Wakehurst:  23 Jan 2022

=1  Thief  39 pts:  5

=1  Vando  39 pts:  5

  2  The Donald  32 pts:  2 + 5 (2NTPs & LD)

  3  Sticky  20 pts

Ashes:  Anzacs win and secure the Ashes 16-3

Chuckup:  Thief, Vando and The Donald

WHAT A FINISH!!  The Thief looked set to cruise this, with 22 points on the front nine (5 pars & 4 bogies), seven better than second placed, but he started the back nine with a wipe and Vando made a 4/4 and suddenly it was a contest.  All square on the eighteenth tee with no one making the green in two into a two-club wind.  Vando had an extra shot to play with, and put his third to twenty feet from the pin and it looked like a done deal.  Thief played an amazing chip to six feet below the hole, and it started to look like a tie was a possible outcome.  Vando’s putt stopped two inches from the hole, giving 24 points on the back nine, and Thief stepped up to sink his six-footer for par and a well-deserved tie – Congratulations both!!

The Donald plays and doesn’t win – shock horror!!  Yours truly struggles with right arm RSI and manages seven points on the front nine to help put the Ashes to bed for the season with the Anzacs giving the single most dominant performance on record for either team.

Chuckup gets more interesting with Vando leading after three matches and three maximums – but will he manage another seven attendances out of the remaining twelve games?

Very hot humid conditions.  Drizzle at the beginning of the round and at the end, with hot sun through the middle.  Course in excellent condition, but the south-westerly picked up to 2-3 clubs coming home on the back nine which made it that much tougher.

Yours truly drops a 36 and slips another stroke.  Vando’s 39 gets him pulled a shot but Thief drops a 39 and his handicap is unchanged, as is the Donald.