Richmond Park’s third‑round tie against Wycombe Heights A brought with it a sense of déjà vu. Two years ago, the same fixture halted our progress, and on Saturday the hills of High Wycombe once again proved a peak just a little too lofty for RPGC to scale.

Away Team — Close, Competitive, but Outscored

Sean, Cuneyt, Julian and Adrian headed west down the M4 — with the customary wave to Heathrow — before climbing into the challenging  terrain of Wycombe Heights. The away matches were tight, competitive affairs: one win, one loss, but with the margin of defeat outweighing the margin of victory. It was the kind of away performance that kept hope alive, but didn’t quite tilt the numbers in our favour.

Home Team — Nerve, Effort, and Another Split Result

With Wycombe Heights teeing off significantly earlier, the away team waited anxiously for news from home, where David Grace, Tony K., Robin Thomas and Richard Hanna were battling to overturn the deficit. Once again, RPGC produced one win and one loss — admirable effort, plenty of fight — but the losing margin proved just a touch too heavy to rescue the overall result.

The Verdict

In the end, the arithmetic fell the wrong way. 144:133 points. Wycombe Heights remain a stubborn obstacle in this competition, and for the second time in recent years they brought our Siemens Bowl run to a halt. Still, as ever , there is always next year !

Richmond Park’s progress in the Siemens Bowl has rarely been straightforward, and our opening two rounds of the 2026 competition offered further evidence that this competition seldom grants comfort. It serves only to show that perseverance, more than anything else, carries teams forward.

Hennerton 3^rd May — A Narrow Win in Heavy Conditions

The opening tie against Hennerton was shaped long before a ball was struck. Torrential rain the previous day had left the course soft underfoot, the greens holding but unpredictable, and the fairways offering little run. It was a day for patience rather than panache.

Away from home,  Alex and Sean produced a measured performance, edging their match 40–39. It was the sort of away result that matters in this format — not spectacular, but valuable.  Alongside them,  Julian and Cuneyt, it was a match that never quite broke free, settling at 43–43 — an impressive result for both teams,  and an outcome for a contest defined by the smallest of margins.  Back at Richmond Park, conditions were marginally kinder. Tony and Richard controlled their match from the outset, winning 40–33, while David and Jonno were edged out 35–32 in a fixture that turned on a handful of putts.

Once the arithmetic was settled , Richmond emerged with a narrow but deserved 155–150 win — a reminder that we had been tested, and had just about done enough to come through.

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Brent Valley 30^th May— Heat, Pressure and a Strong Away Showing

If Hennerton was a study in resilience, Brent Valley was a test of endurance. The heat was unrelenting, the air heavy, and the fairways firming by the hour.

Alex and Sean, again on the road, found themselves 3 points down at the turn, their opponents adapting more quickly to the pace of the greens. But as the temperature rose, so did Richmond’s resolve. The pair steadied, then surged, turning deficit into a 4‑point victory as Brent Valley faded late on.

Cuneyt and Tony were more assured, winning 43–36 with a performance built on consistency and some impressive shot making.

At home, Julian and Rob delivered a masterful 10 point win, while Jonno and David held their nerve for a narrow 2‑point success.

The final margin, 153–130, brought a sense of tired relief more than anything else, though a win by thirteen points in this competition is no small feat. It reflected a long, draining day in which Richmond simply kept going and were rewarded for it.

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Wycombe Heights Awaits — 4 July

We now move on to Wycombe Heights, where the challenge will be different again. The margins will tighten, the pressure will rise, and the competition will demand more of the same resolve that has carried us this far.

On a wintry day in May, marked by intermittent showers and a strong icy wind, the scoring on both sides was remarkably good, given the conditions.

The result of the four, fourball betterball stableford matches, was that Wexham Park triumphed by the very slim margin of 153 points to our 151.

Our four pairs, who individually played to 85% of their Course Handicaps scored as follows:

Away pairs, John Ahad and Adrian Wells (38 points) plus Paul Green and Shaun Dupreez (39 points) managed a combined 77 points against the Wexham opponents score of 76 points.

At Prince’s, Mike and Chris Jones (38 points) plus Cuneyt Sazer and Tony Kopczak (36 points) had their combined 74 points bettered by Wexham Park’s 77 points.

So, a very close call indeed; the 60 foot breaking birdie putt sunk by our 27 handicap opponent on a par three for 4 points was pivotal to the result.

Onwards and upwards!

John Ahad (Captain)