Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 22 at Sprowston

Today saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 round 21 take place at Sprowston. With only two rounds to go this was the last chance for players to position themselves for the grand finale of 'the race to Sheringham', which this year is to be held at Sheringham next week.

It was disappointing to find that 'average stableford points per round' leader Mike had had to withdraw from today but it gave the remaining 5 players a chance to catch up. 

After tuning up 2 minutes after his tee off time last week then it was good to see David had learned his lesson turning up two minutes before the tee off times this week. After much throwing of balls in the air and discussion it was agreed he would have to go in group two with Chris.

Kevin got proceedings underway with an opening par thanks to his drive bouncing back on to the fairway from a friendly oak tree. His teeshots did not improve after this as he kept duffing it into the trees but continued to scramble points on each hole. When he did hit good teeshots on 7 and 9 he follow up hitting the ball into the pond and bunker so it was to everyone's surprise that he finished the 9 on 17 points.

Fortunately Kevin putted well to make up for his woeful front 9 tee to green play

Ian's game looked equally ropy but the trees were not being so friendly to him as he battled with them on several holes. Unfortunately his usual rock solid putting was unable to come to his aid as he could only register 11 points to start with.

A rather miscued opening drive by Ian on the first which set the pattern for the day

Meanwhile Bob had turned up with his A game and was scoring freely so it was a surprise when he decided to send his teeshot on the 7th down Sprowston road and even more of a surprise that he didn't hear the squeal of brakes and a big pile up. However Bob recomposed himself to still get a point on the hole before parring the next two and ending in the lead on 20 points.

Bobs approach to the second hole 

In the group behind David and Chris's main focus was to avoid any blobs as they were the only two players who could now win this competition. There was obvious disappointment from Chris as David sunk an outrageous putt on the third to avoid an early no pointer. He then finished the 9 strongly with 3 pars and a birdie over the last 5 holes and 17 points.

Davids approach on 11

Chris was not doing so well as the trees on the long par 5 fourth gave her an early blob before a number of bunkers restricted her scoring opportunities on future holes leaving her on a disappointing 14 points.

Chris Teeshot on the third and a rare par

The back 9 started better for Ian with an early par but a blob on the short par 3 14th stalled further progress as he finished the round on 26 points and out of the running.

Ians tesehot on 10 landed near the ditch before an excellent chip and putt gave him a par

Kevin started a back 9 fight back and when Bob failed to score on the par 5 13th there was only a point between them. Then to add to the drama Bob 3 putted the next hole before losing his ball on the 15th allowing Chris and David to play through.

Kevins teeshot on 12th led to a par and the fight back was on

By this point Chris was well out of the running as her short game deserted her. Despite a couple of late pars she could only finish on 31 points and out the  running. However she had kept her blob cout to only one for the round.

Chris chipping up to flag for a par on 17

David was still going well and, mainly thanks to his ball refusing to go in the bunkers, and he avoided any blobs recording an excellent 36 points. There was now a nervous wait by the 18th green to see if Kevin or Bob could catch up.

David could only manage 1 point on 17 

He needn't have worried about Bob who had cracked under the pressure with a run of 5 points in 5 holes and even a par on the final hole meant he couldn't catch David as he finished on 35.

Bob stuck in trees on long par 4 11th but he still manged a 5 for 3 points

Over the same 5 holes Kevin had 12 points so as he stood on the last tee only needed to avoid getting his first blob of the day to win. Unfortunately a drive into the trees, a sliced approach, a chip into tree branches and a final 3 putt meant that he couldn't achieve his point and the top prize was shared.

Kevin missing the putt he needed for a win

The scores from today have been entered into a super computer and the golf boffins have been pouring over the printouts to work out what is required for people to win a competition at next weeks grand final. So here is what they say.

Average Stableford points. This is incredibility close with 4 players still in the running so hopefully you can follow this. 
David will win if he gets 31 points (Unless Chris gets 38 when he will need 32)
If he gets less than 31 then Chris will win if she gets 33 points (unless Kevin gets at least 35 or 2 points more than Chris).
If she doesn't get 33 points then Kevin will win if he gets 34
If none of them reach these points then Mike will win

Eclectic (off half handicap). Only Bob and Kevin in the running but Kevin needs to birdie two more unbirdied holes than Bob.

Most Stableford points in a round. Kevin has led since mid June when his 40 pts won the US Open at Woodbridge but with a potential 8 players signed up for the last round then this could still be beaten.

Average blobs per round. David has been targeting this comp since joining the tour and has only had 3 blobs in his 3 rounds to date. He will need to have 5 blobs and Chris only one for him not to win this trophy.

Best combined front and back 9 in July, August and September. Ian still has a two point lead with 41 points. But with Chris (21) and Bob (20) having good front 9's and Kevin (20) and Sandie(20) having good back 9s then they all remain in the hunt.