Williams stars to net championship berth

A BRILLIANT net 57 in near perfect conditions saw Matthew Williams win division one of the White Box Medal at Southerndown to book his place at the Welsh Handicap Team Championship.

John Melville, Mathew Ashong and Nathan Chilcott also qualified for event on June 17 which this year is being staged at Pyle & Kenfig. Nick Golunski and Steve Jones are the reserves.

A bright day with plenty of sunshine and light winds gave the 68 entrants at Southerndown the ideal chance to shoot some low scores and Williams in particular did just that, his gross score of 71 being reduced to 57 courtesy of his 14 handicap.

Melville’s net 70 saw him come second while Ashong’s better back nine gave him third over Jon Davies after both men had fired a net 73. Murat Coskun also performed well, winning division two with a net 69 with Andy Allman (73) second and Tony Jones (74) third.

A terrific display of greensomes medal golf saw Tim Harries and Marc Thomas win the Lyric Cup at Carmarthen.

The duo finished with a net score of 64.2, seeing them finish top of the pile ahead of runners-up Rhys Lindquist and James Bryan (66.6) and third-placed David Lindquist and Graham Owens (67).

In the Knights’ Towy Works Cup, junior Edward Rocke (43) produced a sparkling round to win by four points with Tigers B team captain Gerald Vaughan second on 39 and both Scott Jones and Jake Fearn a further point back on 38. Jones took third thanks to a better back nine.

The Knights’ Order of Merit competition runs over 10 events throughout the season with players gaining points by finishing in the top five places. Although Ewan McLean, Rocke and Alan Edwards have 10 points each as respective winners of the first three competitions, the early leader is Knights skipper Jimmy Myo.

He has 14 points by virtue of finishing second in the Tegfynnydd Cup and third in the Bertie Butters Cup.

The Ladies GUW Centenary Greensomes Qualifier was won by Vicki Thomas and Hawys Jones with 38 points, three ahead of runners-up Cynthia Morris and Edna Morris on 35. Olive Lloyd and Lady captain Ann Heath took third place on 34. The winners will represent Carmarthen in the finals at Llanwern in September.

Jean Barratt won the Gwen Phillips Salver by three shots with an excellent net 70. Carole Fleetwood was runner-up on 73 and Jane Thomas was third, also with 73.

At Pennard, David Jones was the clear winner of the Gallagher Cup courtesy of a net round of 63, four clear of Andrew Thomas, who in turn finished two ahead of Tai Yasuda and Ian Davies, Yasuda getting third on countback.

Lewis Hinds (70), David Carey (71) and Derek Hegarty (70) were the best of the rest in divisions one, two and three respectively.

Two points separated first and second places in the club’s Coronation Foursomes with Angela Pritchard and Sarah Taylor (40) doing enough to win ahead of Fiona Paton and Sally Wintle.

An excellent three-over-par round saw Sam Mears march to victory in the Derby Bowl at Swansea Bay by seven shots. The nine-handicap’s net 66 was far too good for anyone else with Alan Jones and Ian Matthews the next best on 73.

Cerith Davies just shaded the Club Stableford on countback from Ashley Collins after both had carded 38 points. Bryan Ashford was third on 37.

Gill Lennox and Jo Bond are bound for Llanwern but they required countback to see off the challenge of Sue McFadzean and Liz Sparks in the Ladies’ GUW Centenary Greensomes at Langland Bay. The two pairs registered 37 points with Alison Williams and Martina Chanter one back in third.

It was tight at Glynneath too where Luke Nezda did just enough to hold off Glyn Williams in the Sunday Stableford. The former’s 35 points gave him first place in division one, Williams (34) was second and Leighton Rees, also 34, was third.

In division two, for players with handicaps of 13-17, David Meagher’s (37) better back nine saw him edge Craig Davies for first with Mike Evans two points back. Mark Taylor (42) was top of the shop in the high handicap section.

RESULTS

Carmarthen

Lyric Cup; 1. Tim Harries & Marc Thomas net 64.2, 2. Rhys Lindquist & James Bryan 66.6, 3. David Lindquist & Graham Owens 67

Towy Works Cup; 1. Edward Rocke 43pts, 2. Gerald Vaughan 39, 3. Scott Jones 38

Ladies’ GUW Centenary Greensomes Qualifier; 1. Vicki Thomas & Hawys Jones 38pts, 2. Cynthia Morris & Edna Morris 35, 3. Olive Lloyd & Ann Heath 34

Glynneath

Saturday Stableford; (0-12Hcap) 1. Luke Nezda 35pts, 2. Glyn Williams 34, 3. Leighton Rees  34, (13-17Hcap) 1. David Meagher 37, 2. Craig Davies 37, 3. Peter Evans 35, (18-28Hcap) 1. Mark Taylor 42, 2. Simon Mumford 40, 3. Kris Richards 37

Langland Bay

Ladies GUW Centenary Greensomes; 1. Gill Lennox & Jo Bond 37pts, 2. Sue McFadzean & Liz Sparks 37, 3. Alison Williams & Martina Chanter 36

Morriston

Quality Auto Finishers Cup; 1. JP Thomas net 66, 2. AP Perkins 70, (13-28Hcap) 1. RC Howells 67, 2. T Beynon 68

Pennard

Gallagher Cup; 1. David Jones net 63, 2. Andrew Thomas 67, 3. Tai Yasuda 69. Best of the Rest (div one) 1. Lewis Hinds 70, (div two) 1. David Carey 71, (div three) 1. Derek Hegarty 70

Coronation Foursomes; 1. Angela Pritchard & Sarah Taylor 40pts, 2. Fiona Paton & Sally Wintle 38

Southerndown

White Box Medal; (div one) 1. Matthew Williams net 57, 2. Jon Melville 70, 3. Mathew Ashong 73, 4. Jon Davies 73, (div two) 1. Murat Coskun 69, 2. Andy Allman 73, 3. Tony Jones 74, 4. Philemon Williams 76

St Mary's

Club Stableford Seniors); 1. Bob Coombes 40pts, 2. Fred Evans 35, 3. Danny Mead 34

Swansea Bay

Derby Bowl & Pant Y Sais Medals; 1. Sam Mears net 66, 2. Alan Jones 73, 3. Ian Matthews 73

Club Stableford; 1. Cerith Davies 38pts, 2. Ashley Collins 38, 3. Bryan Ashford 37