The 61st playing of the DALKEITH CUP, a mixed four ball combined stableford event, took place on an overcast and cool Spring Day on Sunday September 28 with a field of 27 pairs setting out on their quest to become the Champions. Krystyna Knottnerus and Tony Cowan once again sponsored this year’s event and it was pleasing to see an increase in the number of entries this year.
The event was named after our neighbouring suburb of Dalkeith.
“The suburb of Dalkeith derives its name from an estate of 320 acres taken up in 1831 by Adam Armstrong. He named it Dalkeith Farm after the district near Edinburgh from which he had migrated in 1829”.
Past winning combinations in the field this year included Cath Bellemore and Baul Baster (2009), Veni Tang and Gary Hing (2015), Nikki and Fred Wehr (2020), Mandy Sudlow-Brown and John Mitchell (2023) and the Defending Champions Susie Rich and Gavin Furness.
Disappointingly, Paul was a last-minute withdrawal after injuring his knee in the walk from home to the 1st tee.
Unfortunately, I am unable to give progress reports as the competition set up does not allow me to do so.
I will try and look at the top 5 finishers and see how they fared over the final 4 holes.
So, after 14 Holes, I it looked something like this-
52 points Grace Furness (10) and Phil Mackay (3)
And that was after they both hit their tee shots OOB on their first hole – the 6th.
51 points Krystyna Knottnerus (23) and Tony Cowan (23)
49 points Natasha Burt (36) and Andrew Bell (27)
48 points Qi Liu (31) and Tim Song (18)
44 points Mandy Sudlow-Brown (20) and John Mitchell (19)
So, it looked like a race in 4 with Mandy and John, the 2023 Champions an outside chance.
The defending champions were out of the race but could another Furness have their name on the trophy.
So how did they fare over the last 4 holes
Grace and Phil 15 points
Krystyna and Tony 14 points
Natasha and Andrew 17 points
Qi and Tim 15 points
Mandy and John 19 points Where were they early on in the day?
So the leaders Grace Furness and Phil Mackay held on to win by a solitary point from Natasha Burt and Andrew Bell.
So now to the Final Leader Board –
67 points Grace Furness (10) – 34 points and Phil Mackay (3) – 33 points
66 points Natasha Burt (36) – 34 points and Andrew Bell (27) – 32 points
65 points OUR SPONSORS – Krystyna Knottnerus (23 – 33 points) and Tony Cowan (23) – 32 points
63 points Mandy Sudlow-Brown (20) – 30 points and John Mitchell (19) – 33 points
And best of the previous Champions
63 points Qi Liu (31) – 30 points and Tim Song (18) – 33 points
There is not a great deal more one can say except congratulations to the Champions
GRACE FURNESS and PHIL MACKAY
The leading individual scores were –
34 points Michael du Pont. Grace Furness. Ian MacDonald, Natasha Burt, and Gary Hing
Thanks to the Course Staff, Pro Shop Staff and House Staff for making the day so enjoyable and it was great to see the early morning drizzle clear for the afternoon.
Once again, we acknowledge the contribution made by Krystyna Knottnerus and Tony Cowan to another successful Dalkeith Cup.
That ends the ‘Mixed Season” and we look forward to 2026. Don’t forget Friday afternoon golf – it is fun.
A vote of appreciation is extended to Joe Alexander for assisting in arranging the 2025 Mixed Events
Congratulations to all the 2025 winners and a big thankyou to the Sponsors during the year-;
Mixed Opening Day Jan Halliwell and Mark Dwyer
Sponsors – Cath Bellemore and Paul Baster
American Foursomes Rhonda Moore and Timothy Tan
Sponsors – Jill Morgan and Tony Morgan
Millenium Cup Jamie Wehr and Rob Kneale
Sponsors – Nikki and Fred Wehr
O and S Allom Bowl Vanessa Stephen and Bill Stephen
Sponsors – Veni Tang and Gary Hing
Dalkeith Cup Grace Furness and Phil Mackay
Sponsors – Krystyna and Knottnerus and Tony Cowan
Finally congratulations to the 2025 Women’s and Men’s Club Championship Winners.
This was the last event to be played on the 5 older greens so next year we will have 9 new greens and judging on the surface of those already undertaken they should be very good.
That is it from me for the year.
From – Greg Fitzhardinge
