Simon Byford’s golf column: Julie Burman glides to victory in first Ladies’ section ‘Major’ of the year at Bury St Edmunds Golf Club, The Juby Cup
Julie Burman glided to victory in spectacular fashion in the first Ladies’ section ‘Major’ of the year at Bury St Edmunds Golf Club, The Juby Cup.
The traditional season opener, the Juby Cup is a strongly contested Stableford event, and due to the size of the field and the luncheon/presentation that follows, the players play from a shotgun start.
As luck would have it, Julie started from the 1st hole and never looked back. Commenting on her round, playing partner Audrey Finch said: “She just had one of those days, the ball just kept going in the hole. She was as surprised as we were, but it was great to see.”
Julie scored a whopping 48 points from her 35 allotted shots, but this would have been more had the competition not had a handicap limit.
There was another Julie in second place, scoring 40 points from her 13 shots was Julie Byford. ‘The Count’ was required to separate this Julie and Heather Chandler in third place who also got 40 points.
It was testament to the quality of the course that more than 30 per cent of the field played to or better than their handicap.
The win will hopefully give Julie and all the players that returned good scores huge confidence going into the remainder of the season.
Haverhill GC
The weather was glorious, as the Haverhill members competed for the Bob Hutchingson Cup with shorts and polo shirts the order of the day.
Stephen Piotrowski was the victor, scoring a fantastic 40 points to claim this ‘Major’ honour. Jack Bligh was just one shot adrift on 39, a great score of level par gross from his three handicap. Kim Ward came in third place with 38 points.
There was also a Ladies’ Stableford held, and congratulations go to Lynne Hart on winning with 36 points from Jackie Condon in second place on 34 points. Sarah Wordley came in third place with 33 points.
Stowmarket GC
The Stowmarket Men’s section held their weekend Stableford competition, and as is the norm there are three divisions on both Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday, Johnathan Points took the victory from Matt Holbrook by virtue of ‘The Count’ in Division One, as both players returned 37 points. Alex Davey scored 35 to take third place.
In Division Two, Doug Mead had the round of the day scoring 40 points. Again, ‘The Count’ was needed to separate podium places. With Ian Hurst-Cotton and Johnathan Last both on 39 points, Ian got the nod.
Division Three also required ‘The Count’, David Withers ahead of Paul Deeves on 38 points, with Ben Davis third on 37.
Sunday proved no rest day for ‘The Count’ as again Division One had multiple tied scores. It was better news for Matt Holbrook this time round as he took first place ahead of Henry Cutting in second and Johnathan Points in third as the threesome all scored 35 points.
As is often the case at Stowmarket, Division Two saw the highest score of the day, with Stephen Martin topping the leaderboard with 42 points. Roy Barnes came in second with 40 and Bill Smith third on 39.
Division Three saw Stephen Godfrey take top spot on 37, with Paul Deeves finishing second for the second day running, but this time his 35 points came out successfully in ‘The Count’s’ calculations ahead of Greg Thomas in third.
The Suffolk GC
The Suffolk Seniors’ section held two Stableford competitions this past week. The first was won by Richard Graves with 37 points, and Eric Gray got the approval of ‘The Count’ to hold off Kieron Watson after the pair both scored 35 points. Richard Graves, however, had to settle for third place with 35 points in the second iteration as Derek Bloomfield took top spot. Again ‘The Count’ had to be employed as Derek’s 37 points was adjudged better than Bernie Nunn’s.
Brian Hay was the winner in the Men’s Midweek Stableford with 35 points. Rob Kennedy was second on 33 and Graham Chapman third on 32.
There was also a Social Stableford held. Duane Towns continued their impressive recent run of form, scoring 41 points to top the leaderboard. Perry Garrod came in second on 40 and Jack Pearson was third on 36 points.
Bury St Edmunds GC
Shae Baldwin continued his fine run of early season form with victory in the March Junior Stableford. His 32 points was one shot ahead of Bobby Lloyd on 31, who in turn was thankful of ‘The Count’ ahead of Rafa Richardson, also on 31.
Thetford GC
Fine, balmy weather greeted competitors in the March Seniors Stableford competition. Winter clothing was discarded for lighter garments with the hardiest choosing shorts. The scoring matched the weather, heating up for a number of players, none more so than Stephen McIlroy who scored an incredible 46 points.
Although playing off 26 handicap, McIlroy clearly played a little like his namesake Rory, who recently won the Players Championship at Sawgrass. With four 4-point holes in his round the day was set for something special. He carries home the victor’s spoils, as well as a healthy 2.4 point cut to his handicap. Runner-up to McIlroy in Division Two was Tony Gearing (44 points), followed by Chris Tilley (41 points).
In the Division One category the winning score was an equally good, 43 points by Terry White, five points more than second place Peter Allott (38 points) who pipped seven players tied for third on 37 points.
This time next week Rory and the rest of the contenders will be in full Masters preparation mode as the first men’s ‘Major’ of the year approaches, and with it the promise of a new golfing season and perfect weather straight through to September! We live in hope. Have a great golfing week.
