THE HEMISPHERE CUP
Founded 2000
21st
Hemisphere Cup – Burnham & Berrow, England
September 23rd/24th , 2021
Somerset in late September Sun
After nearly a two and half year wait, the 21st
Hemisphere Cup travelled to the west of England allowing Charles and Mike the
shortest travel time ever.
Following postponements due to Covid in May
2020, September 2020, May 2021 it was great to at last get back on the course
and catch up with everyone.
And the timing could not have been better from
a weather standpoint with glorious autumn sunshine lifting the temperature into
the mid 20’s. A firm, though
not too strong breeze, also provided the right level of test on Burnham and Berrow’s links.
With travel from overseas still being an issue
the South had a bit of trouble in getting their full team mobilised,
so the North would provide an undercover agent for each round. This was looking a very good
move for the South with both Alex and Dave winning matches for the South on the
final green. It was left for Ollie
to show how it should be done in his singles match against Charles that proved
pivotal to the overall match.
The
Match Summary
Round 1 – Fourballs (Thursday
PM) – Championship Course
Brandon and Bronson got the match underway
against Charles and Pete in a very high quality game. Despite playing the last 13 holes
in one under par, Bronson saw himself on the losing side as the North found
their form on the back 9 to come out 2&1 winners.
Sean brought his long game and with Alex
(playing for the South) they found themselves winning a very tight game on the
final green .
Andy and Jan proved too strong for Mike and Sarge and came up 3&2 winners as the sun was setting.
The South led 2 – 1.
Round 2 – Fourballs (Friday
AM) – Channel Course
In what may be the last time 36 holes are
played on the same day (It was decided at dinner that we were all too old to
play 36 holes and stay awake past 11pm) the second set of matches kicked off on
the Channel course that had nine holes with two different tee boxes depending
if you were playing the front or back 9.
It proved a challenge for all with some great holes cut back through the
dunes after some excess water hazards on the first few.
Mike and Pete battled against Brandon and
Andrew to eventually take the lead on the 15th and held on to win
1up on the last.
Jan and Sean then had an ‘off day’
being thumped by a dog license by Alex and Charles.
In the match of the morning Bronson and Dave came out winners on the 18th
as Dave holed a birdie (net eagle) putt of some 12-15 feet. Sarge
and Ollie were left dumbstruck over lunch, but did not have long before they
were out again in the singles.
The match score was tied 3 – 3. It was going to be tight…….
Round 3 – Singles (Friday PM) – Championship Course
Match 1: Andrew went out against Alex in the
top match and came out a 3&2 winner after a close match. 4 – 3 to the South
Match 2: Mike and Sean had an epic struggle and
it looked like the point was going to Mike when Sean pitched in at the last
from off the green to win the hole and tie the match. 4.5 – 3.5 to the South
Match 3: Jan never got his game going so Pete
prevailed 6&4 after the first few holes were shared. 4.5 – 4.5 all tied
Match 4: Dave proved too strong for Brandon who
decided to donate many gold balls to the golfing gods. 4.5 – 5.5 to the North
Match 5: Sarge had nothing to offer as
Bronson pulled his pants down and left him thinking of goats to cheer himself up. 5.5
– 5.5 all tied
So it came down to the last match
Match 6: It was always
going to be difficult for Ol playing for the South
against an in form Charles. And so it proved after a close match with Charles
taking his third point of the week on the 17th green, and allowing
the North to retain the cup.
5.5 – 6.5 to
the North
Three in a row for the North who now levelled up the overall match
score to be 10 wins each, with one tie.
Burnham and Berrow was a great venue and
enjoyed by all.
The
Captains Cup
The
Captains Cup could not be awarded this year as Tony had not returned it. In absentia it was awarded to Sean
for his contribution over the two days, on the course and in the bar, and
making the trip from Ireland
Photographs
Photographs from the 21st Hemisphere Cup
Detailed Results
Detailed Results from the 21st Hemisphere Cup