BUNGS Tour 2023 - Suffolk
15th to 18th July 2023
Write-up by Graham Thorpe, many thanks for doing this once again Graham.
The teams arrived on the Saturday evening ready to do battle at again a new venue for the Society with a first time visit to Suffolk.
On paper the teams looked well matched with 28 competitors, including 2 new members Alan Perkins and Leigh Bullock on their first summer tour, number one reserve Craig Fallon back again for his third tour I believe and a late substitute Steve Hendy ( A ringer for sure !) , for the Challengers team completing the 28.
The two teams lined up as follows:
| Gary Tyler's Navy | H'Cap | Tour Win % | Craig Vale's Team Red | H'Cap | Tour Win % |
| Gary Tyler | 14.4 | 65.6 | Craig Vale | 14.1 | 60.4 |
| Ian Ronson, Vice Capt | 17.3 | 66.7 | Adam Thompson, Vice Capt | 5.3 | 61.5 |
| Craig Fallon | 10.6 | 20.0 | Kev Armitt | 13.3 | 75.0 |
| Gordon Galloway | 8.9 | 58.6 | Leigh Bullock | +0.2 | N/A |
| John Haley | 19.0 | 52.5 | Steve Hendy | 8.4 | 40.0 |
| Bobby Ho | 13.5 | 47.3 | Steve Gibbons | 19.9 | 30.0 |
| Howard Holliday | 8.1 | 60.9 | Mark Johnson | 13.3 | 38.2 |
| Karl Hughes | 5.5 | 57.6 | Phil Latham | 12.5 | 52.3 |
| Steve Lloyd | 11.5 | 62.4 | Kev Morris | 1.0 | 61.3 |
| Adrian Marchant | 9.5 | 55.3 | Darren Penny | 16.2 | 45.0 |
| Peter Meaney | 8.9 | 52.0 | Alan Perkins | 15.9 | N/A |
| Steve Raji | 14.3 | 50.0 | John Shaw | +1.3 | 56.9 |
| James Shipman | 10.4 | 49.7 | Owen Strudwick | 3.6 | 45.0 |
| Graham Thorpe | 22.8 | 42.5 | Tim Thacker | 11.6 | 55.9 |
| AVERAGE | 12.5 | 52.9 | AVERAGE | 10.1 | 56.8 |
Sunday 16th July 2023 - morning
Aldeburgh Golf Club - 18 holes
7 x foursomes
matches
The format and order of the matches were different this year and on our first day we had to play Foursomes for both rounds.
Being first to tee off the nerves were kicking in for the Challengers team of Phil Latham and Mark Johnson and poor drives saw them lose the first hole to the Captain's team of Steve Lloyd & Peter Meaney.After five holes the Captain's team were still 1 up, but a sequence of wins for the Challengers saw them three up at the turn. After 12 holes the Challengers were 5 up, which they maintained halving 13 & 14, with a final win of 5 & 4 for the Challengers.
The following three matches all went similar ways with wins for the Challengers Team.
Adrian Marchant & Gordon Galloway stopped the rot for the Captain's Team with a great win for The Captain's team over the low handicappers in a pulsating match finishing 2 & 1 winners.
In the next match which was high scoring on the 10th hole both team halved it in 9., but the Challengers finished with a 2 & 1 win.
In the final game which also was a close game eventually The Challengers dominated the first nine holes and finished 5 up after 9 holes. The Captain's team of experienced veterans of John Haley & Graham Thorpe were not finished and slowly they started to reduce the deficit. At the end of the 16th they were 1 down, then halved the 17th and the final chip in from John Haley right across the green finished the match all square with half a point for the Captain's team.
| Peter Meaney & Steve Lloyd | lost to | Phil Latham & Mark Johnson | 5/4 |
| Gary Tyler & Steve Raji | lost to | Alan Perkins & Steve Gibbons | 3/1 |
| Craig Fallon & Ian Ronson | lost to | Kevin Armitt & Steve Hendy | 4/2 |
| Howard Holliday & Karl Hughes | lost to | John Shaw & Owen Strudwick | 4/2 |
| Adrian Marchant & Gordon Galloway | beat | Kevin Morris & Leigh Bullock | 2/1 |
| James Shipman & Bobby Ho | lost to | Adam Thompson & Tim Thacker | 2/1 |
| Graham Thorpe & John Haley | half | Craig Vale & Darren Penny | A/S |
Session Score - Captain's Team - 1.5 / Challenger's Team - 5.5
Sunday 16th July 2023 - afternoon
Aldeburgh Golf Club - 18 holes
7 x foursomes
matches
After a quick lunch turnaround we were out again for our second go at foursomes, with the Captain's team looking to improve on their morning performance.
In the first match, the Captain's team of Steve Lloyd and Ian Ronson held their own only being one down after 10 holes. The 11th hole was a shambles for both teams with poor drives and hole it out in bunkers. Captain's team went 2 down, then lost the 13th & 14th to go 4 down.
Steve Lloyd threatened a comeback on the 15th with a superb tee shot on the long par 3, but that was the last resistent as the Challengers team of Mark Johnson & Steve Gibbons were triumphant winning the match 3 & 2.
The second match saw Captain Gary and his partner Peter Meaney secured a 4 & 3 victory. Then the Challengers put their foot down and won the next four matches. In the sixth game which was closely fourght the Captain's team of Bobby Ho & Graham Thorpe being one down after 9 holes, won the 10th & 11th to lead their match being 1 up with 2 holes to play which they lost to Craig Vale & Kevin Armitt on the last green.
The final match was a success for the Captain's team with John Haley & Howard Holliday triumphant over Darren Penny & Owen Strudwick.
| Ian Ronson & Steve Lloyd | lost to | Steve Gibbons & Mark Johnson | 3/2 |
| Gary Tyler & Peter Meaney | beat | Alan Perkins & Phil Latham | 4/3 |
| Craig Fallon & Steve Raji | lost to | Leigh Bullock & John Shaw | 2up |
| Gordon Galloway & James Shipman | lost to | Steve Hendy & Tim Thacker | 4/2 |
| Adrian Marchant & Karl Hughes | lost to | Kevin Morris & Adam Thompson | 4/2 |
| Graham Thorpe & Bobby Ho | lost to | Craig Vale & Kevin Armitt | 1up |
| John Haley & Howard Holliday | beat | Darren Penny & Owen Strudwick | 5/4 |
Session Score - Captain's Team - 2 / Challenger's Team - 5
Cumulative Match Score - Captain's Team - 3.5 / Challenger's Team - 10.5
Leading players after Day 1 from each team
Captain's Team
John Haley best record with 1.5 from 2.
Challenger's Team
Seven players have a 100% record, Won 2 from 2.
Adam
Thompson, Kevin Armitt , Mark Johnson , Steve Gibbons,
John Shaw, Tim Thacker , and the (Ringer !) Steve Hendy.
Monday 17th July 2023 - morning
Thorpeness Golf Club - 18 holes
7 x greensomes
matches
After another great breakfast we awoke to a much better sky and quite warm conditions. Having had two breakfasts yesterday Bobby Ho was closely watched that he didn't repeat the act of claiming other members food.
The Captain's team got off to a winning start with Adrian Marchant & James Shipman winning the first pairing by 2 up. Karl Hughes & Steve Raji in the next pairing got a half with John Shaw & the Ringer (Steve Hendy.)
Then the Challengers started to show their pedigree, winning the next two matches, Captain Craig Vale and Adam Thompson, Darren Penny and Alan Perkins. were the victors.
The Captain's pairing of Ian Ronson and Howard Holliday won 3 & 2. The next pairing of Mark Johnson and Owen Strudwick of the Challengers were 3 up after 3 holes, but Craig Fallon & Peter Meaney were determined to turn it round and were all square after 15 holes. the last three holes were halved to finish with half a point each. The final match went to the Challengers being 3 up after nine which they maintained to win 3 & 1.
| Adrian Marchant & James Shipman | beat | Leigh Bullock & Kevin Morris | 2up |
| Karl Hughes & Steve Raji | half | John Shaw & Steve Hendy | A/S |
| Gordon Galloway & John Haley | lost to | Craig Vale & Adam Thompson | 3/2 |
| Gary Tyler & Bobby Ho | lost to | Darren Penny & Alan Perkins | 3/1 |
| Ian Ronson & Howard Holliday | beat | Tim Thacker & Kevin Armitt | 3/2 |
| Peter Meaney & Craig Fallon | half | Mark Johnson & Owen Strudwick | A/S |
| Steve LLoyd & Graham Thorpe | lost to | Steve Gibbons & Phil Latham | 3/1 |
Session Score - Captain's Team - 3 / Challenger's Team - 4
Cumulative Match Score - Captain's Team - 6.5 / Challenger's Team - 14.5
The Captain's Teams better performance , but the deficit grew by another point from the morning matches!
Monday 17th July 2023 - afternoon
Thorpeness Golf Club - 18 holes
7 x fourball-betterball
matches
The Captain's team got off to a steady start, Gordon Galloway & Steve Raji winning 3 & 2 in the first match. Howard Holliday & Bobby Ho won 6 & 5 in the second match and the third match was halved.
The Challengers hit back winning the fourth game with a resounding 6 & 4.
The fifth game finished all square with the Captain's team coming back from 2 down at the ninth, with a batling performance by the author who took command of the back nine using his shots wisely. Vice Captain Ian Ronson with his partner John Haley won the sixth match 3 & 2, and the final match went to the Challengers 1 up.
| Gordon Galloway & Steve Raji | beat | Kevin Morris & Craig Vale | 3/2 |
| Howard Holliday & Bobby Ho | beat | Steve Hendy & Adam Thompson | 6/5 |
| James Shipman & Craig Fallon | half | Leigh Bullock & Darren Penny | A/S |
| Gary Tyler & Adrian Marchant | lost to | Alan Perkins & John Shaw | 6/4 |
| Graham Thorpe & Peter Meaney | half | Tim Thacker & Mark Johnson | A/S |
| Ian Ronson & John Haley | beat | Steve Gibons & Owen Strudwick | 3/2 |
| Steve Lloyd & Karl Hughes | lost to | Phil Latham & Kevin Armitt | 1up |
Session Score - Captain's Team - 4 / Challenger's Team - 3
Cumulative Match Score - Captain's Team - 10.5 / Challenger's Team - 17.5
The Captain's team wins it's first session and pulls back on the morning deficit of one.
Leading players after Day 2 from each team
Captain's Team
Leading player is John Haley with 2.5 pts from 4.
Howard
Holliday, Adrian Marchant, Peter Meaney & Ian Ronson have
2 pts from 4 each. Special mention for Steve Lloyd who has
100% loss from 4 sessions.
Challenger's Team
No one has a 100% record, John Shaw has the best Winning
3.5 from 4.
Phil Latham , Mark Johnson, Adam Thompson,
Kevin Armitt and Steve Gibbons have 3 from 4.
Tuesday18th July 2023
Felixstowe Ferry Golf Club - 18 holes
14 x singles matches
An early breakfast, and we all set off to Felixstowe Ferry approximately 32 miles, although some members were looking for charge points for an electric car and others had layed in after a heavy night Steve (the Ringer).
A beautiful sunny ,warm day greeted us alongside a very fussy starter, who gave us all a history lesson of the coursebefore we could tee off.
Whilst the Captain's team had a sizable deficit to overturn , Captain Gary was confident it could be done.
The first pairing as always was the Captains and Vice captains of the Tour. Both Captain Gary beat Captain Craig , and Vice Ian Ronson beat Vice Adam Thompson both matches finishing 2 up; 2 points in the bag to the Captain's team. Next out of the traps, were Steve Raji and Gordon Galloway who were both successful for the Captain's team, 2 more points ! Third grouping saw Steve Lloyd and Adrian Marchant both win their matches for the Captains team, 2 more points. (Overall standings Captain's Team now 16.5 pts, Challengers still on 17.5 pts.)
Next out for the Captain, were Karl Hughes and Craig Fallon, and they returned with 2 more points, and the Captain's Team were in front by 1 point.
Suddenly The Challengers were aroused, with Leigh Bullock and Tim Thacker returning 2 pts to swing back to the Challengers. (Captain 18.5, Challengers 19.5).
The Next 2 pairs finished a point each, with Bobby Ho winning 2 & 1 for the Captain's team, but the Ringer struck again (Steve Hendy) winning the 18th to finish 2 up.
The final pairing saw a close match between Peter Meaney (Captain Team) and Kevin Morris (Challengers Team), with Kevin a winner 1 up. Darren Penny clinched it for the Challengers with a 5& 4 win.
An exciting afternoon on a great venue and golf course.
| Gary Tyler | beat | Craig Vale | 2up |
| Ian Ronson | beat | Adam Thompson | 2up |
| Steve Raji | beat | Alan Perkins | 4/2 |
| Gordon Galloway | beat | Mark Johnson | 2/1 |
| Steve Lloyd | beat | John Shaw | 3/1 |
| Adrian Marchant | beat | Phil Latham | 5/3 |
| Karl Hughes | beat | Kevin Armitt | 2up |
| Craig Fallon | beat | Owen Strudwick | 1up |
| John Haley | lost to | Leigh Bullock | 4/2 |
| James Shipman | lost to | Tim Thacker | 4/3 |
| Bobby Ho | beat | Steve Gibbons | 2/1 |
| Graham Thorpe | lost to | Steve Hendy | 2up |
| Peter Meaney | lost to | Kevin Morris | 1up |
| Howard Holliday | lost to | Darren Penny | 5/4 |
Session Score - Captain's Team - 9 / Challenger's Team - 5
Final Match Score - Captain's Team - 19.5 / Challenger's Team - 22.5
The Captain's team wins it's first session and pulls back on the morning deficit of one.
Leading players after Day 3 from each team
Captain's Team
Leading players with 3pts from 5 were Ian Ronson, Gordon Galloway, Howard Holliday and Adrian Marchant.
Challenger's Team
Three players have won 3.5pts from 5 - Tim Thacker, John Shaw, and Steve Hendy (The Ringer.)
