By 8.06 GMT you could cut the atmosphere on the first tee with a knife: would the minuscule, bald but gutsy defending champion have the nerves and skill to hold on to his title....what qualities would be required to win the event: a straight drive, a tight short game, or cool sunglasses and a bushy moustache? The morning round brought some surprises: the newcomer Harper, who had been the focus of much public attention and media speculation, did not play the sort of cracking game some had expected of him. But some thoughtful and sportsmanlike advice from Doctor Golf still helped Harper salvage 23 Stapleford points, while the Doc's own selfless dedication to others left him with a meagre 11 Stapleford points, but enormous admiration and respect from the crowd. His weak performance still came as a huge disappointment to Suttie, who had hoped his own respectable 10 points would help him dodge the wooden spoon for the first round. The reigning champion High had got into trouble, only just matching Harper's score with a distinctly patchy performance, while Sparks' flamboyant dress sense nudged him past the bottom four with 26 points. Jennings was very steady and scored on every hole, while Wilson, the lowest handicapper and one of the hottest favourites this year, failed to score on 4 holes but still managed to clench some birdies and just match Jennings' score of 28.

With no clouds in sight, soaring temperatures and the sun cream being passed around with the crisps in the clubhouse, the weather was looking almost too hot for another 18 holes, but fortunately a few cool beers made sure our intrepid sportsmen were ready to face another gruelling afternoon battle...and some surprises!!

Suttie sharpened up his putting and tightened his game to better his first round score by three points, while Harper's swings (no pun intended) between brilliance and disaster left him with just three less than the morning round. High was once again consistently inconsistent, and despite three birdies only finished with 24 points, edged aside by a very respectable but generally uninspired round of 26 points from Jennings. Sparks' dress sense was by now beginning to intimidate Wilson, who finished 31 to his 32 points. But the match really came alight with a stellar performance from the wildcard in the tournament, the man for whom constant improvement has become a personal vision and way of life: Victor Bates, affectionately known on the circuit as "Doctor Golf". Mr (formerly Master) Bates did not score on 5 of the first 6 holes, and notched up a measly 9 points, before roaring back in with a performance that left his playing partners dumbstruck: 21 points on the back nine, pushing him into third place with 30 points.
So the tournament was still very much alive, and especially so since the ingenious scoring system of "best of three rounds" proposed by Doctor Golf meant that everyone was in with a chance, right up to the last green of the third round. Aggregate scores at the top of the leaderboard were very close: Wilson 59, Sparks 58 and Jennings 54, but there was still everything to play for.

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