Meadows Golf Croquet Open 2013
8-9 June 2013, Meadows
This tournament was an interesting challenge for the manager, with seven players entered but one of them playing Saturday only and two playing Sunday only. The solution was a format in which all those present on Saturday played one another at least twice (with most of the games on Saturday, but some on Sunday) and those present on Sunday all played one another at least once. It could have produced a tie, in which case a final would have been played, but in fact there was an outright winner after the scheduled 14 rounds - Bill Spalding, who had won nine of his 12 games, ahead of Fergus McInnes with eight out of 12.
Those playing on Saturday were Bill and Fergus, both at handicap 2 (though all the games were played level); Jamieson Walker (3); Hamish Duguid (4); and John Graham (5). John was unavailable on Sunday, and therefore played in all Saturday's rounds so as to fit his games against the other four into the day, and he did better than expected, winning four games out of eight. Bill and Fergus were the overnight leaders on 4/6, Jamieson was on 3/6, and Hamish was lagging with 1/6.
On Sunday Lyn Gilpin (9) and Eldrydd Robinson (9) joined in, starting the day with a game against each other, which Lyn won convincingly (7-0). Lyn also did well in the later rounds, with wins over Jamieson and Hamish, and her handicap came down to 8 (probably still too high!) at the end of the day. Going into the 14th round of the tournament, Bill had won 8/11 and Fergus was on 7/11 (having lost in the morning to Bill and then to Hamish). So if Fergus beat Jamieson and Bill lost to Hamish then a playoff would be required. Jamieson had beaten Fergus 7-4 twice on Saturday, but this time Fergus got a win (7-5) to stay in contention. So it came down to the game between Bill and Hamish, which was a long and hard-fought battle played out on the central court before a small gathering of spectators who had arrived in time for afternoon tea. Bill had won their previous games 7-3 and 7-2, but this one was closer; however he did eventually run the 11th hoop to make it 7-4 and win the tournament outright.
There was a virtual trophy presentation after tea, the real trophy being still (as far as anyone knew) in the possession of last year's winner James Hopgood, and Bill headed off westwards.
Thanks are due to Jamieson and Lyn for buying lunches, which we were able to eat outside in the sun on both days: Saturday was warm, with sunshine till evening, and although Sunday started cloudy it cleared just as the lunch was being set out.
Fergus McInnes
Results
Fergus McInnes beat Hamish Duguid 7-6
John Graham beat Jamieson Walker 7-6
John Graham beat Bill Spalding 7-3
Jamieson Walker beat Fergus McInnes 7-4
Fergus McInnes beat John Graham 7-5
Bill Spalding beat Hamish Duguid 7-3
Bill Spalding beat Jamieson Walker 7-3
Hamish Duguid beat John Graham 7-2
Jamieson Walker beat Hamish Duguid 7-5
Bill Spalding beat John Graham 7-4
Bill Spalding beat Hamish Duguid 7-2
Fergus McInnes beat John Graham 7-0
Jamieson Walker beat Fergus McInnes 7-4
John Graham beat Hamish Duguid 7-2
John Graham beat Jamieson Walker 7-6
Fergus McInnes beat Bill Spalding 7-6
Jamieson Walker beat Hamish Duguid 7-2
Bill Spalding beat Fergus McInnes 7-5
Lyn Gilpin beat Eldrydd Robinson 7-0
Bill Spalding beat Lyn Gilpin 7-2
Jamieson Walker beat Eldrydd Robinson 7-3
Hamish Duguid beat Fergus McInnes 7-5
Hamish Duguid beat Eldrydd Robinson 7-1
Fergus McInnes beat Lyn Gilpin 7-3
Bill Spalding beat Jamieson Walker 7-3
Lyn Gilpin beat Jamieson Walker 7-3
Bill Spalding beat Eldrydd Robinson 7-1
Fergus McInnes beat Hamish Duguid 7-3
Fergus McInnes beat Eldrydd Robinson 7-1
Jamieson Walker beat Bill Spalding 7-1
Lyn Gilpin beat Hamish Duguid 7-3
Fergus McInnes beat Jamieson Walker 7-5
Bill Spalding beat Hamish Duguid 7-4
Final standings:
Bill Spalding 9/12
Fergus McInnes 8/12
Jamieson Walker 6/12
John Graham 4/8
Lyn Gilpin 3/5
Hamish Duguid 3/12
Eldrydd Robinson 0/5