With maintenance week over and the weather gods providing a splash of rain at the right time, the course was in good condition for the Centenary Sword stableford, with 12 players scoring par or better, writes Richard Jackman.

At the top it was tight, very tight, with four players all on 39 points.

Spare a thought for six-handicapper Matt Corrick who finished off the podium on countback while five-handicapped Jon Stone finished in first place followed by John Coley and Roger Turner. Such are the margins on countback that Stone’s better score on the last six holes gave him gold, and this included gross birdies on the 15th and 17th, as both he and Coley scored 20 points on the back nine, with Turner on 19.

A medal is not normally a favourite for seniors, but the Veterans’ Cup saw some keen competition and produced 10 players with par or better, eight of whom broke 70. Eight-handicapper Stephen Pitt had a blistering back nine completing it in level par in his nett total of 67 to finish third a score that would normally have won. Richard Jackman and Bob Shepherd both scored 66, but on countback Jackman’s 2 back nine birdies just gave him the edge, while Shepherd’s very creditable steady scoring on every hole earned him second place.

The ladies Autumn Closed competition is a three-person team competition where 1 score counts on the par fives, two on par fours and three on the par threes.

Clear winners were Sarah Kilcoyne, Judith Ellard and Lynn Littler who scored 70 points while, not wishing to be left out of this competition, countback featured, sorting out second and third with second place going to Jane Dixon, Susan Jeffrey and Kim Beauchamp with 67 points from Rosie Jackman, Caroline Baker and Emma Davies.