Graham Goodkind praised his Hartsbourne players for retaining the Glancy for the fifth consecutive year following an impressive team performance at Edmondstown Golf Club in Dublin.
July 12, 2019 09:41
Historically Edmondstown has proved difficult to score on and this year was no exception. The course was presented in superb condition with the pace and subtlety of the greens adding to the problems the competitors faced.
The main Glancy Trophy is presented to the team with the aggregate of lowest gross foursomes combined with lowest gross singles. Hartsbourne were worthy winners, finishing 14 shots ahead of the field.
Team captain Goodkind credited rookies Jack Miller, 19, and Greg Berg, 21, for outstanding performances in the national competition. Jerome Colmans, Matt Cooper, Damon Statt, Conrad Jaffe, Mark Pozniak and Jeremy Bohn completed the winning line-up.
Goodkind said: “It was a wonderful team effort. We entered a relatively new team in terms of players with Glancy experience as we wanted to show our tremendous strength in depth and show we have quality golfers beyond the usual names.
“They certainly added fresh energy to the team which stands us in good stead for years to come. The Hartsbourne spirit and camaraderie got us there. Scoring was tough, despite the course being in phenomenal condition. The greens were tricky and running very fast. Anything under 80 a good score.”
Edmondstown hosted the competition after an interlude of 16 years - an integral part of the Club’s 75th anniversary. Class and experience came to the fore in the foursomes played in cloudy damp conditions. Lance Pommerance, playing in his 47th consecutive Glancy, and Lol Green, of Abridge, returned a gross score of 76 to win the Coombe Hill Trophy. Nick Obernick and Howard Jacobs of Edmondstown produced a net score of 71 to win the Whitefield Cup on a card countback.
Abridge won both the Sydney Obrart Cup and the Dyrham Park Trophy for the lowest three out four foursomes’ scores in gross and nett division respectively, whilst the combined North East/ UKI team secured the Blackpool & Fylde trophy for best net score in foursome for a Division B team.
The weather improved on Sunday and all competitors enjoyed dry conditions for the singles round but ultimately Abridge failed to consolidate their overnight lead as Hartsbourne finished strongly to claim the top prize.
Oscar Land of Moor Allerton made a statement on behalf of the new generation. Aged 16, playing off three handicap, he shot 75 and won the Hartsbourne Cup for the lowest gross score in singles pipping Kiki Cohen of Edmondstown by a single shot. Cohen received the Glasgow Trophy as runner-up.
Ben Gardner, representing NorthWest London/Barnet, shot a nett 69 to win the Potters Bar Bowl. He beat Ian Cohen of Shirley by one shot, with Cohen collecting the Sussex Cup.
Whitefield enjoyed success in the team events, winning both the nett and gross categories to claim the Lee Park Trophy and Moor Allerton Cup respectively. Overall they were runners-up in the main competition for the combined gross scores of foursomes and singles, for which they received the Shirley Cup.
The Land family’s success continued with father and son pairing of Ian and Oscar winning the David Fox memorial trophy for lowest singles gross score combined with lowest foursomes gross score. Bonnyton won the Edmondstown Cup for the lowest nett scores in singles combined with lowest nett scores in foursomes.
One of the highlights of the tournament saw Jake Schindler of Dyrham Park hit a hole-in-one on the eighth.
Reflecting on the tournament overall, Goodkind said: “Everyone enjoyed spending three days in Ireland. There is a special bond during the Glancy and long may it continue.”