England Golf Week: Whitby and Lincolnshire are top dogs
WHITBY grasped their chance at redemption as they were crowned England Golf Club Team Champions at the second attempt.
The Yorkshire club were, by their own admission, “abysmal” when they teed off 12 months ago.
But Bob Scott, along with partner Janet McGeehin and friends Siew Choon Tan and Mike Coates, hit top form at Frilford Heath on their return to England Golf Week.
The four struck 87 points on the Blue course at the Oxfordshire venue and finished one point ahead of Devon’s Downes Crediton.
It kicked off a week of tournaments that saw more than 500 competitors take part in a series of finals.
On their failure last year, Scott said: “We weren’t going to let that lie, so we came back to show that we can play well.”
“It was good team work,” said McGeehin. “When one of us got into trouble some-one else stepped in.”
Coates added: “We did a lot of scrambling.”
The mixed format saw the best two stableford scores count on each hole and the four are hoping to defend their title next year.
Dramatic finish
It came down to countback in the tournament for County Presidents and Secretaries.
Lincolnshire’s total of 81 points gave them the narrowest of victories over teams from Leicestershire & Rutland and from Hertfordshire at England Golf Week.
The quartet of women’s county president Julia Sales, chairman Tracey Stobart (both from Kenwick Park), men’s county president Jim Lammin (Carholme) and president-elect Les Toyne (Woodhall Spa), snatched the win with a back nine of 42 points.
“We were in danger of having some bad holes!” laughed Toyne. “But we holed some crucial putts.
“As a team we all gelled nicely and we all had our moments and thoroughly enjoyed it.”
The same quartet played in last year’s competition and Toyne added: “It’s a wonderful format and good fun.”
Pictures courtesy of Leaderboard Photography
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
