Natterjack 9’s Order of Merit after Round 8

[4 Rounds to go]

Men: with a minimum of 4 qualifying rounds

Men. There were some significant moves after round 8. Tony Waugh remains the leader of the men’s division and was able to begin dropping lower scores after playing seven times. [It is the highest total from a maximum of six rounds which will produce the winner.] Tony was able to swap a 20 for a 17 to move on to a total of 120. Will this be a final score? Will Australia come too soon? He has an 18 and two 19’s to drop IF he can score higher than those.  But with four rounds to go and eight chances to improve there are others who can leap into contention because they have even lower scores to replace. Ian Swarbrick reached six rounds played on Sunday and his 24 at the weekend put him bang in the hunt. He now has a score of 112 but has a 15, a 16 and an 18 to swap. If he continues to play and produces higher scores he could be the biggest danger to Tony. Geoff Freeman has three good scores and three low ones to drop and could leap forward from 107. Davey Boyce could jump forward too. He swapped a 13 for an 18 this weekend and now has 109 with a 14 to drop when he goes again. Vernon made a giant leap on Sunday, demonstrating just what is possible. He swapped a 12 for a 23 to be this weekend’s biggest mover, up from 95 to 106. David Clark now has 106 with a 15 and two 16’s to drop. Dave Warren has played more than six rounds and has 102 with a 15 and two 17’s to replace. Doug Myers may not have been at his best in round 8 but he has a 24 to his name and has 105 with a 12 and a 14 to drop. Two scores of 20 from eight rounds to come and he could well be in contention. Neil Robertson swapped a 15 for an 18 after Sunday and sits on 103. Perhaps the darkest horse is Richard Roberts who has only posted five scores but for 95 points. Another 20 or 21 and a 17 to drop could propel him to the top.

Ladies. Leader Helen Holmes was able to add two points to her six round score, moving on from 108 to 110. Diane Clark was the weekend’s big mover carding 22 points on her sixth round for 95 but it may be that her travels restrict her challenge. Joan Myers returned to form at the weekend posting a 19 for her sixth round. She now has 94 but with two 13s and a 14 to drop.

With only seven women participating there is only a prize for the winner available but could there yet be a twist in the tale? There will be equal prize money for the winners of each division and at least three prizes in the men’s section. There are also now balls for twos and with four rounds to go we’re hoping to give away quite a few. See you on February 12^th & 13^th for Round 9.