Natterjack 9’s Round 11 Roundup

[1st leg Saturday 5^th March – 2^nd leg Sunday 13^th March] Front 9

Richard Roberts Romps Round 11

Round 11 was a game of two halves, split between Saturday 5^th & Sunday 13^th each played over the front 9 and the wind was up for both. The match including Richard Roberts & Dave Boyce on the first day produced the winner and third place with an outstanding knock from our pal Joey taking the honours. Two pointers on 1 & 2 were followed by a birdie 2 for 4 points on the third and it was good to see Richard keeping up the tradition of sharing his three ball sleeve of Srixon’s among his playing partners. When we introduced the ‘balls for 2s’ it was Richard who had narrowly missed out having had a two in the round before it began, so justice was being done. There were three players with 19 points and it was another fine effort from Tony Waugh who took second prize on countback. A six for 1 on hole one was soon put behind him with a par on the third for 3 and from there on it was consistency all the way. Boycee started well until a mishap on the 5^th caused him to blank but he soon recovered with pars on 6, 7 & 8 and 2 points on 9 to put him in the prizes once more. And so it was George van Boyd’s bad luck to miss out and come home fourth with a nineteen which was remarkable for following a three pointer on the first by posting eight consecutive 2 pointers from the 2^nd through to the 9^th. But having played both legs of this round, with 16 points in the first, ‘The Silent Assassin’s’ consolation has come in the Order of Merit, but more of that later.

Diane Clark is another to have picked up her challenge for the Order of Merit in the back half of the winter season and 18 points in the first leg here featured a par for 4 points on the second. David Clark also posted 18 points and he took full advantage of his extra shots on the 2^nd and the 8^th to collect three points on each. If there were a race for Mr Consistent Dave would be in it. Four players scored 17 points. Ian Swarbrick’s included a birdie on the 7^th. Helen Holmes had three pointers on the 6^th & 9^th .  Ank Robinson scored on every hole and Boycee could boast of a birdie on the 7^th in leg 2. Vernon Edmondson played both legs, his best being 16 points in leg 2, recovering well after a blank on the first. Gary Turner’s 16 points in leg 1 began the same way but he then went on to par 3, 4, 7 & 8. Brad Steel played both legs having mentioned to your reporter that he was experiencing a shank off the third in practice earlier in the week. Par on that hole in both legs laid that to rest. Jon Holmes’ has played more rounds of the Natterjacks than any other player and his 16 points came in leg 1 with consecutive 1 pointers on 2, 3, 4, & 5 being improved upon when a birdie on the seventh and a par on the ninth brought welcome respectability to a man struggling to come to turns with his lowest ever handicap. Joe Shaw began with a par on the first and the second and had 12 points when he stood on the 6^th tee but he was only able to add two more points as the wind took over. We’ve all been there Joe. Doug Myers played both legs with the highlights coming in the first one with pars on the 4^th and the 7^th . Joan played in leg 1 but also struggled in the wind despite a bright start. Peter Clark had perhaps the most up and down round in either leg in a round which included three pars and three blanks. Walking off with a par on the 9^th was, hopefully, a little consolation.

Order of Merit after Round 11

Not too many changes after round 11 participation was affected by strong winds. But there were two significant moves. George van Boyds previous rounds of consecutive 21 points put him firmly in the hunt for top spot and 19 points in Round 11 rocketed him into third place and just 6 off the lead while Richard Roberts held on to second place by winning this round and moving within 5 of Tony Waugh, who remains top, where he’s been all season. With one round and, perhaps more importantly, two chances to play, there’s still room for someone else to do a GvB and win by shooting two high scores. Among those with a real chance it’s a question of what score you can replace and for leader Tony this means beating his lowest counting score of 19, which to be fair to him, he has done three times this season. Richard Roberts has a 17 and an 18 to replace if he plays twice. GvB can drop a 16 then post another high score to possibly topple Tony and Ian Swarbrick, who previously posted a 24, could replace his 16 & 17 to leapfrog right to the top. Dave Boyce has tougher task with at least an 18 to count in his final six scores but with prizes going down to fifth he might look over his shoulder where he would see Doug Myers, who can also boast a previous 24 pointer. With a 15 and a 16 to drop any two good scores could propel Doug well up the scoreboard, even to the top. Brad Steel has been playing with Tony and Doug and Joan throughout and this fourball has proved remarkably successful. He’s just missed out on a big score several times but one in the final round and all four of them could feature in the prizes. David Clark, another Mr Consistent with a 16 and a 17 to replace is also in contention. Then there’s Vernon! Posted a 23 earlier and has two 16’s to drop. Two good scores could enable him to climb upwards. In the ladies division Diane Clark moved closer with an 18 pointer but her and Pete will miss the last round. That means only one or two significant questions left for the ladies; can Joan post a big score to replace her 14? Will she play Ulverston as usual that weekend and reduce her chances by half? Or will she place both days and possibly replace her 14 & 16? Lots to play for then in both divisions! Can anyone catch Tony? Can Joan peg back Helen? Watch this space.   

The final round is on Saturday March 26^th & Sunday March 27^th
Back 9

Men: with a minimum of 4 qualifying rounds