May/June 2021 report

The Halford Hewitt draw took place on Tuesday 29th June, at 6pm – pretty much at the same time as the second half in the England vs Germany game! Fortunately this year’s draw was conducted on Zoom, so it was feasible to watch both events at once. It is possible therefore that the cheers when Whitgift were drawn against Shrewsbury were not in favour of either school, but heralded Raheem Sterling’s goal in the football. Whitgift’s first round tie will take place on Thursday 9th September at Prince’s, starting at 9am. This will be Whitgift’s first tie in the main Hewitt competition to be played at Prince’s, which is being used because Royal St George’s is not able to co-host this year’s delayed event, and next year Prince’s will only be used for the Plate competition. This might therefore be a unique occasion in two respects, because Whitgift have the opportunity against Shrewsbury to record their 100th win in the Hewitt, in their 178th tie (the 99th win came against Shrewsbury, as it happens, in 2019). So do come and support the team if you possibly can!

The Cyril Gray tournament (left) is part of a hectic end of June programme in the society calendar. It is a scratch foursomes event for over-50s, held at Worplesdon. This year’s Whitgift  team included Peter Blok, who first played in the event in 1996, twenty five years ago, and his ‘silver anniversary’ was marked on the Friday by a celebratory flypast of the Red Arrows. Peter would like to express his gratitude to whomever organised it. So far, no one has owned up. Unfortunately there was not much to celebrate on the course itself, as Whitgift were solidly beaten 3-0 by last year’s champions Liverpool, and then beaten again in the Plate, 2-1 by St Paul’s. Edinburgh Academy won the Cyril Gray Salver, and Watson’s the Plate – a Scottish double. Dudley Thompson and Don Anderson contested the Cyril Gray Seniors, and finished a creditable fourth.

Also at the end of June was the match against Old Alleynians. We have had a run of success in this match over recent years but the OAs convincingly won the previous encounter to this one. The 2021 result was a marginal improvement but still a 5 1/2 – 2 1/2 loss, with Absalom/McMillan and Furtado/d’Souza the only winners on the Whitgift side. Albeit that we had the youngest player on our side (James d’Souza), Dulwich seem to have been more successful than us in rounding up a number of 40-50 year-olds who are still capable of impressive distance (and accuracy) off the tee. Yes, of course, the handicaps should even things up, but somehow they don’t!

On 16th June, the society held the Veterans’ Cup meeting at Croham Hurst, alongside a parallel event for those thankfully still under 65 (by some distance, it has to be said). The weather was very hot to start with, but the threat of a downpour induced a fairly rapid tee off and progress around the course. The back markers were grateful to reach the clubhouse a matter of minutes before the heavens opened. The course was in good condition and of course the hard fairways allowed a great deal of run on the ball. Possibly, this was the main reason behind some very good scoring, but of course it could merely have been the skills applied. The Captain, Jeremy Stanyard (photo right), led the way off the tee and was accompanied by last year’s champion Vet, and also this year’s captain of Croham Hurst, Alan Longhurst. Some familiarity with the course must have rubbed off on Jeremy, who came home with a terrific 41 points and thereby took the Cup off his playing partner. Jerry Hamley was second with 38 points, with Alan Longhurst and Tony Harris tied for third, on 34. There was some even more impressive scoring by the ‘youngsters’, with Nick Matthews recording an amazing 44 points (although you would scarcely believe it from the photograph of him, left) followed by James d’Souza on 37 points. Well done to all, and especially the 14 out of 24 starters who scored more than 30 points.

Trinity won the match against the society at Woodcote Park on Tuesday, 1st June, and thus reclaimed the ‘Harrods Putter’ after a wait of six years. Glorious weather at Woodcote Park and the same could be said for some of the golf. The deciding match could have gone either way before it was settled on the 18th, the two pairs having shared one eagle and six birdies between them. Woodcote was in great condition and it was good to see both sides get six pairs out for this match.

The School won the annual encounter at Croham Hurst with the combined side of OWs and Masters, 3-1 with one match halved.