Richard Owen
Richard Owen
October Monthly Medal ( & Men’s GMT 8 of 8)
Women
Turned out to be a lovely day weatherwise and very warm when the sun came out. Apart from our esteemed captain it would seem that the change in conditions underfoot caught a few out today. Despite the roll on the still very bare fairways, more club was required to get the ball to the green and over the badger damage around the fringes of many greens..
Congratulations to Ali for her 5 shot win with a net 69 ahead of Doreen on 74.
Men
After a chilly start, a very pleasant partly sunny day with only a gentle breeze. Not much rough and plenty of run on the hard, still bare fairways, enabled good scores by the leading players.
Henry takes home the monthly medal glass for Division 1 with a sparkling 5-under net 63. Henry had the lowest score on the front 9 (just 2 over gross) and finished with 3 birdies on the last 4 holes. James Smith was 2nd in Division 1 with a net 64, followed by Joe and Lee, both net 66’s. Joe was just 3-over-gross for his round and level (33) on the back 9. Mel Dunn notched up an Eagle 2 on the 17th as the highlight of his round.
In Division 2 Gio Caboni takes home the medal glass with his net 67, followed by Robin Thomas (net 69) and Tony Kopczak and Steve De Long, both net 71s.
Today was the last round of the 2026 Grand Medal (cumulative best 5 rounds from 8) and the report on the final standings is attached.
In Division 1 Toby Hunt leapfrogged from 5th place to the top of the table, improving his score by 11 shots to 343 shots and sharing the trophy with Brian McMahon (on the same score). Pete Harrison was a close 3rd on 345 shots, with Oz Doyle a further 2 shots back.
In Division 2 today’s scores did not affect the top of the table, so Tony Kopczak is the winner on 342 shots, from Gregory Jean- Baptiste (351) and David Grace (352); the rest of the field was a further more than 10 shots back.
Autumn Pairs
Well, what a day it turned out to be. A lot of constant rain nearly all day with many puddles on the greens.
There were lots of players who, for one reason or another, pulled out of playing and a lot of shuffling of pairs took place.
However early starters Mel Dunn and Billy Jackson topped the pile with 43 points. 24 out and 19 back.
Paul Gullett and Richard Marriott claimed second place on countback with a superior back nine from Kim Jabbour and Brian Ransom both on 42 points.
I think that everyone was glad to get back into the clubhouse and out of the rain. Just need to dry all of our equipment and clothing. Well done to all competitors who took part.
Rickmansworth Away Leg
Following the 4:2 win at home, Richmond Park played the away leg in warm Autumn sunshine, seeking the 2.5 points necessary to claim an overall win and return the trophy to Richmond Park. The Ricky course was in good condition, especially the greens, which were as challenging as ever.
Our first 2 pairs (Richard Owen & Manny Rasores and Maher Sharma & Dan Ballantyne) suffered defeats, but our third pairing of Richard Back & John Ahad grabbed 1/2 point on the 18th, thanks to a birdie by Richard. Our 4th pair of Captain Paul Green & Iker Lanzagorta had an impressive 6&5 win for a point. Our 5th pair of Allan Boyd & Steve De Long lost their match but our 6th pairing of Aiden Hurley & Richard Smith ‘did the business’ and won their match.
So although a 3.5:2.5 points loss on the day, overall it was a 6.5:5.5 points win for Richmond Park and the trophy was reluctantly returned to Paul by their captain. Lasagne, chips and salad were served and enjoyed by all.
Midweek September Plate
A warm pleasant day with a slight breeze.
Peppe Monterosso had a steady round 21 out and 18 back for his 39 points beating Toby Hunt and Graham Cull into 2nd and 3rd places with their 38 points. Graham had amassed 24 points on the front 9 but found the back 9 a little tougher going. Angus Robertson beat Kim Jabbour on countback both having 37 points.
For the first time for a while there were no 2’s recorded.
Silver Jubilee
After a cloudy start, the sun came out and it was a very pleasant, warm Autumn day, with a moderate westerly breeze. The greens seem to have now recovered from the restoration work a few weeks ago and the fairways are beginning to ‘green up’. Substantial cutting back of the brambles and mowing of the long grass over the past week was evident.
This year’s winner of the Silver Jubilee trophy is Oz Doyle with a very steady and impressive net 64 (7 under par). Perhaps surpringly no birdies but 10 pars and no double bogeys. In second place was Tony Kopczak with a 6 under par 65; Tony started with 3 pars, finished with 3 pars and did little wrong in between. Three players had net 67’s, Richard Prosser beating Tom Laybourn and Richard Owen on countback, respectively. In 6th place, and best lady, was Ellie Rhodes with a net 68.
This was the final round of the Jubilee series and this year’s winner of the Anniversay Cup is Niamh Grace with a total of 275 shots from her best 4 rounds, 3 ahead of Nick Rogers (278 shots) and Oz Doyle (279 shots). The final results sheet is attached.
Men’s Invitation
10 mixed pairs played for this year’s Men’s Invitation on a warm, sunny, but very breezy day. The greens on the Duke’s course were found to be running pretty true and the fairways were a little softer and greener than they have been for months – so less run!
Three pairs scored 40 points or more and the results at the top were very close. Two teams had 41 points and on countback (by one shot) Brian Ransom & Monique Hubaille beat Jonno McLean & Kelly Hewitt. In 3rd place, just missing out on the prizes, were Nick Rogers and Alison Chadwick (40 points); Dennis Keough & Doreen Dolby took 4th place with 39 points.
Pizza and chips were enjoyed after play and a good time was had by all.
September Monthly Medals (Men GM 7 of 8)
Women
A double blow for Bella who went home thinking she was the monthly medal winner only to be beaten by Seshi who probably finished a couple of hours later and recorded a net 68 and a gross 94 which is her lowest score since joining us. Bella was also one of 2 women who incorrectly entered their score into the system – both resulting in a worse result.
The course is noticeably softer underfoot and is starting to green up. The downside is that the badgers have also noticed this and there is considerable damage around many of the greens as they take advantage. The upside is the greens seem to have benefitted well from the tining and sanding done a few weeks ago.
Men
Today’s winners in Division 1 were:
1st James Smith 63
2nd Alan Treacy 67
3rd Paul Kamerling 69
and after 7 rounds of the Grand Medal the leading scores in Division 1 are:
Brian McMahon 343 shots, Peter Harrison 347 shots and Richard Smith 348 shots
Today’s winners in Division 2 were:
1st Olav Bridie 68
2nd Tony Kopczak 68
3rd Paul Gullet 71
and after 7 rounds of the Grand Medal the leading scores in Division 2 are: Tony Kopczak 342 shots, Gregory Jean-Baptiste 351 shots and David Grace 352 shots.
Ballantyne Trophy Final
The Final of the NAPGC Ballantyne Trophy was played at Winter Hill Golf Club, near Maidenhead, on the Saturday of NAPGC’s 2026 Finals Weekend. The Ballantyne finalists, Richmond Park B and Wycombe Heights C, tee’d off at 1pm on a sunny, warm, but breezy day, following the teams playing for the Hawtree and Siemens trophies. The Winter Hill course was in great condition, showing very little sign of the multiple summer heat waves that have affected so many courses, including Richmond Park.
The teams and handicaps are shown on the tee sheet (link below). Richmond Park’s first pair of Richard Back and Joe Gonclaves were ‘running late’ and arrived just 10 minutes before their tee time. Neither had played the course before but competed in a close match which finished with a “1 down” loss. Richmond Park’s second pair of Nick Rogers and Aiden Hurley also had a close match throughout but closed it out with a “2 & 1” win. Richmond Park’s third pair took the lead on the 5th hole and built a 4up lead after 9 holes. This lead was pegged back to 3up after 11 holes, 2up after 13 holes, and just 1up after 15 holes, however pars on the 16th, 17th and 18th resulted in a “1up win” at the finish. So Richmond Park retained the Ballantyne Trophy for another year with a 2:1 win. Although extremely competitive, the matches were played in a very good spirit and the Wycombe team were very gracious in defeat.
Golden Jubilee
A very pleasant, partly sunny early Autumn day with a noticeable southerly breeze and temperatures rising to 26 degC. The greens seemed to be well on the way to recovering from their recent hollow tining and other restoration treatment but were slow and still a little bumpy.
Only 5 players played under Par and our clear winner of the Golden Jubilee Shield was Oz Doyle with a net 66, playing off 17. 2 shots back was Peter Needham net 68, playing off 14, and in the 3rd and 4th places Jonathan Evans and Richard Smith, both net 69. It is surprising that the top 15 places taken by the men were all Division 1 players; the best Division 2 player was Tony Kopczak (net 75) in 16th place overall. Sali Davies recorded the best women’s score (net 72) in 11th place overall.
This was the 4th round (of 5) in the Anniversary Cup series and the latest position is shown in the report attached. Richard Smith and Niamh Grace share the lead on 281 shots, 3 ahead of Nick Rogers (284) and Kerry Sargeant (286).
In the men’s Top Dog competitions, it is very close at the top in both the Senior and Junior divisions (report attached). In the Senior Division, Iker (26 points) leads from Brian McMahon (25) and Allan Boyd (24). In the Junior Division, Sean O’Sullivan leads on 23 points, from Mike Shabani (22) and Seymour Laird (20).
Midweek Club Championship, Round 1
Good day for golf, only slight rain for the later starters.
In the men’s scratch competitions, Angus Robertson leads the way in Division 1 with 78, three shots ahead of 3 players on 81. (Richard Back’s 77 and Duncan Matthews 80 will not count, as they hadn’t played 6 qualifying Midweek competitions this year). In Division 2, Jonno McLean (84) has a 3 shots lead over David Grace, with Leigh Drake a further shot back. In the women’s scratch competition, Gina Jillett (77) has a commanding 8 shots lead over Jayne Maxwell.
In the Handicap Cup competition, the best scores in Round 1 were Mike Sands net 65 and net 66s for Richard Marriott, Pralab Barua and Jonno McLean, who lead Round 1 because Mike Sands hadn’t played 6 Midweek competitions this year.