Hodgett is top man in Haughton Smyth Cup

Over 200 golfers entered the competition, all hoping to secure one of the 16 qualifying spots.

The Haughton Smyth Cup is one of the oldest and most valuable trophies in the club and the format of play is rather unusual.

Everyone plays 18 holes of strokeplay and the eight best nett scores join the eight best gross scores for the first round of matchplay. You could say that it takes a talented all-round player to win this competition.

The most successful player in recent years has been Eugene Weir who has won the Haughton Smyth Cup at least six times. But, would you believe it, Eugene has failed to qualify this season, missing out on countback.

The eight best nett scores came from Timothy Hodgett (10) nett 62, Colin Smylie (13) nett 64, Michael Gillen (17) nett 64, Jonathan Shannon (5) nett 64, Adrian Barry (20) nett 65, Jonathan Ward (3) nett 65, Kenny Jones (18) nett 65 and Paul Magee (12) nett 66.

Then came the eight best gross scores and that brought a smile to the faces of Stuart Hunter (71), Luke Woods (72), Paul Magennis (72), Colin Wilton (72), Nigel Bryson (73), Trevor Woods (73), Rory Madeley (73) and Neil Madeley (75).

The near misses were as follows:

Nett 66’s from Ronnie Halliday, Gerry McBrien and David Luke.

Nett 67’s from Kerry McCluskey, Dennis Lockhart and John Gallagher,

Gross 75’s from Eugene Weir and Bill McCandless.

Gross 76’s from Ronnie Halliday, Neil Clydesdale and Damian Weir.

You have to feel sorry for Ronnie Halliday, who missed out by one shot in both the nett and gross categories.

The draw for the first round of matchplay was made at the beginning of the week. There are some very interesting matches to look forward to.

Trevor Woods (5) plays Colin Wilton (5). This will certainly be tight but maybe Colin’s accurate iron play will prove decisive.

Colin Smylie (12) plays Neil Madeley (6). Can Neil give Colin six shots? It won’t be easy, but I think that he can.

Jonathan Shannon (5) plays Rory Madeley (5). This is another level match and it is sure to be a cracker. It could be Jonathan’s turn to win this time.

Michael Gillen (15) plays Luke Woods (5). This is new territory for Michael. He will get ten shots from Luke and he will need them all.

Kenny Jones (17) plays Paul Magennis (4). It is not easy to give anyone 13 shots but, if anyone can do it, it’s Paul Magennis.

Paul Magee (11) plays Timothy Hodgett (8). Timothy led the qualifiers and it would be sad to see him go out in round one. It could happen.

Jonathan Ward (3) plays Nigel Bryson (7). I played with Jonathan in the qualifying round and he was mighty impressive. His game is sharp in every department and he should prove too powerful for Nigel.

Adrian Barry (19) plays Stuart Hunter (4). Adrian has the opportunity to pull off the shock of the season. Can he knock out the 2009 golfer of the year? If he stays calm and uses his 15 shots, he most certainly can.

And, by the way, don’t be worried about my predictions as I seldom get them right.