Natterjack 9’s Round 12 Round Up + Final Order of Merit Table. Round 12 Result

Gunga Grabs Gold.

1^st  Neil Robertson 20 pts

2^nd Peter Warren    19pts [Count-back]

3^rd Tony Waugh       19pts [Count-back]

The weather was finally kind and after 28 rounds played no less than seven players posted 19 points but it all came good for Gunga as he pipped all seven at the post by just one point. Five pars in nine holes accounted for thirteen of those and with nothing more than a 5 on his card his consistency meant his time had come at last. Peter Warren went out early Sunday with John Simpson and Richard Roberts and despite a slow start managed his 19 points by coming home strong enough to secure 2^nd place, virtue of 8 points on the last three. Richard only scored four points on the first four holes before coming home strong himself to post 17 while John had the satisfaction of a par on the 14^th in his 13. It took count-back over the last six holes to separate Tony Waugh’s 19 from Brad Steels’, a blank on the 14^th costing Brad third place after a scintillating start to his round including 10 points from his first four holes. Gary Turner and Joe Burch each had 19 too. It was a weekend when scoring or not scoring on the last decided a lot of issues and so it was with Joe whose 7 on the 18^th slipped him out of the winner’s enclosure. They both came late to the Natterjack season and if his shift pattern allows him more chances next season then surely Gary will be a threat to all. As for Joe, well, if I’m scoring 19 points at 82 years old I’ll be a happy player, as will we all. Well done Joe. Doug Myers came into the weekend with an outside chance in the Order of Merit where he sat sixth. It was a big ask but his 19 points on Saturday came from a superb start and sixteen points as he stood on the 16^th hole. Was it the previous night out on the razzle? A sore shoulder from too much fly casting? Or Waugher’s cough? Because he too struggled on the last after a brave effort! Another round on Sunday brought 18 points including a brilliant 4 for 4 on the 14^th. Wife Joan meanwhile was also in with a chance in the Ladies Order of Merit and had an 18 pointer on Sunday to take her close. Davey Boyce had an extraordinary round on Saturday when his 19 points included a blank and two one pointers but featured a birdie on the 13^th. Playing partner on Sunday Dave Warren’s attempt to climb into the Order of Merit top 10 looked good with 18 points but others had improved too and meant he just lost out. Helen and Jon Holmes were able to return from their travels to play Sunday and Helen had the satisfaction of pars on both par threes while Jon had no less than 4 one pointers in his 18. George Farquhar had 17 points on Saturday with solid pars on 12, 13 & 16 and it was good to see Ron Lester back among us again. He soon made short work of the 10^th with a three pointer. Playing partners Malcolm Haworth and Bill Hoyle had a mixed weekend whereby neither was able to take advantage of the benign conditions but each was glad of the opportunity to prove it.

Final Order of Merit 2022

Both titles, Men’s & Women’s, were up for grabs as Round 12 began and it was fitting that it all came down to the last hole on the last day. Tony Waugh was under threat from Doug Myers and Helen Holmes could be caught by Joan Myers. With everything to play for Dougie needed a par on the last to tie Tony and with Helen not improving her score on the day, a par for Joan would mean she had pipped Helen by 1 point. Whether it was the pressure, or having Tony looking over their shoulders, who can say but both valiant efforts faltered there and each had to settle for 2^nd place in their respective divisions. But Doug added a brilliant six points to his final total to leap frog from 6^th into 2^nd place and Joan improved by 5 points to go above Diane Clark. Which all means that Tony and Helen, having each led their division for most of the competition, have both narrowly held on and are now the worthy Natterjack 9’s Order of merit champions for 2022.

But there’s another story here too. Pete Warren’s 19 points meant he was able to swap that for an 8 pointer and gain 11 points and Neil Robertson’s 20 points replaced a 16 to move him up to 10^th on the final leader board. Each made slow starts to the Natterjacks and both could pose a threat in 2022/23. The same is true for Gary Turner who finished with a 19 pointer and was able to drop a 14 for a five point gain. Brad Steel made it a successful comp for him and all of his fourball partners by adding 3 points on Saturday; cementing his place in the top 10. Davey Boyce added 2 points to take him into joint 3^rd. Dave Warren has been having success on the Winter Alliance and improved by 2 points but narrowly missed out on the top 10; another dark horse for next season when he brings his Alliance game to the Natterjacks. And spare a thought for defending champion Geoff Freeman who made a bright start to his defense but was struck down by injury. He’ll be back too.

The Order of Merit has proved a popular addition to the calendar and will be returning this Autumn, thank you all for your support.

Men: with a minimum of 4 qualifying rounds.

Ladies: All qualifiers