Golf

IT WAS David Jones birthday on Monday and when he called in to the Lyme club house he received the best present of them all his name was at the top of the leaderboard for the previous day's cup event.

His medal round of 85(19)66 had won him the Rover Cup for the second year running, reduced his handicap to 18 and earned him £17 almost enough to buy one of the cars.

David's first half was dominated by two three putts from just six foot, one on the short par three 3rd and another two holes later.

He ended the first half with par figures.

The second nine was far better, a birdie two on the 11th and a par finish on the 18th for a net 31 shots.

This gave him the countback edge over runners up George Skellern and Jonathan Russell.

David, a security sales manager from Uplyme, has only been a member for two years and during that time beside the Rover Cup twice he has won the Tyros Cup and the Wellings Bowl.

He said: "I'm really looking forward to some more trophies this summer, I'm really enjoying my golf".

Jim Dick won the Seniors Marsh Tankard on Monday, helped along with not one but two money-winning 2s.

The first came at the 177-yard 13th when Jim put his six iron shot nine inches from the flag and the second at the 8th when he blasted a sand iron shot out of a bunker and into the hole.

"My wife has been telling me to follow through when I am playing out of sand and I did. I always do what she tells me," said Jim.

In second place on countback with a net 66 was David Hickman followed one shot behind by Gerry Donlon.

It was not just luck for Derrick Gatley when he sent a seven wood straight into the hole at the par three 8th for his first hole in one in 40 years of golf. The luck came afterwards.

When he finished his match there was no-one in the clubhouse other than his playing partner Brian Deem to share a traditional drink a quarter of an hour before there had been 96 people at the bar, they all went home just before Derrick arrived!