Reg retains the Roehampton GC Championship

[<<] [>>] by Tim Russell at Roehampton
15th June (GC - Tournaments)

Reg Bamford retained the Roehampton GC Championship having been pushed hard in both his quarter final against Levi Franks and in the final by Roehampton member Nick Yates who progressed to the final without losing a game and gained nearly 140 D grade points for his efforts. The standout performance of the tournament.

Nick had beaten Levi in his opening match 2-0 (with Levi struggling to cope with a mallet handle that looked considerably too long for him) to ensure Reg had to face the number 2 seed in his quarter final. It was a very tight match with Levi losing the first game 7-6 after having first shots at the golden hoop. He won the second 7-5 with a fine display of clearing and hoop running but Reg persevered 7-6 in the final game utilising all his experience.

In the other quarter finals, Nick beat Guy Scurfield 2-0. Previous winner Tobi Savage overcame Albie Willett 2-1 and Chris Roberts ran out a comfortable 2-0 winner over Lionel Tibble. The semi-finals saw both Reg and Nick win in straight games against Chris and Tobi respectively before an exhilarating final watched by a crowd of 20 plus. Fuelled by several bottles of rose, (Dulwich players consuming most of it) the crowd got behind Nick who gave an accomplished performance, looking unfazed against the multiple world champion. There were many fantastic clearances, hoop runs and snuggles ( a 20+ yard one from Reg remains in the memory) and they were evenly matched until Nick tired a little in the third game. Well done to both.

Levi won the shield and the manager the plate. All the players appreciated the beautifully presented lawns which despite heavy rain in the previous week were running with a stimp reading of 12, despite looking their usual immaculate green. The players were also very appreciative of an excellent BBQ hosted by the winner and his wife Adrienne on the Saturday night.