The Championship and Silver meeting was held at Pleasington Golf Club on Sunday 5th - Tuesday 7th May 2024.
Qualifying started off quite dull with 67 players teeing off. The day just got warmer and warmer with many early starters complaining they were dressed incorrectly!! The sun was shining and the course started to dry out very nicely. In fact, all my praying paid off as the sun shone the whole three days. We were so lucky considering what awful weather we had had to endure over the last few months.
On the first morning of the matches we saw one match between Sara Fitzgerald, Ormskirk Golf Club and Susan Caton, Pleasington Golf Club go to the 5th extra hole with Sara winning with a birdie. Sara played a total of 40 holes on Monday!
The morning of the semi finals saw Adrienne Bennett, Formby Ladies Golf Club, our top qualifier, play Sara Fitzgerald. Adrienne came out tops winning 1 up. In the other semi-final between Jeanette Williams, our Captain, from Pleasington Golf Club and Jacqui Brown, Royal Birkdale Golf Club saw Jacqui beating Jeanette 4&3.
The final was then between two relatively newcomers to the seniors scene in Adrienne and Jacqui. Jacqui birded the first hole to go 1 up straight away but by the 4th hole they were all square and after nine holes they were still all square each having exchanged a hole before then. Jacqui teed off first on the par 3, 10th hole and put her ball in the left-hand bunker. Adrienne then put her ball within a foot to win the hole with a kick in birdie and go 1 up. In fact, Adrienne then won the 11th and 12th holes to go 3 up.
Jacqui fought back and won the 13th only to then lose the 14th and go back to 3 down. The 15th hole was halved in 4’s and they walked to the 16th tee with Adrienne being 3 up with 3 to go. The 16th hole saw a super shot from Adrienne putting her ball on the green of the par 3 just to the right of the pin and piling on the pressure. Up stood Jacqui, who also hit a great shot, knowing a half would not be good enough. Her tee shot looked all over the pin only to land short and in the front bunker. Jacqui hit a great shot out and had to putt first hoping to make Adrienne putt. That wasn’t the case and Adrienne won the match 4&3.
Thank you to Janette Smart and her committee for all their hard work in making this Championship and Silver meeting such a success. My grateful thanks also go to my club, Pleasington, for allowing us to host our most prestigious event of the year. Also a big thank you to Chris Harding and his greens team for producing a super course in what has been a trying time for them. Thank you to Nick our starter and the catering staff for keeping us fed and watered.
I now look forward to the Richardson Trophy matches which commence up in the North East against Northumberland then Durham with some new faces in the squad.
Good luck ladies.
Click here for the prize winners results and
click here for the final results of the matchplay stages of the Championship.
Championship and Silver Meeting prize winners Sunday 5th May