Competitions
Competitions
Harrington Trophy (3 clubs & a putter)
A warm but showery start followed by a warmer sunny back nine greeted the players today.
Andy Johnson topped the leader board with 39 points 20 points out and 19 back. A good steady round.
Julian James was 2nd with 37 points 19 Out and 18 back. 3rd is Robin Thomas with 17 out and 19 back including birdies on 13 and 18. 4th is Richard Owen 16 out and 19 back for his 35 points. 5th is Mehmet Akdeniz 13 out and 21 back with a birdie on 15. Mehmet beat 4 others on countback who also scored 34 points!!
Autumn Stableford Rd1
Weather was bright for the early starters with a modicum of autumnal breeziness for the tailenders. Thankfully the rain that was forecast stayed away even though there was the mildest hint of precipitation around lunchtime. Conditions are becoming a little tougher as only 10 of the 54 starters were at handicap or better.
In Division 1 Maher Sharma had the best score of the day with a most splendid 40 points. Maher takes a 1 point lead into next week, being one ahead of Nick Rogers on 39 with Toby Hunt & Alan Treacy close behind on 38. In Division 2 it’s nearly as close with Niamh Grace scoring an excellent 38 points. Niamh takes a two point advantage over Paul Fulham and Kelly Hewitt who are both on 36 points. There are a few players within 5 points of the leaders in Division 1 & 2, so it’s all to play for next week.
Special shout-out for Paul Kamerling who recorded a crowd-pleasing eagle 3 on hole 9.
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.
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.
MW September Medal (MW Grand Medal 7 of 8)
A fine pleasant day with a light breeze which became warmer as the round went on greeted 41 entries for the September Monthly Medal and Round 7 of 8 of the Mid Week Grand Medal.
I Div 1 Simon McKnight showed everyone how to play with a gross 68 Net 61. Out in 38 and back in 30. 11 pars, 4 Birdies and 3 bogeys. On the back 9 he finished with 6 straight 3’s following 3 fours for his 3 under par 30 gross.
Dave Cato played more steady golf with 41 out and 38 back with a birdie on each 9 holes for his net 63.
Brian Ransom had 45 out and 36 back for his net 66 which included 3 birdies. Gina had 43 out and 33 back for her net 67 with a birdie on the15th.
In Div 2 Andy Johnson edged out Graham Cull on countback with his net 67. Andy had 41 on the back to Graham’s 42. Graham also had a birdie on the 4th Hole, Peter Miller edged out Chris Jones and Ian Burgess with his 40 on the back nine.
With one round to go in the MW Grand Medal, Angus has a 6 shot lead of 334 over Richard Owen and Julian a further 6 shots back.
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.
Midweek Club Championship Round 2
It may not have felt like it to Angus at the time, but he had a very comfortable cushion of 6 shots to win the Division 1 MW Club Championship – he had the best gross score in both rounds. Jonathan and Bill both recorded 85 for today’s round, but Jonathan’s better score on Prince’s gave him the runner-up spot.
In Division 2, the top 2 in round 1 swapped places as David Grace’s 96 gave him an overall lead of 2 shots to win Div2 from Jonno who finished as runner-up.
The women’s MW club champs was a runaway win for Gina who finished her round as the only other 2 women playing started theirs. with an 11 shot lead from the first round the result today was never really much in doubt and neither of the others put up much of a fight!
Very impressively with her low single figure handicap Gina is also the net winner from Richard Owen on the back 9 of today’s event. Both players had the same net scores of 68 and 74 in the 2 rounds.
None of those who were ineligible either played today, or had NRs so results include those as well.
Conditions underfoot today reminded us that autumn is well on its way and there was definitely less run on the ball. The course was already showing signs of green returning to some of the fairways after yesterday’s rain, the downside making the ground that much softer for the badgers who looked to have been feasting overtime on a fair number of holes.
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).