Records Broken As Ladies Dominate Finals Week
The Greencard Grand Finals week was once again held in the superb golfing area of Quinta do Lago. The opening round of the event was the Am Am, which was held on the recently opened, redesigned Quinta North course. Paul McGinley led this multi million Euro project, and what a difference they have made.
Review of the New Quinta North
It is now a much more enjoyable experience to play with several greenside bunkers having been replaced by run off areas, thus promoting the use of various recovery shots. However, the main difference is in the greens, which have been reshaped and now allow the green staff the opportunity to increase or shorten the distance to the hole by several clubs. Your putting boots have to be securely fastened to score well.
The New Paul McGinley Designed Quinta Do Lago North Course
Threeway Tie in Dramatic Am-Am
In the Am Am players from both the Tour and Masters are mixed together and despite the tricky greens the scoring was high. When Ian Robinson handed his team’s card in showing 117 points, they must have thought they were in with a good chance of winning. However, a few minutes earlier the team led by Brian Staines and including Janette Roe, Anthony Waterhouse and Jackie Carter had also carded 117. When Bill Coupe’s team came in with the same score, we had three teams all lying on 117. It was then down to count back, which ultimately gave Brian’s team victory.
The itinerary for the remainder of the week would be the same for both competitions. There would be two rounds on Quinta South and two rounds on Laranjal. Both courses are challenging in different ways. Quinta South demands accuracy from the tee and at times shots off target will leave you an almost impossible approach, none more so than the tricky 8th hole. Laranjal has length on its side and includes the longest par 3 that we play on Tour. The winner of both events would have to be on their game to claim the respective titles.
Derek Lindley Leads the Way on Tour Finals Debut
The first round was played on Quinta South. The sun was shining and the temperature was unseasonable high, but still very pleasant for playing golf.
Derek Lindely certainly enjoyed the conditions and in his first Tour Finals, he came in with 35 points, enough to take the overnight lead by one from Tim Elliott and Lodewijk Schlingemann. Reuben Fielding was one further back followed by Martin Kent and Janette Roe.
Ladies Take Control of the Masters
Meanwhile, the ladies were leading the way in the Masters with some superb scores. Marian Raybone was lying in third with 34 points, whilst both Jackie Carter and Shirley Halhead secured a great start to the tournament with 38. Brian Wilson had the best score of the day for the gents with 34. Malcolm Baker finished with 33.
Leader Suffers Sat-Nav Malfunction!
The second round was played at Laranjal. Whilst the sun did make an appearance during the day, the wind had picked up dramatically making playing conditions pretty tough. Our overnight leader did not enjoy such a good day at the office, and this was compounded after he had a good drive at the par 5 9th hole. He then fired his approach to within a few feet of the pin. It was a superb shot, however, the only problem was that he had aimed and landed on the 10th green, which is a good half a mile from the 9th green! Despite this set back I was confident that Derek would bounce back in the final two rounds.
Meanwhile, Janette Roe backed her decent first round efforts with the best score of the day in The Tour with a tremendous 35 points. John Meagher finished with the second highest score on 33. Keith Trenter, Ian Harris and Julie Harris all carded 32.
Janette Roe Opens up 5 Point Lead
At the half way stage in the Tour Janette had moved into a commanding lead on 67 points. Julie Harris, Reuben Fielding and Tim Elliott were all 5 points off the pace. However, with this group including the 2014 order of merit winner and two experienced Greencard competitors, Janette was far from safety with two rounds still to play.
The Tour had played from the white and blue tees respectively. Due to the windy conditions the Masters were playing from the yellow and red tees. It would be interesting to see if a slightly shorter course would result in higher scores. Shirley continued to show great form with another solid round of 35 points. This was matched by Chris Hegarty and Anthony Waterhouse.
Shirley Halhead Makes Her Masters Move
At the halfway stage in the Masters, Shirley had extended her lead to 6 points from Jackie Carter, who had carded 30 points at Laranjal. Mike Clewley’s 34 in round two had moved him into third position and Tony Wells was lying in fourth place but 9 shots off the lead.
The sun returned for the free day and this gave people a chance to relax around the pool or explore the surrounding area. One or two even headed off for more golf.
John Meagher Makes Most of a Perfect Day
The following morning, we reconvened at Quinta South for the third round. The weather was perfect for golf and this showed in the scoring. John Meagher hit the best of the day in the Tour with 36 points, which ensured that he did not stop smiling for the rest of the day!
Ian Robinson played extremely well and his 35 could easily have been higher had it not been for a couple of wayward approach shots on the back nine. Julie was keeping her momentum with 34, a score matched by Lodewijk and Martin Kent.
However, Janette’s game stood up to the test and despite her lead being reduced to just three points at one stage, a birdie on the 17th hole enabled her to reach 35 for the round. Her lead at the top of the leaderboard was now 6 points from John and Julie. Martin Kent’s 34 had secured his place in the last fourball for the final round on countback from Alan Orritt. However, you rule out “the Chick’s” chances at your peril!
Magnificent 42 Points Builds Record Masters Lead
Over in the Masters, Brian Wilson had enjoyed a great day on the course and finished with 37 points, enough to move him into the top 10. Clive Pantoll had also made his way up the leaderboard after scoring 35. Anne Bridges and Marian had 33, while Tony Wells, Neil Ratcliffe and Phil Raybone all carded a 32. We all waited for the final group to see if Shirley had continued her run of form or if the gap at the top had been narrowed.
One look at the card gave the answer, an incredible 42 points was marked in the box and despite Jackie’s best efforts with 31, the lead was now an unbelievable 17 points going into the final round. Jackie was lying in second place on 99, whilst there was a log jam for third with Marian, Tony, Neil and Mike all on 97. Unless something remarkable happened or Shirley decided to just play 9 holes, the chasing pack would be battling it out for the runners up spot.
Masters Final Round: The Pack Try to Close
The weather had been excellent all week, but the forecast for the last day was a little on the wet side. Unfortunately, on this occasion the forecasters were spot on and the rain began to fall heavily throughout the morning. However, the reward for battling through these conditions was a sun bathed afternoon. It was difficult to predict the scoring due to the weather but there were some very respectable numbers coming in. John Ward had 32, ensuring that all his scores over the four rounds were 30 and above. Rumours of a return to form started to gather pace amongst the group.
Anne Bridges, Malcolm Baker and Jenny Staines all finished with 34 points which moved them up the leaderboard to fourth, fifth and twelfth respectively. Meanwhile, Neil Ratcliffe’s 33 secured an overall position of third. As the final group walked off the 18th green, it soon became clear that Jackie had enjoyed an excellent round ensuring that the runners up place was safe.
Shirley Smashes Greencard Records
However, whilst the winner of the Masters was almost decided before the final round, we were hoping Shirley could sign off in style. Sure enough her 38 points, including a two shot penalty for unfortunately hitting the wrong ball and depriving her off another potential score in the 40’s, ended a remarkable week. A total of 154 points is practically unheard of in Greencard events and many congratulations must go to Shirley in achieving this landmark. We look forward to Shirley returning to the winning circle in 2015, but as I think is obvious to all, it will be off a lower handicap!
Congratulations to Shirley Halhead (centre) for a great week at the Masters. Neil Ratcliffe & Jackie Carter Make Up Top 3
After the excitement of the conclusion of the Masters, attention was turned back to the Tour. This promised to be a much closer affair with the question of whether Janette’s swing could stand up to the pressure of holding off the chasing pack.
Tour Finals Plays the Last Round Backwards
The 9th hole at Laranjal is a very watchable par 5, which finishes directly beside the current clubhouse. Players need to negotiate water from the tee and then again on their approach to the green. It therefore made sense to start the final round from the 10th tee and allow the group to watch the leaders come in. Once again the Tour played from the white and blue tees and this time the scoring was lower than in the Masters.
Champion Crowned After Amazing Drama on the Last
The top score of the day came from our 2014 Order or Merit winner, Tim Elliott with 32 points. Peter Roe and Chicken Orritt, both finished with 29, whilst Adrian Carran, Lodewijk, Neil Gillam and Ian all came in with 28. It was therefore clear that the winner would come from the final fourball. As we all gathered around the 18th green, we saw Janette’s shot find water. Following a drop, her approach to the green also found water and resulted in her not scoring.
Martin was next to play, his ball found the bunker in front of all the spectators. John then put his shot into the water and he too failed to register a score. Julie managed to scramble a point and Martin having played a tremendous bunker shot under a huge amount of pressure, secured his two points.
As the group came off the green the word was that Janette had held on to secure the title. Julie finished with 28, which ensured that she had second place overall. Disappointing final rounds from both John and Martin allowed the “Chick” to take third place with Lodewijk finishing fourth. However, Janette’s 30 points was enough to take the victory and I would like to pass on our congratulations for a wonderful week of golf. Well played.
Worthy Tour Champion Janette Roe (right) with Runner-Up Julie Harris and Third Place Alan Orritt
Happy Memories of 2014, Bring on 2015!
As has become traditional at the Finals week, we all met for prize giving, dinner and live music. It is a great way to finish a great week. My thanks to everybody who attended and I look forward to seeing you all in 2015.
