The ninth AUTUMN CUP was played in wintry conditions over the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of May and attracted a field of seventy-seven players.

Once again, the thirty-six-hole event was proudly sponsored by two of the club’s stalwarts in Ron Parkin and Joe Alexander. The club is fortunate to have two such members who served on the committee for several years and continue to volunteer their services when needed. They also sponsor events such as the Autumn Cup. A sincere vote of thanks to both of you.

The Autumn Cup was inaugurated in 2013 and one assumes it was because there were three other “seasonal” cups but not an Autumn Cup. Why it took so long to establish this event is quite strange.

There were four past champions in the field for 2021 – Damon Watkins (2015 and 2016), Craig Nelson (2018) Steve Noske (2019) and the defending champion Mackenzie Buck.

Could Mackenzie back up in 2021? could Damon make it three cups? or could Craig or Steve become two-time winners? All would be revealed on Sunday evening.

ROUND ONE

The morning players on Saturday had the better of conditions and leading the field after the day’s play was Andy Lemessurier with a fine score of 39 points. Starting from the eighth hole his first nine was reasonable where he scored 17 points. Even after eleven holes he had not improved on one point behind even. Then he got “Fair Dinkum” and reeled off 3 x 3 pointers and a 4 pointer during his final seven holes – a great finish to his morning round.

Second to Andy was past President Ian Macdonald who started from the eighth in the afternoon and his first nine holes saw him amass 21 points. Unfortunately, he could not carry the momentum through to the last nine but none the less finished with 37 points.

John Samuels, Mark Matthews, Steve Noske and Phil Johnson were 2 points adrift of Ian on 35 points

ROUND TWO

The major question to ask at the start of the day was “Would weather play a part in the overall result?”

Well, the answer was “Despite a late afternoon change it was what you would expect of an Autumn day in Perth”

The overnight leader Andy Lemessurier, unfortunately could not match his first round performance After nine holes he only had 11 points and finished with 26 overall. But the good news was he won the best first round trophy.

John Samuels started slowly from the sixth tee but soon warmed to the task and was in with a good chance with five holes to play. Three one pointers in his last five holes saw him fall down the leaderboard – finishing with 68 points overall.

After the conclusion of the morning field Dave Southam led after a fine 37 points which included a birdie on the final hole and 4 points. Could this be enough to carry him to victory? His two round total of 70 points saw him leading (on a countback) from Mark Matthews who had put together two consistent rounds of 35 points, including a birdie on his final hole which lifted him into second position,

So who could rise to the occasion during the afternoon round and overhaul Dave Southam who was safely in the clubhouse?

Playing from the eighth hole Ian Macdonald, who was in second place overnight, threw his chances away over his first nine holes. Steve Noske and Phil Johnson, who were equal third after the first round, also blew their chances over their opening nine holes.

With the wind getting up late in the day, accompanied by a rapidly dropping temperature and rain on the horizon it was a race to the finish.

With a handful of holes left to play there were probably two realistic chances to overhaul the clubhouse leader – Brett Thompson, and Aidan Cooper.

Three Birdies in the space of 5 holes during his last nine put Brett in with a chance – unfortunately he could only manage 4 points in his final three holes. This saw him close with the day’s best score of 38 points which ultimately saw him finish in fourth place overall with 69 points.

Aidan Cooper, playing from a three handicap, birdied the tough 18th hole which gave him 4 points and with 3 holes to play he needed a three-point hole to claim the prize. Sadly for him it was not to be and 3 pars from holes 1-3 saw him finish with 36 points and a total of 70 points and in runner-up position – losing to the winner on a countback.

Third was Mark Matthews also on 70 points. who was awarded the runner-up prize after Aidan Cooper took out the best gross trophy with a score of 64 points.

The best second round was awarded to Brett Thompson with 38 points.

Best of the past winners were Craig Nelson and Steve Noske in equal eleventh position with 64 points. The defending Champion Mackenzie Buck was back in equal twenty third position.

So, after a nervous wait, Dave Southam prevailed and was crowned the 2021 Autumn Cup Champion.

Congratulations to Dave and to all others winners over the two days.

Appreciation is extended to our sponsors Ron Parkin and Joe Alexander, the course staff, pro shop staff for their efforts and those who looked after the inner needs of the players over the course of the weekend.

From Greg Fitzhardinge