Bogey beaten by weather

THE men's Winter Foursomes bogey qualifier at Tiverton was called off on Saturday after morning fog thickened and rendered the course unplayable.
Players were left frustrated as there was barely any fog just down the road from the Post Hill club, and by lunchtime the conditions had cleared to set up a fine winter's afternoon.
Some players stuck around for an 11-hole 'pound in the pot' competition, which was won by club steward Colin Taylor with 28 stableford points.
It is the second of the Winter Foursomes qualifiers to fall foul of the weather and they have now been rearranged for the first two weekends in January, when 16 more pairs will book their places in the last 32.

Hidden heaven for Beryl and Trish

BERYL Walters and Trish Bending capped their good golfing year by winning the ladies' 11-hole Hidden Pairs stableford at Tiverton on Wednesday.
The pairs were matched up by a random draw at the end of the competition, so nobody knew who their partner would be.
Walters and Bending, who have both featured in the prizes several times in 2007, had a combined total of 48 points to finish four ahead of runners-up Helen Scriven and Gina Churchill.
Ros Williams and Annie Mills (43) were third ahead of Anne Franklin and Jackie Leonard (41), Hannah Grant and Pat Batchelor (40) and Kath White and Liz Hall (40).
The prizes were festive goodies, with the winners going home with a Christmas Cake each.
The 40 ladies who played had mulled wine and mince pies after the competition and also took part in a quiz set by ladies' captain Chris Williams.

Marriott magic denies Grant

ELIZABETH Marriott ended Hannah Grant's hopes of a fifth successive victory in ladies' competitions when she won the December Stableford on a clear but cold day at Tiverton on Wednesday.
Grant did finish top of the Silver Division with 34 points, helped by four birdies, but 28-handicapper Marriott pipped her by one overall. Anne Franklin and Janet Simpson also came in with 34.
With all temporary greens in operation due to a heavy morning frost, the competition did not count for handicap reductions or increases.
Results: Silver Division – 1 Hannah Grant (34); 2 Sue Norris (33); 3 Rachel Bray (32). Bronze Division One – 1 Elizabeth Marriott (35); 2 Janet Simpson (34); 3 Joan Reed (33). Bronze Division Three – 1 Anne Franklin (34); 2 Julia Cole (28); 3 Ros Williams (28).

Girls' organisers step down

JANET Simpson and her daughter Julie Aldridge have stepped down after six years overseeing a flourishing junior girls' section at Tiverton.
It was 2000 ladies' captain Veronica Warne who set up a Millennium project to introduce more girls to the club.
Janet and Julie took over the reins the following year and mailshots, a scholarship system and Sunday coaching sessions have helped them increase membership numbers from a handful to about 20.
And a further dozen or so girls could join the club next year after progressing through the coaching scheme.
Janet and Julie have helped nurture Abbie Moyes down to a handicap of 12 while the juniors can now boast two ladies' county players in Hannah Grant and Jessica Bradley, who have joined Tiverton from Enmore Park and Portmore respectively.
The junior girls thanked 2003 captain Janet and Julie by presenting them with a basket of plants and photo frames at the ladies' AGM.
Their organising roles have now been taken over by Shirley Turner and Ivy Radford.

PHOTO: Janet Simpson (centre) is pictured with Tiverton junior girls (from left) Rebecca Hughes, Nicola Chilcott, Abbie Moyes and Connie Hughes.

Four-star Hannah does it again

HANNAH Grant made it four wins out of four when she partnered Sue Norris and Judy Phripp to victory in the ladies' three-ball fun competition at Tiverton on Wednesday.
Having won the November Stableford, October Par and Hamilton Cup in her previous three outings at Tiverton, one-handicapper Grant continued her fruitful end to the year by linking up with Norris and Phripp to amass 81 stableford points on Wednesday.
Playing off ¾ handicap, teams used a 'yellow ball' in strict rotation, with two scores to count on each hole. The score achieved with the yellow ball was doubled.
Val Walker (13), Chris Bacon (21) and Marian Stevens (27) tied for second place on 77 points alongside Carol Scott (21), Phyllida Dunn (13) and Jackie Leonard (16).
While 14 teams took part in the 18-hole competition, five groups played in an 11-hole event.
That was won by Rachel Bray (15), Karen Allsopp (36) and Sue Thompson (36), who scored 30 points.

The men's Turkey Trot was postponed on Saturday due to heavy rain and is due to be replayed later in December.