Notch one up for the locals.
The Thursday Club, a 20-strong group of Nelson Golf Club members, became the first name etched onto the Grockles Trophy after beating a World team in their inaugural Ryder Cup-style tournament yesterday.
The Grockles Trophy, brainchild of Englishman Cliff Marwood, was contested over 27 holes at the Nelson Golf Club, featuring fourball, foursomes and singles competitions each played over nine holes.
And just like the real Ryder Cup - an international teams event played every two years between current holder Europe and the United States - Thursday's contest served up a genuine international flavour.
Grockle is a colloquial southern English term for a visitor and as a regular summer visitor to Nelson since 1983, Marwood has now sewn the seeds for what he hopes will become an annual event.
The competition was close throughout, with the Thursday Club just beating the World Grockles team 16-12.
The Thursday Club did have some local knowledge, with both resident club professionals, Ken Allan and Richard Woodhouse, part of the winning side.
And to emphasise the competitiveness of Thursday's event, Woodhouse completed the nine-hole fourball section seven under the card, but still only managed to halve the match once handicaps were applied.
The Grockles weren't without their heroes, Englishman Ben Collis, a 10-handicapper, scoring an eagle on the ninth during the fourball competition. The Grockles team also included a Czech coaching professional, Jan Simik.
Marwood hopes to expand the event next year to a 54-hole event played over a weekend.
Article by WAYNE MARTIN - The Nelson Mail | Friday, 2 March 2007 Original Story
Note From PGA Slags Editor
In reality the eagle on the ninth episode should have read something like ...
"The Grockles weren't without their heroes, Englishman Ben Collis, a 10-handicapper, holed out a 145m 7 iron, for an eagle on the final hole (ninth), to win the match, having been 1 down with 2 to play during the fourball competition - against a bandit off 17 who was 1 over par after 7 (of 9) holes. "
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