The Jazz Man Calls The Tune

The conclusion of the 2015-16 Winter Tour saw a tight tussle, with a number of players in the mix. Ultimately however it was the Jazz Man, Kenny Gee, who finished top of the charts after a 2nd place in the final round at Thorpeness. The bonus points on offer in the final round helped Kenny overtake previous leader Mark Brewer, who finished tied second in the overall standings with Dave Melvin. Richard Mitchell’s fine performance at Thorpeness also helped move him up the final standings to take 4th place.

As a founder Tour member Kenny was a popular winner and his victory speech was well received, even though nobody could understand a word.

FINAL TOUR STANDINGS:

Player East Herts Thetford Gog Magog Felixstowe Newmarket Thorpeness Best 4 Scores
K Gee 40 26 19 35 22 55 156
M Brewer 50 28 50 22 25 153
D Melvin 50 9 26 35 35 33 153
R Mitchell 30 26 19 28 10 55 139
M Groves 20 22 50 20 26 33 131
B O’Riordan 14 13 26 13 14 70 124
R Barrell 40 32 30 17 21 123
S Kelly 14 6 32 28 40 19 119
R Potter 16 40 22 16 22 35 119
P Simons 13 10 50 33 106
I Davis 20 35 32 16 16 17 104
A Wiffen 30 8 22 28 14 24 104
K Thomson 12 32 10 28 14 27 101
M Reeves 8 3 50 8 30 96
P Moreton 24 32 40 96
J Rycroft 20 8 20 30 21 91
A Cuthbertson 9 18 24 40 91
K Hamman 40 13 35 88
A Goldsmith 30 18 17 16 6 81
M Sutton 22 17 18 16 18 75
K Winckle 20 15 14 13 22 17 74
S Blackburn 50 11 61
K Carling 12 4 15 7 7 24 58
M Moss 6 11 8 24 49
F Ladkin 24 14 6 44
P Buchan 16 22 38
S Hockley 10 13 14 37
P Davies 18 10 28
J Warren 18 18
R Goddard 15 15
B Cook 9 6 15
J Goodwin 12 12
R Jiggins 9 9

 

Billy Is Head & Shoulders Above The Rest At Thorpeness

A strong field headed to Thorpeness for Round 6 of the 2015-16 Winter Tour, with a number of players still in contention for the overall Tour Championship.

However it was an unruffled Billy O’Riordan who proved to be head and shoulders above the rest of the field. Billy put on the style to finish with 35 points and take the money, ahead of Richard Mitchell and Kenny Gee in joint second place. Andy Cuthbertson finished in 4th place to pick up his first winnings of the 2015-16 Tour.

Round 6 (Thorpeness) Scores:

PLAYER Score Tour Points Prize
B O’Riordan 35 70 £60
K Gee 34 55 £40
R Mitchell 34 55 £40
A Cuthbertson 31 40 £20
R Potter 30 35
D Melvin 28 33
M Groves 28 33
P Simons 28 33
K Thomson 27 27
M Brewer 26 25
A Wiffen 25 24
K Carling 25 24
M Moss 25 24
R Barrell 24 21
J Rycroft 24 21
S Kelly 22 19
M Sutton 19 18
I Davis 18 17
K Winckle 18 17
D Wager 17 15

 

The Going Is Extremely Good For Simons At Newmarket

Round 5 of the Winter Tour saw the field take on the excellent Links course at Newmarket in clear, but cold conditions.

The course was in great shape, leading to some very good scores, but nobody could catch the runaway winner, Peter Simons, who stormed clear of the field with an amazing 46 points. Simons, or Hammy to his friends, finished 7 points clear of runner up Sean Kelly who fired a fine 39 points. Dave Melvin also managed 39 points, but his one point deduction meant he had to settle for a tie for 3rd place with Keith Hamman on 38 points. Tied 4th, a point further back, were Mark Reeves and Jeff Rycroft.

In the overall Tour rankings Melvin closed the gap on Tour leader Mark Brewer and opened a lead over Kenny Gee in 3rd place. Meanwhile Rob Barrell moved in to the top 4, just ahead of Mike Groves and Sean Kelly. As the Tour heads for the final round at Thorpeness there are still as many as 10 players who can still win the overall title.

PLAYER Score Tour Points Prize Deduction
P Simons 46 50 £60.00 -3
S Kelly 39 40 £40.00 -2
D Melvin 39-1 = 38 35 £25.00 -1
K Hamman 38 35 £25.00 -1
M Reeves 37 30 £10.00 -0.5
J Rycroft 37 30 £10.00 -0.5
M Groves 36 26
A Cuthbertson 35 24
M Brewer 36-3 = 33 22
K Gee 34-1 = 33 22
R Potter 33 22
K Winckle 33 22
R Barrell 33-0.5 = 32.5 17
M Sutton 32 16
I Davis 32 16
K Thomson 31 14
A Wiffen 31 14
B O’Riordan 31 14
S Hockley 31 14
R Mitchell 30 10
P Davies 30 10
M Moss 29 8
K Carling 28 7
A Goldsmith 25 6
F Ladkin 25 6

Brewer Breezes It At Felixstowe

Mark Brewer breezed to the top of the Winter Tour standings at a windswept Felixstowe, picking up his second win in 3 outings. Despite a slightly stuttering end to his round he finished with 33 points, which after his 1 point deduction was still good enough to take first place.

Running Brewer close was Paul Moreton who managed 32 points, but his half point deduction (carried forward from Thetford) meant he finished runner up. A mere half point further back were Dave Melvin and Kenny Gee who moved into joint second place in the overall Tour standings. Robert Barrell also managed to tiptoe into the money and creep up the overall leaderboard.

The next round will see the leading runners get underway at Newmarket, with most of the field hoping that Mr Brewer will start to find the going a bit tougher.

PLAYER Score Tour Points Prize Deduction
M Brewer 33-1 = 32 50 £50.00 -3
P Moreton 32-0.5 = 31.5 40 £40.00 -2
K Gee 31 35 £25.00 -1
D Melvin 31 35 £25.00 -1
R Barrell 31-0.5 = 30.5 30 £10.00 -0.5
S Kelly 32-2 = 30 28
R Mitchell 30 28
K Thomson 30 28
A Wiffen 30 28
M Groves 30-3 = 27 20
J Rycroft 27 20
P Davies 28-2 = 26 18
M Sutton 26 18
I Davis 27-2= 25 16
A Goldsmith 25 16
R Potter 25 16
B O’Riordan 24 13
K Winckle 24 13
S Blackburn 26-3 = 23 11
P Simons 22 10
R Jiggins 21 9
M Reeves 22-3 = 19 8
K Carling 18 7
B Cook 16 6

Three Tie For Top Spot At Gog Magog

Round 3 of the 2015-16 Winter Tour saw 21 players head to Gog Magog in some windy and damp conditions. As usual the Old Course provided a good challenge and the day finished with a very tight leaderboard.

There was a three way tie at the top with Mark Reeves and Mike Groves both recording 35 points to match Steve Blackburn who finished with the same score after his 1 point guest deduction.

Next in the pecking order was Sean Kelly with 34 points, matched by Ian Davis after his 1 point deduction. A further point back was Mark Brewer who again finished in the money despite his 3 point deduction.

There was also plenty of change in the overall standings, with Groves moving into top spot, just ahead of Davis, with Kenny Gee and Dave Melvin close behind.

PLAYER Score Tour Points Prize Deduction
M Groves 35 50 £40.00 -3
M Reeves 35 50 £40.00 -3
S Blackburn 36-1 = 35 50 £40.00 -3
S Kelly 34 32 £20.00 -2
I Davis 35-1 = 34 32 £20.00 -2
M Brewer 36-3 = 33 28 £10.00 -1
B O’Riordan 32 26    
D Melvin 32 26    
A Wiffen 31 22    
R Potter 33-2 = 31 22    
K Gee 30 19    
R Mitchell 30 19    
M Sutton 29 17    
A Goldsmith 29 17    
K Carling 27 15    
K Winckle 26 14    
F Ladkin 26 14    
J Goodwin 27-1 = 26 12    
M Moss 25 11    
K Thomson 25-0.5 = 24.5 10    
B Cook 23-1 = 22 9    

Top Marks For Brewer At Thetford

Round 2 of this year’s Winter Tour saw 27 players take on an excellent course at Thetford, in some cold and windy conditions.

One player who was hot in the cool conditions was Mark Brewer, who breezed round in 40 points to take the first place money. Robert Potter also played some great golf to finish second on 38 points, just ahead of reigning Tour Champion Ian Davis, who returned 37 points without breaking sweat. These top 3 finished well clear of the field and will receive points deductions of 3, 2 and 1 points respectively when the Tour heads to Gog Magog in December.

Heading the rest of the field, sharing 4th place on 34 points were Paul Moreton, Kevin Thomson and Robert Barrell, who all receive a half point deduction next time out.

Robert Barrell’s score was notable as he had been carrying a 2 point deduction from East Herts and now heads the Tour points table.

Thetford Scores:

PLAYER Score Tour Points Prize Deduction
M Brewer 40 50 £70.00 -3
R Potter 38 40 £50.00 -2
I Davis 37 35 £30.00 -1
K Thomson 34 32 £10.00 -0.5
P Moreton 34 32 £10.00 -0.5
R Barrell (-2) 34 32 £10.00 -0.5
K Gee (-2) 33 26
R Mitchell (-1) 33 26
M Groves 32 22
M Sutton 32 22
P Buchan 32 22
A Cuthbertson 31 18
A Goldsmith (-1) 31 18
J Warren (-1) 31 18
K Winckle 30 15
R Goddard (-1) 30 15
B O’Riordan 29 13
K Hamman (-2) 29 13
P Simons 29 13
S Hockley 29 13
D Melvin (-3) 28 9
A Wiffen (-1) 27 8
J Rycroft 27 8
M Moss 25 6
S Kelly 25 6
K Carling 21 4
M Reeves 19 3

Melvin Is The Main Man At East Herts

The 2015-16 edition of the Winter Tour kicked off with a trip to East Herts, which despite the damp conditions underfoot, provided a good test for the 22 man field.

The wet ground obviously suited Dave Melvin who showed the field a clean pair of heels with a fine score of 37 points. Dave’s first prize just about covered the cost of the new pair of shoes he had to buy after leaving his shoes at home. Dave will now carry a 3 point deduction in the next round at Thetford.

Sharing the 2nd place money on 36 points were Rob Barrell, Kenny Gee and Keith Hamman who will all suffer a 2 point deduction at Thetford. Richard Mitchell, Andy Goldsmith and Andy Wiffen also finished in the money on 33 points. They will each receive a 1 point deduction at Thetford

East Herts Final Scores

PLAYER Score Tour Points Prize Deduction
D Melvin 37 50 £60.00 3
R Barrell 36 40 £20.00 2
K Hamman 36 40 £20.00 2
K Gee 36 40 £20.00 2
R Mitchell 33 30 £10.00 1
A Wiffen 33 30 £10.00 1
A Goldsmith 33 30 £10.00 1
F Ladkin 32 24
P Moreton 32 24
M Groves 31 20
K Winckle 31 20
J Rycroft 31 20
I Davis 31 20
R Potter 30 16
P Buchan 30 16
S Kelly 29 14
B O’Riordan 29 14
K Thomson 28 12
K Carling 28 12
S Hockley 27 10
A Cuthbertson 26 9
M Reeves 24 8

 

 

Kev Lights It Up At Princes

The final round of the 2014-15 Winter Tour was played over the demanding Shore and Dunes layout at Princes. Not only was their a stiff breeze to contend with, but most of the field also had to cope with the after effects of the previous night’s Tour Dinner.

Despite struggling to find his way to the first tee after zero hours sleep, Kevin Thomson smoked it round in a magnificent 36 points to take the first place money.  Rob Barrell and Jeff Rycroft shared second place with 33 points to both improve their overall points standings.  Andrew Cuthbertson shared the remaining prize money on 31 points with Mike Moss and Rob Goddard, who both finished in the prizes for the second day running, despite their 3 point deductions.

In the overall standings Ian Davis took the title of Tour Champion, together with significant grief over his handicap. Two strong rounds at Princes saw Rob Goddard take second place, just ahead of Rob Barrell in third. Behind these 3 players, Jeff Rycroft’s fine final round saw him sneak into 4th place overall

Princes Day 2

PLAYER Points Prize
K Thomson 36 £60.00
R Barrell 33 £40.00
J Rycroft 33 £40.00
M Moss 31 £20.00
R Goddard 31 £20.00
A Cuthbertson 31 £20.00
I Davis 30
M Sutton 30
M Reeves 30
J Yacoob 30
J Mangan 30
R Mitchell 29
B O’Riordan 29
R Potter 28
S Hockley 28
P Buchan 27
M Groves 27
M Brewer 26
W Beckwith 26
K Winckle 23
P Moreton 23
D Melvin 22
F Ladkin 18

Five-Way Tie Over The Himalayas & Shore At Princes

The Winter Tour headed to Princes GC in Kent for this season’s finale. Day 1 was played over the Himalayas & Shore and finished with 5 players sharing top position with 35 points. The famous five sharing the money were Dave Melvin, Mike Moss, Mick “Spongebob” Sutton, Rob Goddard and Paul Moreton. One point further back was Tour Commissioner Mike Groves.

Round 1 was followed by the Tour Awards Dinner, with several players being recognised for their exploits and achievements across the year, whilst others managed to drink right through to breakfast!

Princes Day 1

PLAYER Points Prize Deduction
D Melvin 35 £35.00 3
M Moss 35 £35.00 3
R Goddard 35 £35.00 3
M Sutton 35 £35.00 3
P Moreton 35 £35.00 3
M Groves 34 £25.00 2
I Davis 32
R Mitchell 31.5
R Potter 31
S Hockley 31
K Gee 30
M Brewer 30
K Thomson 30
P Buchan 29
J Rycroft 29
M Reeves 29
A Cuthbertson 28
K Winckle 28
R Barrell 27
B O’Riordan 22
J Yacoob 21
F Ladkin 20
W Beckwith 20
J Mangan 16