Golf Union

The W A Kirkpatrick Trophy was played at Ramsey Golf Club last Saturday in glorious summer conditions on a golf course prepared superbly by the greens keeping team.

It proved to be a stern test for the 60 entrants who were playing 36 holes of medal golf. There were a few new faces on the start sheet and it was excellent to see some of the very young players such as Freddie Dancox, Liam Kniveton and Tom Cain among them.

This would be a great learning experience for them as well as for some of the more mature players, as keeping calm and dealing with whatever the course throws at them throughout the day is a great skill.

The trophy was presented by Mr Kirkpatrick in 1980 and, since his passing in 1993, there have been several multiple winners over the years in what is the men’s stroke play championship. Would this year produce a new winner, or would 2017 another previous winner take the spoils?

The early starters at 7.30am had to contend with a strong wind blowing into their faces on the 1st hole which dropped away as the day progressed and plenty of sun cream and shorts of various descriptions were on show.

Early leaders in the first round were Peter Glover (71), Keith Ward and Mark Sutton (72), with Paul Lowey, Daryl Callister and seniors captain John McMullan on 73.

The field was well bunched after that, with a few players ruing missed putts and wayward tee shots, but all looked good for the second round after a well-earned rest and some excellent food from the catering staff at the club.

In the afternoon the scoring was a little better generally, although a couple of the early leaders lost ground, Glover finishing 75 for a 146 total and Sutton with 76 for 148.

Lowey started the second round with an eagle three at the par-five 1st hole and, after carding a front nine of 33 (two under par), birdied the 10th, dropped a shot on the 17th and rounded off a superb 67 with a birdie two at the last. His total of a level-par 140 would prove impossible to beat.

Callister, the defending champion, put up a determined fight in the second round for a 71, as did Ward for his 71, and their respective totals earned the latter second place on 143, with Callister third on 144.

Some other good scores in the second round were Rob Noon 69, Jon Corke 70, Neil Caine 71, and Sam Skelton 72.

The overall nett prize went to Ward with 69 and 68 for 137, three under par.

At the presentation, Martin Webb from Ramsey Golf Club welcomed all the golfers and thanked them for their support, commenting on how pleased Ramsey were to host the event and how much they were looking forward to hosting this year’s island golf championships in July.

Isle of Man Golf president Dee Lewis thanked all the players, Ramsey GC and all those who made the event a success, including Andy Wheeler, Andy Patterson, the greens staff and those behind the bar and in the kitchens for looking after everyone on the day.

Not forgetting Gary Jakeman and Ant Crawley for all their hard work in organising the competition and checking cards and results.

It was a delight to welcome Jenny Clucas, a director of Manx Petroleums and close friend of the family, to present the prizes on behalf of Miss Irene Pugh who has been so generous in her continued sponsorship of the trophy, for which all golfers all sincerely grateful.

On receiving their prizes, the winners also thanked everyone and all those sun tanned faces in attendance at the presentation agreed that it had been a tremendous day, in glorious conditions, resulting with a very worthy champion Lowey.

Everyone looks forward to the championship at Ramsey, with qualifying rounds to be held on the weekend of July 15-16. If you haven’t entered yet, then please do so at www.isleofmangolf.im

Geoff Skillicorn