Legal expert Jeremy Taylor is enjoying a successful season as Captain of Leighton Buzzard golf club.
Losing just one of the eight inter-club matches, Taylor has also been raising money for his Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen Forces Association charity, potting his first hole-in-one and encouraging the club’s army of junior players to victory in schools and county competitions. But there’s one ‘trophy’ the Crown Prosecution Service solicitor wishes he hadn’t “won” – a wooden spoon.
The spoon is awarded to the losing Captain in the annual Men v Ladies match at the Plantation Road club and this year, Ladies Captain Patti Marriott proudly presented it to her club colleague after the ladies scored an impressive 3-1 match play win over the men by 14 holes. Two matches were halved on the last hole.
Patti teamed up with Gill McDougall to open up the Ladies account with a two hole win over Jeremy and his vice captain Robbie John, and though Graham Freer and Steve Marriott steadied the ship with a half against Anne Tilbury and Rosie Hartnell.
Steph Howlett and Bev Martin walloped Ian Alexander and John Smith by five holes and Julie Smith and Josie Sheridan carded a five hole win over Chris Figg and Graham Pellow.
Peter Sheridan and Tim Martin tabled the only win for the men with a narrow victory over Val Berry and Carol Alexander, with Judi Malpass and Diane Pellow completing the rout with a half against Harry Adam and Howard Till to secure back-to-back wins for the ladies.
Eight pairs of Leighton Buzzard golfers made their mark in the Scottish Mixed pairs championships last week, an event with three different competition formats played on five different courses in as many days.
Former club Captain and ex-President John Preston and wife Sue Preston beat 220 other couples to win the foursomes competition; Lesley and Anton Bednarek and Barbara and Phil Rickard each recorded best course scores, with Phil and Barbara finishing 16th overall.
Leighton’s Senior winter scratch league team ended the season with two wins from their six matches, beating South Beds and Bedford and County at home. David Banwell was the only member of a 13-strong squad to play in all six matches.
Division Two player Vicki Pratt won Leighton Ladies Buckmaster Salver, carding a nett 70 to beat Sandra Carter and Division Three leader Norma Stevens-Hack by four shots. Chris Purkiss won Division One with a nett 76, three shots clear of Val Berry.
Brandon Sanders won Leighton’s July stableford with a 43 point haul to beat Simon Rose, John Mckay and Jon Woolford by three shots.
Other leading scores were: 39 – Joshua Rowles, Shane Bentley, Graham Hazel; 38 – Andrew York, Russell Rowles, Tim Martin, Edward Stephenson, Kate Wright, Andrew Jones; 37 – Colin Beesley, Richard Dale, Peter David Lawrence, Stuart Mills; 36 – Peter Hazel, Julian Scarr, Simon Rossiter.