Report by AGW Golf Captain, Peter Dixon.
The AGW’s ETIQUS Race to Liverpool for 2018 was given the perfect send-off last week with successive events over two days at St Andrews and Carnoustie, when we were generously allowed to ‘piggy-back’ R&A and European Tour media days for both the Senior Open and the Open Championship.
The first of the events, for the President’s Putter, was played over the Old Course in strong and testing winds, not that Neil McLeman, the eventual champion, seemed to notice.
Something Neil will never forget is a finishing stretch in which he picked up 12 stableford points with pars, for net birdies, at each of the last four holes. Playing off 21, he finished the day with an exceptional 38 points to claim his first AGW win.
In joint second place, with 33 points, were David Facey and Denis Kirwan.
Other points of note were the birdies achieved at the 18th by Dan Murphy, Mark Townsend and Iain Carter, although the most notable, given the conditions, was Derek Lawrenson’s birdie at the par three 11th.
As the captain, I have to apologise for my own calamitous efforts in the company of the R&A’s Mike Woodcock, who almost jumped out of his skin when I came sprinting past him (shouting, “Sorry Mike!”) as he was preparing to putt at the 1st.
I had seen the wind start to blow my trolley – which had been left by the 2nd tee – towards the Swilcan Burn. I swear the ghost of Old Tom Morris was pushing it because it got faster and faster before flying over the edge and into the burn. I’m sure I heard a chuckle, although perhaps it was just the wind.
The next day it was on to Carnoustie for the R & A Salver. This is a tough course regardless of the conditions, so to play it in winds that were even stronger than the previous days proved particularly challenging. Even so, it gave everybody a good chance to reacquaint themselves with the course and what awaits the world’s best players come The Open.
The Stableford scores were predictably low, with some players suggesting that a point on a hole often felt like an achievement.
In the end victory went to Fergus Bisset, playing off three, who came in with 29 points to beat Alex Miceli on a countback.
The win is also Fergus’s maiden AGW title while Alex went so close to becoming only one of a few Americans to capture an AGW trophy.
A big thank you to the R & A, the European Tour, Gordon Simpson (Sportmate) and Carnoustie for their very special arrangements.
And a thank you also to all those, including Alex and Bernie McGuire who travelled from the States along with many of our Irish colleagues, in making the effort to be present in Scotland.
Footnote – Sadly a photographer’s error meant no photographs of our winners with the respective trophies.
- More photographs from both media outings at Twitter: @AGWgolfwriters
2018 AGW PRESIDENTS PUTTER – Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotland – Monday 23rd April
1st Neil McLeman (21 handicap) – 38 Stableford Points
2nd David Facey (15) , Denis Kirwan (14) – 33 points
4th John Hopkins (17) , Derek Lawrenson (9), Dan Murphy (3) – 32 points
7th Mark Townsend (7) , Fergus Bisset (3), Martin Dempster (11), Greg Allen (8) – 30 points
11th Colin Callander (6) – 29 points
12th Dick Turner (15), Euan McLean (12) – 28 points
14th Andy Farrell (12) , Peter Finnan (5) – 27 points
16th Peter Dixon (18), Alex Miceli (10) – 25 points
18th Iain Carter (7) – 22 points
19th Martin Vousden (12), Neil Squires (28) – 18 points.
21st Nick Rodger (18) – 17 points
22nd Bernie McGuire (16) – 15 points
No scorecard – John Huggan, Shane O’Donoghue
- New AGW handicap – Neil McLeman – 19
2018 AGW R & A SALVER – Carnoustie, Scotland – Tuesday 24th April
1st Fergus Bisset – 29 Points (Count-back)
2nd Alex Miceli – 29 points
3rd Dan Murphy, Shane O’Donoghue, Colin Callander – 28 points
6th Greg Allen – 27 points
7th Martin Dempster – 24 points
8th Dave Edwards , Dave Facey – 23 points
10th Rob Perkins, Mark Townsend, Neil McLeman – 22 points
13th Peter Dixon – 19 points.
14th Bernie McGuire – 17 points
15th Andy Farrell – 16 points
16th Martin Voudsen – 15 points
17th Nick Rodger – 12 points
18th Neil Squires – 11 points
19th Dick Turner – 6 points
Notable – Brian McLaughlin (AGW Supp’ Member) 29
- New AGW Handicap – Fergus Bisset 2
(Updated 1st May, 2018)
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