Gloucestershire Golf Union
Matt Stanford shines at Seniors SW Championships
Report from Seniors South West Championships
The Gloucestershire Seniors team of eight arrived at Minehead with great hopes of qualifying for the English Counties Finals.
Captain Tim Clink had to whittle his team down to the six players who would strive for qualification. Those six were, Matt Stanford, Dave Law, Nigel Gravelle, Nick Barwood, Tim Rogers and Steve Yorke. Mike Burris was sporting a knee injury and so he and the Captain just played for the individual title outside the Team. Minehead was firm and bouncy and when the wind blew, offered a good test of golf, particularly on the back nine. Matt Stanford led the team away with a tremendous drive at the first to ten feet on the par four and whilst the eagle putt slipped by, a birdie was a good start and even better when it was followed by another one on the second with a one over 73 putting Matt amongst the leaders. However, that was where the good news ended for the team. Dave Law was next to play. His opening tee shot was a low, right-angled shank which almost went through the back windscreen of his own car having narrowly missed a Cornwall player warming up in the nets. This was not the start he was after and a triple bogey was the result. After such a terrible start, a seven over 79 was a tremendous effort. Unfortunately, with the exception of Matt Stanford and Steve Yorke who shot a 75 the team struggled ending the day propping up the team scores. The Captain and Mike Burris both shot scores that would have counted had Tim made better decisions, being a 73 and 77 respectively.
Day 2 and the Captain asked for a “Miracle at Minehead” and the team responded. With too much to do to win qualifying, every player improved their score by an average of 2.8 shots with the Team matching the best team total of the day. This showed the Team is as good as we believe it is and that the boys “can do it” and this will add encouragement for next seasons event at Royal North Devon.
Attention then turned to the individual event. Both the Captain and Matt Stanford were in the top 10 over night and with both of them being under par after the front nine the excitement was building! Three careless three putts on the back nine put paid to Tim Clink’s challenge with a three over 75 but one group behind, Matt was tearing the course apart. Three under on the front nine was followed by a back nine of one under for a 68 which was three better than anyone else on the day and resulted in a tremendous four shot victory in the South West Seniors individual title. The team greeted Matt with the usual “chicken” sounds and celebrated his win. Well done Matt, we are all delighted for you.
A disappointing result for the Team but cushioned by the brilliant individual win for Matt.
Thanks to Minehead GC for their hospitality and for presenting the course so well.
RESULTS
1st Matt Stanford 141 -3
T7th Tim Clink 148 +4
15th Mike Burris 151 +7
T24thDave Law 153 +9
T24th Steve Yorke 153 +9
T44th Nick Barwood 157 +13
T44 Nigel Gravelle 157 +13
T54th Tim Rogers 159 +15
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Tim Clink - Seniors Captain
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