As usual our eclectic scoring system, which basically means that you take the best score from all three rounds, guaranteed a close finish. It turned out that two people finished with the same number of points. In such cases the tournament rules dictate that whoever won the last round on Sunday is declared the winner, and this was our renowned king of sartorial elegance, Douglas Sparks. So the finishing scores looked like this:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Total
Sparks
2
3
2
3
3
3
2
3
2
3
3
4
2
3
1
3
3
3
48
Clarke
3
2
3
4
3
3
2
2
2
3
3
3
2
1
3
2
3
4
48
Smith
3
2
2
3
3
2
4
2
2
2
2
1
3
3
3
2
3
3
45
Bates
2
1
3
2
2
3
3
1
3
3
2
2
3
2
2
4
3
3
44
Wilson
2
1
3
2
2
3
3
1
3
3
2
2
3
2
2
4
3
3
44
Erdall
2
2
3
1
1
2
3
3
4
3
3
2
3
1
2
1
2
3
41
McLean
3
1
4
2
3
2
3
2
2
2
2
2
3
2
1
2
2
3
41
Harper
2
3
3
3
1
3
3
2
1
4
2
2
1
2
3
2
2
1
40
High
2
2
3
2
3
1
3
2
3
2
1
1
3
2
4
2
2
1
39
Jennings
3
2
3
2
1
3
3
2
3
1
1
5
2
0
2
2
2
2
39
Monaghan
3
3
3
1
1
2
2
3
4
3
0
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
39



All things considered, it seemed only right that Sparky should win the trophy, his gross stapleford score was after all 103 points, a good 9 points ahead of Wilson on 94.
You can find the individual gross scores here

INDIVIDUAL SCORES for all players can be found here

All that remained was to give out the prizes - some banal, like the bright green shades for the new Diddy, but others rather more exciting (CASH£$£!!). The new champ Sparky gave a thank-you speech in which he took the opportunity to tell us that his achievement wouldn't have been possible without the support of his wife, children, mother, cat, headmaster, etc. and sang the praises of the organisers, camera man and all fellow Dudley golfers both present and absent.

Awards Presentation

And so, dear readers and fellow golfers, we set off tired and content on the road home, having agreed to hold the Dudley Open in the north of Scotland next year. So when Santa gives you a diary, remember to reserve the second weekend in June!


SEE YOU ALL THERE!