Before moving on to the final, the semi-finals of the Men’s Club Championships were played on Saturday 30th of August with the following results.
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP – SEMIS
The number 1 seed and defending Champion, Edmund Hall did not have everything his way and his opponent, the number 4 seed Mark Matthews, tried valiantly and had his opportunities but finally lost 2/1.
In the other Semi- Final the C G Dudley Cup winner, John Samuels and number 3 seed John McKay, a semi-finalist from 2024 met and a resounding win to John McKay saw him through to his first final.
So, it’s no 1 Edmund Hall vs no 3 John McKay in the Final.
MNOR CHAMPIONSHIP
Gavin Parker outlasted Peter Miller, winning 4/2 and Callum White was too strong in the end for John Ennis winning 3/2.
So effectively it is the no 8 seed Gavin Parker up against his pennant teammate Callum White the no 6 seed. This will be an intriguing battle.
“A” GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP – SEMIS
First up we had the no 2 seed, Ollie Wright, against the no 3 seed Gav Morgan and the young gun Ollie Wright prevailed 4/3.
The other semi was between the no 4 seed Greg Parker and the no 8 seed none other than the President Damon Watkins.
Extra time was required to separate the pair with Greg Parker winning with a par 4 on the 19th hole.
So, the final will be between the no 2 seed Ollie Wright and no 4 seed Greg Parker.
“B” GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP – SEMIS
A battle between the no 9 seed Flynn Hanks and the no 12 seed Harry Alcock went down to the wire with Flynn outlasting his Junior opponent winning at the 18th.
Then there were the no 2 and 3 seeded players pitted against one another – Joe Ricciardone and Jeff Lane (no relation to the current golf course architect). As expected, it was an enthralling battle with Joe Ricciardone, the former House Director prevailing 2/1
The final will see the no 2 seed Joe Ricciardone take on the no 9 seed Flynn Hanks.
“C” GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP – SEMIS
Unfortunately, walkovers dominated the “C” Grade Championship and the finalists were the no 2 seed, and defending Champion, Tony Cowan and no 8 seed Paul Jenkins.
That will be a close battle royal with no quarter give and one not to be missed
FINALS DAY
The Men’s Club Championships Finals were played on Sunday August 31st and it was another perfect Autumn/Spring Day.
As with the CG DUDLEY the Men’s Club Championship was sponsored by SHAW and PARTNERS courtesy of Mark Palmer and Stuart Beattie.
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
The leading qualifier Edmund Hall was looking for his first Club Championship and going one better than his Minor Championship victory in 2020
His opponent, John McKay the no 3 seed and Runner-up in the Dudley was out to see if he could become a first up winner.
After 18 holes Edmund was 1 up after John had fought back from as much as 4 down.
The afternoon round however belonged to Edmund after he shot out of the blocks over the starting holes. As much as John tried, simply Edmund was too good and ran out a deserved winner 5/3.
Result (1) Edmund Hall def (3) John McKay – 5/3
MINOR CHAMPIONSHIP
The Minor Championship looked to be an evenly matched affair between former Club Champion Gavin Parker and his pennants teammate Callum White.
Callum led for most of the day and when he made a meal of the 18th hole extra time was needed to separate the 2 – down the 19th. Two good drives left them both with short pitches to the hole – no more than 60-70 metres. And then pressure hit and a comedy of errors followed. Gavin survived with a bogey 5 and won an enthralling encounter to make it 2 minor championships – first one in 1997.
Result Gavin Parker def Callum White– 19th
“A” GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP
Enter another Parker in the form of Greg – a former Club Champion and 4 time Minor Club Champion. Could he outplay his Junior opponent Ollie Wright?
Allegedly the golf over the front 9 holes was a little patchy and Greg turned for home with a handy lead. Ollie tried hard but the wily old fox outplayed him over the concluding stages winning 3/2.
Congratulations Greg Parker, a worthy winner of the John Roberts Trophy.
Result (4) Greg Parker (12 H’cap) def (2) Ollie Wright (13 H’Cap) –3/2
“B” GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP
Joe Ricciardone (22 H’Cap) was up against Flynn Hanks (20 H’Cap) a newish member of some 10 months standing in which time he has lost 5 strokes from his handicap.
Joe had a great day out but unfortunately for Flynn he did not bring his “A” Game with Joe winning his first John Duncan Trophy – 6/5.
Result (2) Joe Ricciardone (22 H’Cap) def (9) Flynn Hanks (20 H’Cap) – 6/5
“C” GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP
Now the “C” Grade final was probably the match of the day –Defending Champion and Second Seeded Tony Cowan (23 H’Cap) vs 8th seeded Paul Jenkins (27 H’Cap).
PJ started anything like a winner – 3 down after 3. So it looked as though the defending Champion was well on his way to a third title. Then an amazing turnaround with PJ’s Caddy John Venner, himself a Minor Club Championship winner in 2022, cracking the whip. PJ won 7 of the next 13 holes and put the defending champion out of the match.
Congratulations Paul on winning the F.J Simmonds Trophy
Result (8) Paul Jenkins (27 H’Cap) def (2) Tony Cowan (23 H’Cap) – 4/2
SUMMARY
After delays the Championships are now over and 5 new winners were crowned in each of the grades. -;
Once again, a number of Juniors and Intermediate members qualified this year (14 I counted which is good for the future of the club).
Congratulations to all the winners, and also to all of those who made it through to the Match Play.
It would be amiss if we did not acknowledge the outstanding effort of Cath Bellemore in winning her 18th Women’s Club Championship – well done.
Appreciation is once again extended to our sponsor SHAW and PARTNERS for their support of the club – for the “Dudley”, Club Championships and nearest the pin “golf balls” each Wednesday.
After all the delays over the last 3 weeks and of course the weather the course was presented in excellent condition so well-done Brad and the team. The greens were running at around 11’6.
Andy Gott and the pro shop staff are acknowledged for their assistance over the last three weeks as are the house staff, led by Sean Tobin, and Ben Unbehaun and Karen Wilson in the office.
2026 will see all greens replaced and one assumes the Championships will go back to October
Roving reporters’ comments-;
There were too many walkovers some of which could have been avoided if players had done the right thing.
No doubt the Match Committee will review the Club Championships Conditions and time frame for 2026
From – Greg Fitzhardinge
