'It will be sunny!'

When I asked Cornelia about her Captain's Day preparations, what her theme would be, she didn't even have to think.

'Enjoyment', she said. 'I want all the Ladies to enjoy themselves, to take pleasure in their game. I want them to remember it as a happy day – as I shall.'

'We'll take lots of photos of you in your buggy,' I suggested.

'No, I'm not going to have a buggy with balloons and decorations. I am Dutch and we are more…' she searched for a word…'strait-laced? Serious? I will be there at the first tee when they drive. I want to see everyone and talk to them personally as I serve them their Bucks Fizz. I've prayed for good weather, I seem to have presided over so many rainy Tuesdays, so I am determined it will be fine on my day.'

'Strait-laced' – no – 'serious', perhaps. 'Sincere' is perhaps the most apposite to describe our thoughtful Captain.

The power of prayer and sheer determination paid off. It rained a little on Monday, but Tuesday dawned fine and the sun shone between cotton-wool clouds as 68 ladies assembled around the course for the shotgun start. It clouded over midway, the wind got up a little, but it was ideal golfing weather, so much more bearable than the oppressive heat of recent weeks.

Cornelia did all that was possible to make the day the resounding success it was. She greeted each player at the clubhouse, presented everyone with a small gift of Dutch coffee sweets to boost energy levels, and persuaded Dil Lloyd and Mike Whiteman to pour Bucks Fizz on the 12 th - a task for which they showed a remarkable facility.

The advantage of the shotgun start was that all the contestants were able to sit down together to enjoy the tasty salad of smoked salmon and avocado followed by strawberries and cream. Cornelia picked the strawberries and raspberries herself and also cooked a delicious pavlova for lunch. Afterwards, June spoke for all the Ladies when she said how much we all appreciate all that Cornelia had done, and for being such a good captain.

Results

The results for the fourball individual stableford, after countback, were as follows:

1st June Summerhayes 39 points

2nd Val MacFarlane 39 points

3rd Jane Jackson 39 points

4th Carol Browse 38 points

5th Jeni Rowe 38 points

Nearest the pin on the 7th - Val MacFarlane

Nearest the pin on the 11th -Lois Pope

Felicity Gibson and Jen Taylor were drawn from the remaining cards for a lucky dip prize

/-- Liphook Archive Information --/
#Medium:Document#
#Location:Website#
#Date Of Event:19 Jul 2006#
#Date Item Created:#
#Author:John Douglass#
#Copyright:#