LAST WEEK 2003 IN FOCUS
ARCHIVES MATCHPLAY
WEST COUNTRY TOUR LOW SCORE
RUISLIP Saturday 24th July 2004
THE SACHA DISTEL TROPHY
"I DID IT MY WAY" SAYS MIKE
Mike gives the Baxter boys a golfing demo, as he surges to an unbeatable lead in the Stableford
Mike gets all emotional in a fine duet with Sacha at last year's Maurice Chevalier memorial bash.

With Mike leading Tom by one point in the Championship it was all set for an exciting climax to the end of the season. Only Geoff and Russ would be available for the official last week of play, so this was the big one. In the low score competition, Alan looked to have sown things up. However, Geoff and Dave still had chances. The matchplay was finely balanced and 'Tony v Con' with 'Dave v Alan' providing a fascinating final pair of matches before the new season commences.

Mike coped well with his two-stroke cut and held his nerve, playing steady bogie golf, whilst Tom battled with a few swing problems. A sandy par on three and one point on the first were the only deviations from bogie over the first ten. A dropped point on eleven kept Mike on level handicap and two strokes ahead of Geoff for the 'Sacha'. Pars either side of his blob on the 15th kept him level, but with the championship in the bag, he finished in style with a final birdie, ensuring his third cut in a month.

Dave and Alan had a real ding-dong match befitting Fort Baxters two top players. Only the 13th hole was drawn as the lead swung back and forth. Dave's par on fourteen finally did the trick, pulling him ahead towards a "3 & 2" victory.

The other match was equally exciting, but featured two players unable to match their potential. Tony went into a two-hole lead after five and could have done even better, if he had not squandered chances whilst Con was having trouble getting his ball airborne. Con managed to even things up by the half way with a few scrappy bogies. He then pulled away on the second half, winning 3&2.

With most players absent on the last week, it is up to Geoff to write the final chapter of the Baxter season. Mike, Dave and Geoff all made an attack on Alan's lead in the 'Low Score' Although Alan still leads by three, he has only parred 14, whilst Geoff has got 15 in the bag. Improvements on three holes will hand the trophy to Geoff next Saturday.

Throughout August, there will be the usual free month, with no handicap adjustments and perhaps a few trips to other courses. Certainly, Uxbridge deserves another visit and perhaps a trip down memory lane at Brent Valley.
SCORES
Mike Dave Geoff Alan Tom Con Tony Russ
1
6
6
4*
7
7
7
5
5
2
6
7
7
5
8
7
9
9
3
4*
5
6
4*
5
6
6
5
4
5
5
5
6
6
10
6
9
5
4
5
5
4
4
5
7
6
6
5
6
6
8
5
5
7
6
7
4
4
4
3*
6
4
4
5
8
5
4*
4*
5
5
5
6
8
9
5
5
5
6
7
7
7
5
10
6
5*
7
8
6
10
7
8
11
5
6
8
3*
4
4
6
4
12
6
4*
5
6
7
4*
9
8
13
5
5
6
5
5
5
6
7
14
3*
3*
4
5
5
4
4
4
15
8
6
6
5
6
6
8
8
16
3*
4
3*
7
5
6
5
7
17
5
6
8
5
6
6
5
9
18
2**
3*
4
6
5
4
6
5
in
43
42
51
50
49
49
56
60
out
44
47
46
48
53
56
57
58
total
87
89
97
98
102
105
113
118
net
67
72
74
82
78
87
89
90
points
38
33
34
25
27
23
18
18
STABLEFORD
Mike Geoff Dave Tom Alan Con Tony Russ
1
1
3
1
0
0
0
2
3
2
3
5
2
1
3
1
2
3
3
6
6
4
3
6
2
3
6
4
9
9
6
5
7
2
5
6
5
11
10
7
7
9
3
5
6
6
13
12
8
10
9
5
6
8
7
15
14
10
10
12
7
8
9
8
17
17
13
12
13
9
9
9
9
19
19
15
12
14
9
9
11
10
21
20
18
14
14
9
10
11
11
22
20
18
16
17
11
10
13
12
24
23
21
17
18
14
10
13
13
26
24
22
19
19
16
11
13
14
29
27
25
21
20
18
14
16
15
29
29
27
23
23
20
14
16
16
32
32
29
25
23
20
16
16
17
34
32
30
26
25
21
18
16
18
38
34
33
27
25
23
18
18
birdies
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
par
4
3
5
0
5
1
0
0
bogies
14
10
12
8
9
9
4
5
blobs
1
2
1
3
5
5
7
10
games
21
22
21
20
12
13
22
6

HANDICAPS

MIKE GETS CUT AGAIN
ALAN 16.3 16
DAVE 17.1 17
CON 17.8 18
MIKE 19.3 19
GEOFF 23.4
23
TOM 24.3 24
TONY 24.4 24
GAVIN 25.9 26
RUSSELL 28.0 28

STABLEFORD

MIKE LOOKS UNBEATABLE
Mike 40 40 38 36 34
188
Tom 42 36 35 34 32
179
Tony 40 35 35 32 30
172
Alan 38 38 31 29 28
164
Geoff 34 34 32 31 28
153
Dave 39 33 28 27 25
152
Con 32 32 29 26 23
142
Gavin 37 31 30 23
121