With 123 years of history for the Club the Centenary Cup rightfully takes the place as a “Major” at Ramsey.  Normally a two round affair but round 1 was decimated by Saturday’s torrential rain which flooded some of the greens in the afternoon.  Frustrating for the morning players David Gaines, 64 and Barry Teare, 65 , to say the least, but they took it on the chin and Barry who carded a 69 on the Sunday was no doubt pleased with his overall scoring over the weekend. So Sunday was a one round competition with all to play for, kindly sponsored by Tony White and Srixon and the course in great condition with receptive greens.

2013 winner Sean Cunningham didn’t quite match last year’s performance and carded a 71 but the real business of the day was over a spread of 3 shots involving 8 players. A back 9 count-back proved to be key. Frank Feeney had a roller coaster round with birdies on the 5th, 8th and 10th but just two pars on the back 9 with double bogies on the 9th and 11th meant he was stuck in a creditable 8th place. Dave Kinrade played a steady round of 67 with a birdie on the 6th but did not shine enough on the back 9 to move past 7th.

Jonny Cowley showed a seasonal return to form in time for Golf Week also with a 67, but two shots dropped on the 15th kept him off the podium this time. Similar for Dave Murray, and a 4 on the last kept him out of the prizes on count-back. Looking at the best gross scores Jeff Ward was always going to be a contender and birdies on the 2nd, 12th and 15th were the basis of a solid scoring round for Jeff. He will be annoyed about dropping a shot on the 16th which kept him in 4th overall. Promising Junior, Jamie Corlett shot a 67 using his handicap wisely and took 3rd place on count back from Jeff. Star round of the day and with a welcome return to form the talented Jamie Arneil showed everyone how to play this course with some aggressive golf. An opening birdie and a 2 on the 3rd with another on the 8th he made the turn in 32 and then made birdie on the 10th, trying to keep up the momentum and looking for that record score. A minor error resulted in a dropped shot at the Wall and again in Milntown on the 13th. This was crucial and Jamie knew he had to make another birdie to take the leader board. A 2 on the 18th sealed a great day’s golf, the best gross and net 65. Kevin Claydon’s back 9 was the clincher though for the overall Centenary Cup. The back 9 at Ramsey is where the challenge is and a birdie on the 14th with pars on the 17th and 18th were just enough to snatch top spot from Jamie on count back.

Photo - Jamie Arneil