Saturday, the 30th July saw the playing of the 69th President’s Cup which was first played in 1942. There were 85 players trying to win this year’s event. No doubt the forecast was the reason for a lot of “Fair Weather” golfers not playing and who could blame them as the morning was wet, windy and cold. But the day did turn out to be reasonable for most of the morning and the afternoon.
The current President, Bryan Gardiner, sponsored the day and there were five former winners in the field trying to win the cup for the second time and two for the third time – Tony Slee (1972 and 1980), Gavin Parker (1985), David Falconer (1996), Wayne Ovens (2017), Colin Yoong (2018), Edmund Hall (2019) and Joe Alexander (2010 and defending champion).
There is no doubt that the wild early weather was a factor in the morning scores with only 3 players on 36 points leading the way.
Shaun Tatlow (10 H’Cap), Julian Bulich (23 H’Cap) and Rehan Alikhan (8 H’Cap) led the way and all had chances of being a little better.
Shaun Tatlow starting from the 4th had 16 points for his first nine holes followed by an impressive 20 points which included 4×3 pointers in his last 5 holes – unfortunately no points on the other hole (the first) did not help.
Playing with Shaun, Julian Bulich had a mixed bag. His card showed 7×3 pointers and 1×4 pointer but losses on the 4th and 13th proved costly.
Rehan Alikhan started from the 5th and in the conditions at the time, 12 points after 5 holes was an excellent start to his round. His round stalled over holes 10-18, where he had 15 points, but finished well with 9 points over his final 4 holes.
In the the afternoon only 3 players could amass 36 points or better.
Michael du Pont (10 H’Cap), starting from the 8th hole, commenced with 4 points and at the end of 9 holes looked like a winner having 21 points. A wipe on the first hole followed by a 4 pointer saw him back on track but after a further wipe on the 3rd he eventually signed for 36 points.
Scott van Heurck (6 H’Cap) started from the first and after 7 holes he looked anything like a winner. 6 points over the final two holes of his front nine got him to 17 points – but there was a long way to go. And he was still one behind 2’s after 11. Finishing with 4x3pointers over the last 7 holes and a slight hiccup on the 15th, he signed for 38 points and was sitting in top spot until late in the day.
And then along came one of the club’s Scots – well known for his “animated” and “unintroverted” nature. You guessed it in one – Andrew Ogilvie.
Andrew came back to golf some 12 months ago after an extended break and commenced where he left off on a playing handicap of 12. Several top efforts saw his handicap reduce to 4 – a outstanding achievement efffort in itself. He was rewarded with selection in our top pennant team.
Anyway, after starting from the 6th hole there was not a blemish on Andrew’s card for the first nine accumulating 21 points – 35 off the stick.
A further 4 points on the 18th saw him 5 in front of 2’s with 5 holes to play. The 3rd and 4th holes saw him loosen his grip on the Cup but he rallied on his final hole with 3 points and signed for an excellent 40 points – which equated to a par round of 72 and the gross winner as well as becoming the 69th winner of the President’s Cup.
On 35 points were Ken Hall, another animated Scot, Tony Cowan, Joe Alexander, David Andrich, Brian Hanna and Damon Watkins.
Well done Andrew and he has now lost another shot – down to a handicap of 3, and looking forward to the Club Championships.
Best of the Past Champions was the defending champion, Joe Alexander, with 35 points.
Appreciation is extended to President Bryan Gardiner for his sponsorship of the 2022 President’s Cup and all of the staff for making the day a success.
Finally, we congratulate the 2022 President’s Cup winner Andrew Ogilvie for a well-deserved victory.
From Greg Fitzhardinge
