Perusal of the trophy confirmed the significant deficit in LMEGA victories in this encounter and this year’s ritual thrashing was no different. After a number of years at Moor Park, the change of venue was matched by a change of format: eight singles followed by The Berkshire’s renowned lunch.
The Captain was adjudged to have excelled himself by losing only 3 and 2 to BSMAGS’ leader, Gary Holloway, who only bothered dropping four shots to par on his way round The Berkshire’s Blue Course. Even his BSMAGS colleagues were astounded that Martin Pratt’s opponent had somehow managed a half. John Ambery recorded a commendable 6 and 4 victory whilst your match manager has put out a APB for his swing rhythm lost around the turn leading to a 3 and 2 defeat. Mind you, upon returning to the car park and finding your opponent loading his clubs into the back of a gleaming Bentley SUV with the registration mark BO11OKS, rather summed it up.
Dr Colin and Ashok both succumbed to strong opponents. A mention in despatches for your Vice Captain. In Steven Smith’s most unfortunate absence, Allan stepped up to the plate taking on both BSMAGS players in the crucial final match. The outcome was that he defeated one of them 3 and 1 but lost to the other by the same margin – an outstanding effort.
So once again, BSMAGS smuggle the trophy away, with 5 and a half to our 2 and a half, but they do at least keep it up to date on the engraving front. We must strive to ensure that next year their engraver is not just instructed to copy the previous entry!
Lunch was every bit as good as anticipated and the unanimous view was that the venue and format were well worth repeating next year.
David Hardy
Match Manager