was only one shot behind.
The Ladies’ Millennium Plate went to Bianca Theeruth on nett 146, which is 2 under her handicap. Julie Byford was second on nett 149.
Finally, the 9-hole event gross was won by Janice Clarke with 43, and Linda Holt took the nett with 29.
Well played and congratulations to all the winners across both clubs.
Stearn Trophy
The Suffolk Ladies’ Stearn Trophy has reached the quarter-final stage, and west Suffolk has half of the eight teams in the draw.
Bury St Edmunds secured their place by beating Bungay at Fynn Valley (all matches are played at neutral venues), while Royal Worlington defeated Ipswich at Bury St Edmunds.
Haverhill were at Newton Green to claim victory over Felixstowe and Stowmarket beat Southwold at Diss to set up an ‘all west’ clash against Bury St Edmunds.
Royal Worlington will face Bramford in the quarters, with Haverhill playing Fynn Valley.
Good luck to all the teams on our patch, it would be lovely to see the trophy head this way in 2025.
Thetford GC
Continuing the Championship theme of the week, the Thetford Senior Men’s Club Championships Scratch competition was won by Rob Burleigh with a gross 77.
The nett competition was won by Michael Elsworth with a 67, while the Over-70s competition was won by Ian Gowens with a 70.
In what is always a fantastic event, 13 past captains placed their teams to win the Past Captains’ Competition on Saturday.
There was a new champion in Steve Nichols this year, winning the competition by just one shot. Congratulations to Steve, Andy Tabrar, Mike Hall and Dick Sisman.
Meanwhile, the Frank Salmon Bowl – a medal competition – had a runaway winner in Kevin Stannard, who shot an amazing nett 62.
This was seven shots better than those in second place with their 69s.
Although starting with a double bogey, Kevin – a 23 handicapper – was out in 5 over par and back in 8 over par.
The Carter Rose Bowl is one of the premier mixed competitions at Thetford and the winners by a healthy four-point margin were Peter Disher and Debbie Pollard-Barnes with 45 points.
Runners-up were Christopher Clarke and Jan Fawdry.
Haverhill GC
The Shrubberies is on of the Haverhill Ladies’ Major tournaments each year. It is a 4BBB Stableford event, using the 85 per cent handicap calculation.
A hotly-contested affair as usual, The Count was flown in to decide the winner as two pairs both returned 43 points.
Lifting the trophy this year was Linda Alexander and Theresa Spittle, with Caroline Carpenter and Lindsay Cornish having to settle for second place.
The Suffolk GC
There was a weekend of Medal competition at The Suffolk. First up on the Saturday, Alf Jackson took top spot, by virtue of The Count, with his nett 71 holding a greater back nine than Chris Carnaby in second.
However, there was no need for mathematics on the Sunday as Gavin Hogg was the winner on nett 68, two shots clear of John Dale with a 70. Carnaby had to settle for third this time.
The Suffolk Seniors held a Greensomes event. The format was pairs, who both tee off every hole, choosing the best tee shot then playing alternate shots from there.
Bob Hope and Eric Gray used all their experience, and a little help from The Count, to overcome Roger McGann and Bernie Nunn as both pairs returned 42 points.
Elsewhere, Carnaby proved that patience and resilience are his trademark as he finally got the victory his consistent play deserved as he took top spot in the Midweek Stableford. Not wanting to rely on The Count he scored 36 points, one shot ahead of John Dale in second.
Stowmarket GC
The Stowmarket men took part in their Monthly Medal competition, and as is custom, there is a weekend of events across three divisions.
On Saturday, Lee Edwards won Division 1 with a nett 68, Rob Harvey took Division 2 with a fine nett 64 and Paul Fisher used The Count to top Division 3 on nett 68 ahead of Rodney Elsden.
On Sunday, Colin Leathers scored a fantastic nett 63 to win Division 1. Ian Hurst-Cotton was the best score in Division 2 with a 64 and Paul Evans took Division 3 with nett 69.
As always, have a great golfing week.
