Match Play Competitons

The Caxton Cup is the Matchplay competition at Annanhill Golf Club.

It seems hardly any time at all since I put my hat in the ring for Annanhill’s annual prime Individual Matchplay event. Dreams of glory in April turn in the summer heat to ashes of disappointment in August. 

Well, there’s always the consolation of the Divisional Matchplay, for a lucky few. And, if you can risk the fallout with a good buddy, there is always the Doubles. How many know the tonal angst of a cuttingly delivered “Well done partner” as you trudge into oblivion realizing, yes, it was your fault. That missed tiddler on the tenth.

So here we are. For the lucky few the prize, the admiration of peers, and the bragging rights for the whole next season are within grasping distance. But before that, let’s review.

There were, bless my soul, sixty entries for the Caxton Cup. Twenty-eight opening round ties and four luck byes. The first recorded casualty came on May 14th when Steve Chipchase succumbed to Gordon Ferguson. Remember that name. That was in the bottom half of the draw. Eleven days later Alan Purvis sent Richie Hope packing and we’re off to the races.

Fast forward in time to August 4th and the same Mr. Purvis is walking off the sixteenth hole having dispatched Davie McGawn to make it to the final step of the Caxton Cup final. Six days and another semi-final later he discovers that his path to victory has to go through the substantial frame of Gordon Ferguson. Perhaps you have a couple of pals that you can bring with you to the final Alan?

I say this because the self-same smiling assassin has managed to make it to the final of the Third Division Matchplay competition. And I know this from my personal teeth-grinding experience. Well done on that 40-footer from off the green at the 19th  at the conclusion of our semi-final sir!

I am not sure who gets the first go, but given that the original intention was to play all the finals on the same day, I suspect that Michael Lynn, the other finalist in the Third Division competition, might have it in mind to wait until A.P. wears the Big Guy down. Best of luck with that Mikey. Gordon has proven stamina.

By a spooky coincidence, the aforementioned Michael Lynn did not make it beyond the first round of the Doubles competition. He and his partner Darren McCutcheon were turned over by the brothers of Brian and Ross Griffin. It seems that in the blink of an eye The Family was disposing of dream team Irvine and Pratt to make it to the last game. 

Waiting for them is The Partnership (that’s what we are putting on the publicity poster so get over it) of Mark Robertson and Grant Bolton who overcame Alex Walker and Graeme Neal in their semi-final.

The coincidences keep piling up. In the Second Round of the First Division match play competition, Mark Robertson was defeated by Tom Sclater, who went on to defeat the Webmeister James McLean in a close-fought semi and now lies in wait for Chris Kerr.

Remember Alan Purvis from a few hours ago (Nah, you haven’t been reading that long)? Well, sadly he did not make it to the Second Division final having been defeated by big-hitting Alistair Munro. Waiting for Alistair is a familiar face in Darren McCutcheon. The pair have played together several times on a Saturday morning. They will know each other's game rather well I think.

And that’s all f-f-f-Folks.

The finals are due to be played at the end of August and we wish all the participants the very best in birdie hunting.

There will be Triumph, Disaster, and Tears, the latter being from the Match Secretaries on delivering the competitions to a conclusion sometime before Bonfire night.