A First For Fenton In Record Breaking Medal
Analysis
93 Players took part in yesterday's Tuesday Medal No.5 setting a new record for Tuesday Medal participation, beating last months 91 players, in what was a fine day for golf. Unusually there was little in the way of wind although it was not the prevailing wind, making the front 9 a bit more gentle and the back 9 a bit tougher than might ordinarily be the case. The 3rd still played the hardest hole on the course although considerably down on it's near 2.5 over par rating from Saturday to "just" 1.7 over it's par of 5. 15, playing into the wind, played 2nd hardest at 1.54 over it's par of 4.
Perhaps surprisingly, given the wind direction, the 14th was the easiest hole on the course, despite only giving up 2 birdies.
Tuesday Medal
Just under 14% of the field broke par nett yesterday with 2025 joiner Alex Fenton coming out on top with a superb nett 63 and a 3 shot victory over Stephen Cairns. Alex's round was a model of consistency, nothing worse than nett par on the card with 6 nett birdies and a nett eagle (2 nett 1 at 4) all adding up to 63. Given how few scores Alex has on his handicap record it also sees him drop almost 6 shots on his handicap index, there can be some volatility at the start. Stephen's round was similar to Alex but for a couple of nett bogies thrown in at the start of the round. Fine play from 7 onwards the key to his second place finish. Third placed Justin Bain got off to a flyer, 4 under par nett through 5 but will rue a triple bogey at 18, which cost him second spot but his excellent play for the other 17 meant he sat in 3rd alone with nett 67.
Talking of 18...Captain Tommy Kelly hit 4 tee shots at 18 but still had a birdie putt and walked off with a par 4, I told you you get rewarded for taking up a position at the club. He found his first drive and his par at the last helped him to a level par 71. That was enough to beat yours truly on the countback, I'm still raging at the seeded divot on 17 that cost me bogey!!! No such troubles for Michael Hart Jnr at 17, a birdie at 17 his solitary birdie in a +1 72.
Order of Merits
The Nett OOM is very tight with a variety of winners and people finishing in the top 3 each event. Ian Graham still leads the way with a slender 30 point lead over Fraser McDowall. Alex Fenton was the big mover, His 1800 points for 1st place moving him 108 places to 4th. Simon Leonard moves into the top 10 (7th) and David McCarthy moves from 23rd to 14th.
Richie Elrick gave this one a miss to attend son Kyle's graduation (congrats Elrick Jr) but he still maintains a healthy lead over Captain Tommy Kelly who moves into 2nd spot courtesy of his win. David Miller's 2nd 2nd in his 2 events moves him into the top 5.