Market Rasen Golf: Vice-captain takes honours in season opener

The sponsored mixed greensome stableford competition saw 18 pairings drawn and they were headed by John Wilson and Tilly Lawrence with a marvellous 42 points.

Runners-up Steve Hornsby and Rosemarie Lawton finished two points behind, while Tony Cook and Pam Holbrook pipped Stuart Britton and Marilyn Tompkins to third place on countback, thanks to a better back nine. Both pairs scored 38 points.

The trophy was presented to the winners by sponsor Richard Walker (RJW Private Clients Wealth Management) after a post-competition lunch.

* Having successfully remembered to put their clocks forward, a field of 47 men teed off on the first day of British Summer Time for the opening annual betterball match between the Captain’s and Vice-Captain’s teams.

The bright, drying conditions were a welcome change to the fixture’s original date which was postponed by snow at the beginning of the month.

There were two halved matches and two 1-ups on either side which led to the closest result for several years.

However, the match between captain Ian Ribey and vice-captain Robert Pearce, together with their playing partners, Vince Gilman-Abel and Dean Moore, was to prove decisive to the final outcome.

The vice-captain’s team ran out winners by seven matches to five.

* But another traditional season-opener, the Four Captains Challenge, was abandoned when the Beast from the East returned bringing snow, wind and freezing temperatures.

The four captains – Ian Ribey, Jenny Holborn (ladies), Mark Bedford (juniors) and Jerry Buttery (seniors) – gamely teed off, but abandoned the match on the sixth hole as blizzard conditions made play impossible.

The following team members gratefully followed suit and retired for food provided by senior Des Cawsey who first presented the trophy in 2003.