In memory of our late founder, Ralph Bentley, 15 club members today played in the annual Ralph Bentley Cup competition. Conditions weren’t great, but Lewis had done a cracking job preparing the green this morning, which looked & played really well – and nobody got wet!
The format was four rounds of four ends, with four teams of four players, each team being drawn out of a hat. Each player played two bowls each. The order in which the players were drawn became the order they had to play in. As we were one player short, two players had to play three bowls in one of the two matches in each round, so each team still played 8 shots. I’m not sure everyone completely grasped this concept, even after two hours+ of play, but we got there in the end and no blood was spilled (just)!
Thank you to Colin, for completing the scorecard in each of his four matches.
After two rounds, Tony led the way with 9 shots. Then, boosted by 9 shots in one of the round 3 matches, Steve was leading on 17 shots, with Ivan, Paul T & Janet close behind on 15 shots. So, with everything to play for, the last round of matches were crucial. With Steve & Ivan in the same team up against Paul T, Paul T needed to score 3 shots more than Steve to head the table. Sadly for him, he could only manage 1 shot more, leaving Paul T on 18 shots & Steve on 19 shots. That left a chance for Janet to tie with Steve if she could score 4 shots in the other match. It all came down to the last end, when Janet’s team scored an excellent 3, giving her 6 in total from that match, which in turn left her clear at the top on 21 shots, Steve 2nd on 19 shots & Paul T & Peggy tied 3rd on 18 shots.
That’s the first time Robert, Paul T & Peggy have played in this competition, so well done to you all. Janet wasn’t able to play in any of the club competitions this season, so how fitting that she played so well today and ended the season being crowned as our 2025 Ralph Bentley Cup winner.
Congratulations Janet & very well played.
Ivan Buss
16th September 2025.
