No fewer than 4 out of the 9 nett prize winners were carrying handicap reductions into Sunday’s Shop Sweep, so they must be really enjoying their golf at the moment. Gary Totton’s 43pts, off 21, were reduced by 2 yet he still managed to claim the top prize. An NR at 8 and birdie at 17 were the highs and lows of an extremely steady round. This was his 7th time to appear among the honours in his last 12 outings, and his third first place finish in 5 weeks. We can expect him to be prominent in the upcoming season.
If you meet Kevin McKavanagh you needn’t wonder why his smile has assumed a permanent place on his face. He is having the golfing time of his life and after returning to the prizes on the previous day after a short absence, his 42pts off 7 gave him the runners-up spot. He had birdies at 1, 4, 9 and 12, and he must be harbouring thoughts of a trophy laden season ahead.
Brian Doley took third place with 41pts off 9. Never far out of contention, birdies at 1, 4, 10 and 12 had moved him to 1 under par after 13 holes and a successful sprint to the winning post must surely have been on his mind. Unfortunately, he dropped 5 shots over the last 5 holes to fall behind the winner.
Fourth place went to Coner McConville with 40pts off 18. He too was in a very strong position towards the end of his round, but NRs at 16 and 18 brought a very promising round to a disappointing conclusion.
Marty Rea continues to impress, and he took 5th place with 40pts off 11. He had birdies at 5, 10 and 17, two of those coming in the most unlikely fashion from the face of his famous and feared magic wand.
Conal McAshea also had 40pts, off 21, and he took 6th place. His cause in a tight finish wasn’t helped by an NR at 13 and triple bogey at 15.
The last three nett prizes went to Duncan Stoddart with 39pts off 21, Tony Gallery with 37pts off 12, and Andrew Best with 37pts off 16. Each of these three has a regular visitor to the prizes of late.
The gross prize went to Philip Jordan who had a 2 over par round for 34 gross pts. His round contained 2 birdies and 4 bogeys.