2023 marks the eighty fourth playing of the Winter Cup, a Par event, which was first played in 1938 and was one of the first Perpetual Trophies played for at the club. The trophy was presented to the club by Dunkley’s Diamond House.
The weekend of the 12th and 13th of August saw a field of 66 players try and emulate the performance of the past winners in the field – Joe Alexander (2007), Andrew Frazer (2010), Gavin Furness (2011) John Samuels (2018) and Jeff Lane (2021)
Fine conditions prevailed over the weekend with mainly light winds and temperatures ranging from 9 degrees to 20 degrees – a far cry from the conditions on day one in 2022.
Once again Andrew Fraser (Lazarus Corporate Finance) came to the fore with the sponsorship of the weekend’s “major” and we acknowledge his support.
ROUND ONE
Windy conditions greeted the morning field with only 2 players finished par or better – Andrew Everett (21 H’Cap) and Joe Jones (15 H’Cap)
Andrew Everett started looking like a bad day was in store. After losing the first two holes (the 5th and 6th) he was still 2 down after 5 holes. He then turned things around and amassed 6 pluses over the concluding 13 holes finishing 2up and clubhouse leader.
Joe Jones on the other hand flew out of the blocks and was 4 up and cruising after his first nine holes. He let it slip over the final nine and signed for 1 up.
Th wind abated in the afternoon and scoring overall was significantly better. But at the end of the day Andrew Everett’s score of 2 up prevailed.
A few of the likely suspects were however nipping at the heels of the leader – Gavin Furness (10 H’Cap), John Sheridan (18 H’Cap) both 1 up and Greg Paddon (19 H’Cap), Damon Watkins (9 H’Cap) and Wilfred Ong (10 H’Cap) all square.
Wayne Ovens (21 H’Cap) starting from the 6th was heading in the right direction and was 3up after nine holes but squandered opportunities over the last nine and dropped back to 1 up and in equal second spot.
Four players were lurking behind the leaders at 1 down.
Best Gross was going to be a tussle between Alister Miles (1 down) and Anthony Joseph (3 down).
The 2011 Champion, Gavin Furness was the best of the previous champions and at 1 up could conceivably become a dual champion.
ROUND TWO
Conditions in the morning of the second day were significantly better and perhaps some of the morning field could post a target for the afternoon players that would be too good to overcome – time would tell.
So, what were Andrew Everett and Joe Jones doing?
Andrew Everett, commencing from the 5th started well enough in his quest for victory and was square after 6 holes but 4 losses in the next 8 holes saw him 4 down for the day with four to play but he could not make inroads and finished 4 down for the day and 2 down overall.
Joe Jones commencing from the 6th started quietly and was square after nine and he maintained that position until his 15th hole – the 2nd hole. Then a strong finish with two pluses over the final 3 holes saw him finish 2 up and in the clubhouse as the overall leader – 2 up.
The morning scores were not better than round one. Surprisingly only Joe Jones and Brendan Jones (4 H’Cap) were the only players to finish better than 1 down.
So, heading into the afternoon Joe Jones led the way with 2 up overall, followed by Andrew Everett on 2 down.
Let us follow the fortunes of those in contention –
Wayne Ovens – 5 down after 6 holes finishing. 9 down and 8 down overall.
John Sheridan – 4 down after 8 holes finishing 8 down and 7 down overall.
Greg Paddon – lost first 6 holes and held on to finish 6 down.
Damon Watkins – lost 4 of his first 6 holes finishing 6 down and 6 down overall.
Wilfred Ong – square after 4 holes – 4 down after 14 holes – finishing 6 down overall.
So, they were well and truly out of contention,
Mark Matthews (7 H’Cap) was having a good day and was 3 up after 14 and 2 up overall and in the lead.
So, with a handful of holes to go the leaderboard looked like this –
- Mark Matthews 2 up
- Joe Jones 2 up
- Andrew Everett 2 down
- Adam McLaren 3 down
- Michael du Pont 3 down
- Oliver Bisschops 3 down
With 4 holes to play Mark Matthews was 2 up for the day and 1 up overall but blew his chance with 3 losses over his last four holes finishing 1 up for the day.
And there was one unknown quantity – Gavin Furness, 1up overnight, and does not use the ap so no one could follow his fortunes/misfortunes. One would suggest he may be favoured to win given the leaderboard above – but we will have to wait and see.
And wait we did and after a 1 up first day Gavin was travelling beautifully and then hit a speed bump. After 14 holes he was cruising on his way to victory – 3 up with four to play and then a loss on 15, followed by a loss on 16. Was he choking? No, as he went on to win the 17th hole and halved the last to finish 2 up for the day and overall 3 up – to be crowned the 2023 Champion.
This was his second win in the Winter Cup and adds to victories in all but one of “The Season Cups” – the Autumn Cup.
Best Gross went to Alister Miles (+2 H’Cap) with gross scores of 1 down and square for a total of 1 down. Anthony Joseph (1 H’Cap) was runner up on 6 down.
RESULTS
WINNER Gavin Furness 1 up/2up = 3 up
RUNNERUP Joe Jones Square/2 up = 2 up
THIRD Mark Matthews 1down/1up = square
FOURTH Oliver Bisschops 2 down/square = 2 down
FIFTH Andrew Everett 2 up/4 down = 2 down
Best first round Wayne Ovens 1up
Best second round Brendan Jones 1up
Best Gross Alister Miles 1down
The best placed former champion after Gavin Furness was Jeff Lane on 7 down.
Finally thankyou to Andrew Fraser from Lazarus Corporate Finance for his generous support of this year’s Winter Cup.
We also acknowledge the Course Staff, House Staff and Pro Shop Staff for the contribution they made to a successful weekend.
CONGRATULATIONS GAVIN FURNESS
Roving Reporter’s comment – It was great to see the emergence of the Intermediate members in the Winter Cup with four of the top ten placegetters featuring in the results. Thanks for your support.
From – Greg Fitzhardinge
