For the second week in a row Somerset Captains found themselves driving up the M5 this time to play the Worcestershire Captains at Gaudet Luce.
The question was raised of where was the trophy? Did Somerset or Worcestershire have it?
In the first game John Perkins and Roy Parmiter played well against John Eastoe and Trevor Bassett. Somerset played well but not good enough. The Worcestershire John was a gem as he played his way around and Trevor, the Captain at Gaudet Luce also played out of his skin to win the game 6 and 5 for the home side.
Next up was Glyn Sewell and John Whitewood where in playing a challenging course the local knowledge of Richard Moran and Graham Dumphrey was at a premium. The hosts were off to a quick start but Somerset did their best to try to get back on terms but didn’t manage it.
Guided around the course by past club captain Roy Everett and his playing partner Andrew Tunelly, the Somerset pair of Rob Hirons and Martin Morgan lost the first hole, but settled down over the front nine to be all square at the turn. The back nine was Somerset’s and they won 2 and 1.
In the next match halves were for wimps, 6 holes played and still no half. In a lovely match Andrew Cardus-Hall and Colin Davies played in against Stefan Kotlarzewski and Peter Cooper in which there was never more than two in it. Won on the 17th by Somerset 3 and 1.
Rob Darvell and Murray Parsons managed to get 5 up against Kevin Woodham and John Warham with the interesting pin positions on a course that was playing very well. The comeback started but Murray with his shots managed to get Somerset over the line 3 and 1.
Phil Stone was really pleased to be playing with Maddie Casson, especially as she managed a number of ‘positive’ putts to win holes where a pitch repair was required to mend the mark at the back of the hole! In one case the ball was seen to jump up in the air by a foot before it dropped into the hole. Marty Wilde and John Fletcher had no answer and the match was won 5 and 4 by Somerset.
Phil Tompson and Tony Charalambous played in a long and friendly match in the sunshine. Trevor Sidwell and Dave Colwill playing for Worcestershire went 3 up with 3 to play. Somerset managed to take the match down the 18th but both Somerset players went out of bounds. A birdie with provisional ball by Tony was not enough to win the match and they lost 1 down.
Ian Gover and Jim Skinner, the Somerset President making a guest appearance, played Keith Thern and Shaun Moner. Keith played well on the front nine and Worcestershire soon went 3 up. Shaun complained all the way but things changed on the back nine as his golf improved with the hosts winning 4 and 3. Jim managed to see a lot of the course and lost 9 balls!
The end result was a 4-4 tie. Over the meal the discussion about the trophy blossomed with an agreement to pose with a wine bottle.
A wonderful day, played on an interesting course with tremendous greens. Thanks to Gaudet Luce and Worcestershire Captains.
