By Steve Acteson
Simon Leggatt scored his maiden hole-in-one on Canterbury’s tough par 3 17th – but still finished second on countback to winner Alan Holcroft in Sunday’s 17-hole Men’s December Stableford, with 34 points.
Holcroft (h7) began at the 10th with successive pars, double-bogeyed the 12th and was then level par to the turn from a birdie at the 17th, four pars and a bogey at the 15th for 20 points.
Simon Leggatt scored his first hole-in-one on Canterbury’s par 3 17th
With the 5th hole closed after vandalism, he then scored 14 points on the front eight from four pars, three bogeys and a short-game meltdown for no points on the par 5 7th.
Leggatt (h4) also began at the 10th, and his ace took him to 18 points for eight holes, but he scored only one on the 17th from a bogey, before covering the front eight in three over par for 15.
Three-birdie John Clark, Gordon Miller, Andy Davies, Pat Nash and seventh-placed Sam Warren also scored 34 points in a field of 61.
Leggatt said: “It’s my first one ever, I’ve been two inches away and I thought I’d never get one, so I’m over the moon, especially as it was the 17th.
“It was 182 yards, I hit a good 4 rescue club up the left-hand side of the green, perfect pace, and it just rolled round and into the hole.”
Holcroft said: “I parred 10 and 11 which was a good start, I made a silly bogey on 12 but then held it together for the rest of the nine and holed a 40 yards pitch on the 17th for birdie.
“That probably won it for me because I struggled a little on the front. On the par 5 7th I was greenside for two and then thinned two chips and ended up three-putting, so I blobbed that one and I was really surprised to win.”
Wal Kalinowski scored a two-birdie 35 points to win Saturday’s mixed 17-hole Sutton Cup on countback from Nigel Hylands and Mark Bailey in a field of 66.
Kalinowski began at the 9th with a par and then covered the back nine in two over, with a birdie at the 16th, for 19 points.
He failed to score on the 1st but birdied the 7th and had six pars on his remaining holes for another 16.
Hylands was two over on the front eight for 18 points and was up to 30 before coming to grief on the 15th and then finishing with three bogeys for 17 and second place on countback from Bailey, who eagled the 7th.
Kalinowski said: “It was just a steady round from the start, I was hitting fairways and greens and my chipping and putting were very good, I chipped in for birdie on the 16th.
“I hit 3 wood and then a 5 iron, it was a little bit windy, and I left it short by the bunker, but I chipped in and on 17 I nearly chipped in for another birdie.
“On the 3rd, 4th 6th and 8th I was putting for birdie and missed but, on the 7th, I managed to get on in three on the left-hand side and holed a 15-footer for birdie.”
Bailey started on the 18th and was then two over for 19 points on the front eight, following a no-points double bogey on the 2nd with a birdie at the 6th before pitching in for a five-points eagle at the 7th.
He then blew out on the 11th for a total of 16 points on his back nine, saying: “It was my first eagle and I was delighted. I hit a cracking drive and 5 wood, I was about 120 yards out, hit a wedge and thought: ‘That’s a nice shot’ and it went straight in the hole.”
Ted Rich scored 25 points to win the juniors’ end-of-season Wooden Spoon competition by three from Sanja Gullipalli. Ben Holcroft was third with 20 in a field of 12.
The competition was played before the juniors’ end-of-season prizegiving.
Winners at Canterbury Golf Club’s junior prizegiving, standing (from left): Ted Rich, Will Downs, Harry Andrews, Georgina Carlotti, Louis Garvey, Christina Carlotti and Ben Holcroft. Kneeling: Callum Ferrett, Emilio Lockhart and Caleb Twyman
Graham Vaughan hit an 8 iron to six inches for a three-points birdie on the 13th en route to 37 points to win last Wednesday’s 17-hole Men’s Midweek Stableford by one for his third victory of the year.
Vaughan also had six pars on his opening eight holes for an outward 18 points and birdied the 13th along with three pars, four bogeys and a double at the 15th for 19 back, from a total of 76, net 64, to win by one from Anthony Arscott.
Arscott was level par on his opening eight, with a birdie at the 3rd, a bogey at the 6th and six pars for 19 points but failed to score on the 11th to come back with 17 including a further birdie at the 17th. Gary Fisher scored 91, net 64, for 34 points and third place in a field of 37.
Vaughan said: “It was one of those strange days when everything just came together and all those pars on the front eight came from good golf shots, I didn’t hole any particularly long putts.”
Kate Jain was celebrating her maiden win after scoring 34 points to claim last Wednesday’s 17-hole Women’s December Stableford on countback from Caroline Collins.
Jain scored a four-points par on the 7th and another 12 from a further par at the 8th, three bogeys and one double, for 16 points on her front eight, despite failing to score on the 2nd and 9th.
She came back with 18 from a par at the 14th, four bogeys, three doubles and one scoring triple to pip Collins (h9), who was out in two over par for 18 points but failed to score on the 11th for a back-nine 16.
Angela Jones (h7) birdied the 2nd but then dropped six shots for an outward 14 points, adding 18 on her return nine from six pars, two bogeys and a double at the 15th, for third place on a field of 15.
Jain said: “It’s my first win and I’m very excited about it, the wheels didn’t fall off like they normally do.”
