Cosby’s Kinnaird, Murgatroyd and Jones savour victory in Hurricane-curtailed tournament
COSBY, from Leicestershire & Rutland, won the Junior Champion Club Tournament... without even striking a ball on the final day.
The remnants of Hurricane Bertha, which blew in across the Atlantic towards the end of the summer, were to blame. It rendered the Bracken Course at Woodhall Spa unplayable, forcing officials to abandon the final round after less than three hours.
HALT
Persistent heavy rain from a dark, grey sky following an overnight downpour left the fairways waterlogged, and only half the field had begun their second rounds when a halt was called to proceedings and day two’s play was cancelled.
“The continual rain left the fairways unplayable,” noted chief referee Michael Rees. “If the rain had stopped we might have been able to resume. But it would have taken more than an hour to clear the surface water.
“The greens were fine but the fairways were the problem. What’s more, the forecast was for more rain and some of the teams had a long way to travel home. So, I had to make a decision which was a pity.”
That didn’t worry the Cosby trio, who had afternoon start times, although they were disappointed they were unable to add to their opening 72 Stableford points.
“We weren’t expecting play to be cancelled,” said Stuart Kinnaird, who returned 36 points in round one. “Having said that, we are overwhelmed to win a national championship.”
SHOCKED
Ross Murgatroyd, who also shot 36 points on day one, added: “I am shocked it has turned out this way. We were last off in the afternoon and were expecting to be out there again.
“Our club has reached three finals this year and we have won the first of the trio. I think this is the first time our club has won anything like this.”
The third member of the team, Matt Jones, commented: “I had the worst round yesterday and was looking to make up for it today, so I need to thank the other lads for helping me out.”
Although they finished round one on 71 points along with three other teams, Tiverton took second place because their non-scoring member, Grace Jackson, scored 32 points. This was one more than Huxley Howell of Saltford, who were third.
Next year’s event will be played at Frilford Heath Golf Club in Oxfordshire.
Photo: © LeaderboardPhotography.com
Read the latest issue of UK Club Golfer online
