Rain fails to stop play at Banbridge

It’s a shame it turned out to be such a miserable day. The incessant rain affected sporting events all over the country. There was no way that Banbridge was going to escape.

The players who went out early managed to get round the full 18 holes but the afternoon players had to abandon the course.

A total of 100 players returned cards and only about 50 of these completed their round.

The calculated standard scratch was nett 68 or 37 stableford points.

Merton McDowell, Garth McDonald, Peter Cruikshanks, John McDowell, Cathal O’Neill, Luke Woods, Albert Morrison and Verdun Bond equalled this.

There were two prizewinners from this group. Merton McDowell was the best placed senior player and Luke Woods won the best gross prize with a one over par 70.

Jim Gracey (11) finished in fifth place with 38 points and Robert Barnes (14) was fourth, also with 38 points.

Alex Clarke (12), who won the Pro’s Prize two weeks ago, was third with 39 points.

Seamus McGrath (16) was runner-up with 40 points. Seamus was six over par after five holes but he didn’t panic. He knew that the conditions would be too difficult for many players. If he could just keep calm, he had a chance. And he was proved to be correct.

William Malcolmson (5) had five birdies in his round, a gross 70, 41 points. It was all to no avail because William forgot to sign his card. All that good play was wasted. What a pity!

The winner was Mark Hodgen (24) who shot the round of his life, a brilliant 45 points. H e was one of the early starters and that was crucial. His start wasn’t good, a triple bogey and two double bogeys in the first four holes. He also dinged the 13th and took seven shots at the 17th. The remainder of his card was fantastic for a 24 handicapper.

Garreth Moody says he is coaching Mark and he seems to be doing a good job. Mark is a relatively new member to the club and he has certainly made his mark. Excuse the pun.

The club would like to thank Modern Tyre Services for their generous sponsorship. It’s a pity about the weather but we cannot control that.