Wrexham golf club’s fifteen year old junior lady Chloe Williams, daughter of club professional Paul Williams, has just returned with her father from her recent venture into the field of the European Girls’ Team Championships in which she, along with Kelly Miller, Katie Bradbury and Miriam Hassan represented Wales at the Aalborg golf club in Denmark.
The week commenced with two stroke play rounds with the best three scores out of four to count. Out of the nineteen European teams competing, the top eight qualify for the top flight of match play rounds, the next eight for the second flight of match play and the last three merely accept positions seventeen, eighteen and nineteen in the rank order.
Played on a very difficult course in high winds, Chloe returned the best aggregate of the Welsh team despite scoring rounds of +9 and +7. The team qualified in sixteenth position to enter into the second flight of the match play games.
Playing against Germany, Wales lost by 2 ½ to ½ with Chloe gaining the solitary half after being two down with three to play.
The next match, against Holland, saw Wales lose the first game by 3 and 2 until Katie Bradbury restored the balance with a 4 and 3 win with Chloe out in the last match.
After fifteen holes she found herself three down but squared the match by the final hole and then won on the twentieth hole to ensure Wales won the match by 2 and 1.
The final game was against Italy who fielded a team of girls with handicaps from +3 to scratch. All three games went to the closing holes but Wales went down 3 – 0.
We finished 14th out of the nineteen countries competing without the services of top Welsh girl golfer Amy Boulden of Maesdu who has now been elevated to full international status.
This result was the best Welsh result for the last four years and confirms the advantages of the coaching schemes now in place for young golfers.
Wrexham ladies played their Caldecott Pattison Salver as a medal last Tuesday. Winner of the Silver division was Jean A. Jones with net 71 from Gwen Griffith on 72. The Bronze division went to Sandie Reddington with net 71 from second placed June Roberts with net 76.
Jean was the overall winner and receives the Caldecott- Pattison Salver on Finals day in September.
Running concurrently with this event was then Caldecott Stableford through two handicap divisions. Winner of the Silver division was Janet Pritchard with an excellent 45 points from Dorothy Davies on 38. The Bronze division went to Ladies’ Captain Ann Davies with Pat Purdy as runner up on 37 points, the overall winner being Janet with her score of 45 points.
Last Saturday the men played for the Crowe and Leader Cups in an event that enables all to compete for the Crowe Cup, but only players who have not won a Board Competition are eligible for the Leader Cup.
The Crowe Cup was presented many years ago by the established wholesale Fruit and Vegetable distributor F. F. Crowe who counts as one of his descendants the film actor, Australian, Russell Crowe.
The Leader Cup was presented in the fifties by the Wrexham Leader whose offices stood at the time in Caxton Place, Wrexham, before being cruelly destroyed by fire some time later.
I well remember delivering my hand written Athletics copy there to the late Ron Chaloner in 1964 following the County Sports at the Barracks Field in Hightown, and in later years at Eirias Park in Colwyn Bay.
Enough of reminiscing! The winner of the Crowe and the Leader Cups was retired Premiership referee John Walter Lloyd who handed in 74 – 11 – 63, a first class score considering how hard and fast the golf course has become through lack of rain. Runner up in both cups was equally competent Ken Bayley with 83 – 20 – 63 who ranked second by just 0.5 of a shot on the computer in calculating back nine scores. Neither of these gentlemen had won a Board event in the past, so making them eligible for both trophies.
This Saturday is played the thirty six holes Scratch Cup with the Weiner Cup for net scores running concurrently with it. The event was changed from Sunday to Saturday because of the final day of the Open Championships from St Andrews, and the thought that most players would wish to watch the afternoon play on television.
Jim Johnson