As tradition dictates then this season's Round Norfolk Golf tour kicked off at Hunstanton with the Masters. The first major had attracted a record field of 7 chasing the huge £5 first prize that would see the winner head straight to the top of this year's money list in the race to Sheringham.
This years 'previous Masters winners gala dinner' was once again a total farce as no one told Jill, Chris or Bob that they needed to have one. I hope this years winner remembers to sort it out in 2019.
Back at the golf groupings were decided and it was off to the first tee with tour rookie Vince being given the order of getting the 2018 RNSG tour underway. He performed well under the pressure with his drive finding the very, very edge of the fairway. It led to the first of an unprecedented twelve 1 pointers during the round. However thanks to his outrageous 27 (yes 27!) handicap the excellent birdie he got on the tricky 6th led to 5 points and much muttering from his playing partners. He finished the front 9 on 14 points.
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Vince gets the 2018 season underway
(despite releasing his hands far to early in his down swing) |
Chris was next off hoping to recapture the form from when she won the Masters back in 2016, (she didn't) and had a mixed opening 9 with 3 pars, 2 birdies and 13 pts.
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| A solid looking putt for Chris |
Tracey was the final member of the opening group and got off to a flyer by birding the first and following it up with another birdie on the 5th. After 6 holes she was well in the lead with 15 pts.
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| Tracey gets off to a birdie start on the first |
However it was sadly downhill from then on in as she blobbed half of the remaining 12 holes to finish on 25 pts. As it turned out it was still good enough for a share of 3rd place and her first 50p on this years money list.
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| Tracey putting on 17th and grabbing an important point to finish joint 3rd |
In the group behind Robert started strongly with an opening par before using his local knowledge to demonstrate how to play a links course on a windy day. His putter was hot too as he racked up an impressive 19 pts at halfway.
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| Robert gets down with two putts to secure 2 points on the 2nd |
Kevin was playing well tee to green but his putter was so cold it had icicles hanging off it and he 3 putted 6 of the first 12 holes. My how he laughed about it.
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| Kevin holes his a rare putt on the 3rd |
After a giving himself a good talking to on the 13th tee he agreed not to 3 putt anymore and finished better with a total of 25 and share of 3rd place.
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| Kevin escapes from the bunker on the 15th which Bob and Robert also drove into |
Bob had decided on a curious front 9 strategy by failing to score a point on all the even numbered holes. This restricted his scoring opportunities and he did well to get 11 pts on the holes he could be bothered to complete.
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| One of the shots leading to 0 points on the 4th (an even hole) |
Jo the final member of the group was making scoring her card easy by averaging a point a hole for most of the front 9 until she spoil it with a good bogy and 2 pts on the 8th.
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| Jo spent some time in the bunker on the 7th before running out of shots |
As the players turned into a very strong wind for the way home, Jo continued with her point a hole strategy until once again spoiling it with her only par on the par 3 16th and a bogey on the last for 21 points and today's wooden spoon.
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| Jo hits big slice off the 13th tee but still got her standard point |
Up front Vince managed to scrape at least a point on every back 9 hole. I can't remember if I had mentioned his outrageous handicap but thanks to it he got 4 points for a par on the straightforward par 3 16th. This catapulted him into 2nd place on 27 pts and £2.
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| Vince secures a point on the 17th with his 7th shot as Tracey looks away in disgust |
Chris' challenge soon faded as she could only manage 10 pts on the back 9 with her only par on the 16th only getting her 2pts. Her 23 pts were outside the prizes.
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| Chris drives off somewhere on the back 9 |
By scraping his even hole strategy, Bob had a much improved back 9 meaning he only need a bogey on the last to get a share of 3rd place but he spent most of the hole in the rough near the beach huts and could only get 1 point and 5th place on 24 pts.
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| One of several attempts Bob took to get out the bunker on 15 |
As Robert stood on the 16th he had a clear lead and when his teeshot rolled just past the hole he sealed the deal. He could even afford to miss the birdie putt and have a poor finish to easily win the coveted Masters title on 32 pts. It also equalled the course record.
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Robert making a dogs breakfast of the last hole
but still won the title by a massive 5 points on the day |
Today also saw new RNSG executive chairman, Gof Dinosaur Monster, take charge of his first summer tour and he did a fine job. Next week the tour moves inland to the Parkland course at the Suffolk.
For latest standings go to leaderboard on the RNSG website.
https://roundnorfolksummergolf.weebly.com/leader-boards.html
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