VICE-PRESIDENTS TROPHY 2015
The improved weather brought a good turnout of 30 members to the green on Saturday for the Vice-Presidents Trophy. This is the second of the club’s random pairs competitions and in the top half of the draw Margaret Langley was looking to complete a clean sweep of doubles titles, having previously won both the Chairman’s Shield and Spring Pairs twice. Margaret was drawn to partner Alan Bond and they were to progress to the final with good wins against Jim Halsall and Irene Nowell (21-15), Richard Rawcliffe and Norman Simpson (21-10) and Mike Burrill and Chris Harding (21-15).
In the bottom half of the draw, this year’s Rose Bowl winner, Fergal Wright was drawn to partner Jason Chapman. Having received a 1st Round bye, Fergal and Jason had a tough encounter in their first game against Jon Roberts and Mavis Thompson, eventually winning by a narrow 21-19 margin. Their semi-final opponents were the strong pairing of Bill Nowell and John Stennett who had reached the semi-final satge with wins against Jim Finnimore and Vera Johnson (21-20) and Mark Rowlinson and Connie Southern (21-10). The extra game may have proved to be a disadvantage for Bill and John as Fergal and Jason were able to continue there good form to reach the final, the winning score being 21-14.
The final was a fitting decider to the competition and could have gone either way, with Alan and Margaret looking likely winners when leading 14-10. However, at this stage, Fergal and Jason produced a strong finish, winning 8 out of 10 ends to complete a 21-16 victory to deservedly take the 2015 Vice-Presidents Trophy. Congratulations to Jason on winning his first Hesketh Arms title and to Fergal on his second Hesketh Arms success this season.
The consolation plate competition was won by Jim Halsall and Irene Nowell with a 15-8 win in the final against Mike Dunlop and Laurie Townson.
