Vega Baja Premier Golf League Retain the Garay Cup for the Fourth Succesive Year
On Friday 18th September at Bonalba Golf Club, Costa Blanca News Golf League entertained the Vega Baja Premier Golf League in the annual competition between the representative teams of each league for the Garay Cup trophy.
Non-playing captain Alan Boggess and his Vega Baja team were welcomed by Costa Blanca league secretary Richard Davis and team captain Tony Carroll, who were hoping to make home advantage count in overturning last year's defeat at La Serena. It was also a pleasure to meet up again with Ivie Davies and Ron Nicholson, great stalwarts of the Vega Baja league for probably more years than they care to remember, they were to be seen throughout the day driving their buggy around the course offering encouragement to their team (not always successfully, an appearance at the 6th tee coinciding with Paul Rooney despatching two drives into the lake).
The course had suffered with four afternoons of torrential rain earlier in the week but the ground staff had done an excellent job of presenting it in very playable condition, their efforts much appreciated by both teams, and the weather on the day was ideal for golf, pleasantly warm with the usual Bonalba breeze.
This year's competition was fourball better ball matchplay with teams of 12 players, six matches in total with 2 points for a win and a point each for halved matches. On paper it looked like being a close match with average handicaps of 8.7 for Costa Blanca and 9.1 for Vega Baja, and so it proved to be with four of the six matches going to the 18th hole.
Now, as captain of Costa Blanca, for the painful bit, the match result was a hard earned but well deserved win for the visitors, winning three matches, halving one and losing two. It was looking good for Costa Blanca when they won two and halved one of the first three matches out but Vega Baja finished strongly and won the final three matches for 7 points to 5 victory. As ever the matches were played in a great spirit and fully enjoyed by all players who were a credit to their respective leagues.
The match was followed by a meal in the Bonalba restaurant when we were delighted to welcome Señor Manolo Garay, sponsor of the trophy which bears his name and following the meal he began the afternoons formalities by thanking all those present for their support for the competition and then gave a brief history of league golf here on the Costa Blanca and explained how the original league, which he was instrumental in forming, split to form the two leagues we have today, Costa Blanca to the north of Alicante and Ivie Davies and Ron Nicholson forming the Vega Baja League to the south, and that the Garay Cup was initiated as a means of maintaining contact between the two leagues with this annual competition, played alternatively at differing venues North and South.
The Garay Cup started in 2005 with a win for Costa Blanca but now followed by four successive wins for the Vega Baja League. The captains then spoke briefly, offering the usual expressions of thanks to all concerned, and an excellent day was concluded with Señor Garay presenting the trophy to the winning Vega Baja League captain Alan Boggess.
Both leagues now look forward to another year of league golf and to the 2010 playing of the Garay Cup at a venue of the Vega Baja Leagues' choosing; surely a win for the away side is long overdue?
Non-playing captain Alan Boggess and his Vega Baja team were welcomed by Costa Blanca league secretary Richard Davis and team captain Tony Carroll, who were hoping to make home advantage count in overturning last year's defeat at La Serena. It was also a pleasure to meet up again with Ivie Davies and Ron Nicholson, great stalwarts of the Vega Baja league for probably more years than they care to remember, they were to be seen throughout the day driving their buggy around the course offering encouragement to their team (not always successfully, an appearance at the 6th tee coinciding with Paul Rooney despatching two drives into the lake).
The course had suffered with four afternoons of torrential rain earlier in the week but the ground staff had done an excellent job of presenting it in very playable condition, their efforts much appreciated by both teams, and the weather on the day was ideal for golf, pleasantly warm with the usual Bonalba breeze.
This year's competition was fourball better ball matchplay with teams of 12 players, six matches in total with 2 points for a win and a point each for halved matches. On paper it looked like being a close match with average handicaps of 8.7 for Costa Blanca and 9.1 for Vega Baja, and so it proved to be with four of the six matches going to the 18th hole.
Now, as captain of Costa Blanca, for the painful bit, the match result was a hard earned but well deserved win for the visitors, winning three matches, halving one and losing two. It was looking good for Costa Blanca when they won two and halved one of the first three matches out but Vega Baja finished strongly and won the final three matches for 7 points to 5 victory. As ever the matches were played in a great spirit and fully enjoyed by all players who were a credit to their respective leagues.
The match was followed by a meal in the Bonalba restaurant when we were delighted to welcome Señor Manolo Garay, sponsor of the trophy which bears his name and following the meal he began the afternoons formalities by thanking all those present for their support for the competition and then gave a brief history of league golf here on the Costa Blanca and explained how the original league, which he was instrumental in forming, split to form the two leagues we have today, Costa Blanca to the north of Alicante and Ivie Davies and Ron Nicholson forming the Vega Baja League to the south, and that the Garay Cup was initiated as a means of maintaining contact between the two leagues with this annual competition, played alternatively at differing venues North and South.
The Garay Cup started in 2005 with a win for Costa Blanca but now followed by four successive wins for the Vega Baja League. The captains then spoke briefly, offering the usual expressions of thanks to all concerned, and an excellent day was concluded with Señor Garay presenting the trophy to the winning Vega Baja League captain Alan Boggess.
Both leagues now look forward to another year of league golf and to the 2010 playing of the Garay Cup at a venue of the Vega Baja Leagues' choosing; surely a win for the away side is long overdue?
Individual Match Results
Costa Blanca League Vega Baja Premier Golf League CBN-VBPGL
Dave Brooks & Gary Maskill Dennis McCormack & Tony Poole 1up
John Chessher & Tony Carroll Peter Deaves & Paul Rooney AS
Alan Woolhouse & Richard Davis Bill Martin & Malcolm Foskett 3&2
Clive Dresner & Edi Rogers Lee Fowler & Dave Mason 5&6
Colin Foster & Bob Edwards Barry Daniel & Tony Chandler 1up
Roger March & John Coubrough Nigel Goude & Ken Olrenshaw 1up
