The British Open
The Round Norfolk summer golf British Open took place at Royal Cromer on Wednesday. It was a glorious day for golf and ended in a high scoring points festival. Sadly due to rival tours, injury and other commitments then the original entry of 12 had been decimated to just 5.
The balls went in the air and the bionic knee twins (John and Robert who were sharing a buggy) were paired with Vince leaving Kevin and Mike to make up the second pairing. Foolishly Mike suggested that as the 3 ball with a buggy and electric trolley then they should go first.
John soon set the tone for his round with opening pars followed by a birdie on the par 5 5th. Robert, who had not played with John before, mistakenly thought that John might be a bit of a bandit off 18. My how Kevin laughed when Robert suggested this in the club house after the round. His progress stalled on the reminder of the opening 9 but still finished on 18 points.
Robert was also playing solidly and had a blob free front 9 including a par on the signature 4th for 17 points at the turn.
As has become the norm Vince had another stomring front 9 including an outrageous 4 for 4 on the straightforward second hole. He again got to 20 points for the opening 9.
Despite the good scoring, buggy and electric trolley the opening group were making slow progress losing two holes on the group of 3 visitors from Hampshire up ahead. This gave Mike and Kevin plenty of time to think about every shot. To pass the time on the first tee Mike told a delightful story of how his grandfather was a caddie here in 1911. The story started to lose its charm when he also told the pro, several members on the course, the group of 3 visitors from Hampshire, most of the green keepers, random walkers on the coast path and several of the bar staff. Still it passed the time.
Kevin started strongly and decided to putt from anywhere near the edge of the green. This proved a good tactic as he got down in two on the first attempt for a par on the 2nd. However he failed on the next 6 attempts which held back his scoring, the only highlight was a birdie on the short 9th taking him back to top of the eclectic standings. He finished on 32 points just out the prizes.
Mike had a dreadfull start with 2 blobs and a double bogey in first 4 holes. He managed a birdie on the 3rd which kept him interested on 13 points at the turn. But from nowhere he charged in over the closing 9 holes with 4 pars and a virtual birdie (only spoiled by his missing first ball off the tee). He suddenly found himself on 34 points and a share of 3rd place.
The second 9 got underway with Robert still distracted by the size of his groups handicaps and a couple of double bogeys on the opening par 5s (both the others got 4 points each on the second one) took him out the running for the virtual claret jug as he finished on 34. However his blob free round has him snapping at the heels of David in both the average points and blobs comp although neither have yet played the minimum 6 rounds to qualify.
As Kevin an Mike enjoyed a picnic on the 12 tee they were bemused by events unfolding on the fairway as Vince tacked back and forth across the fairway delaying their attempts to tee off. Surprisingly Vince then single putted for 2 points. Blobs on the 13th and short 16th held back his monster score but an outrageous 4 for 4 on the straightforward 18th boosted his total to 37 and a new course record. So used to winning each week he was already preparing his winners speech as they walked off the green.
He was therefore surprised to find that a John had been scoring highly over the back 9 getting another 21 points and the actual new course record of 39, smashing Bobs 35 points from 2014. It was Johns first major and his £5 prize has shot him up the money list. As it was a surprise to him that he had won he was ill prepared for victory so Vince was still allowed to make the winners speech over tea and cake.
Next week the tour stays at the seaside for a proper linksie challenge at Caister and Yarmouth
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