Bishop's Stortford GC's scratch team for the Thornton Cup (c)

GOLF

BISHOP'S Stortford Golf Club faces its first Thornton Cup challenge on Saturday with a new captain in place.

Gordon Campbell takes over the role of the club's scratch team for the year and kicks off his reign in the home meeting with Gosfield Lakes.

Newcomer to the scratch team is 14-year-old Lee Wilson. The teenager, who is currently playing off a one handicap, recently qualified as a member of the England U16 and U18 regional squads.

Earlier this month the scratch team won a friendly match against Saffron Walden and had a comfortable 9 to 2 home win against East Herts on Saturday.

And Campbell is cautiously optimisti about the team's chances this season.

He said: "Golf is a tough and unpredictable game but the team are generally playing well.

"We have got off to a good start and have the advantage of playing the first two games at home."

In a very busy month, interrupted by the recent poor weather, the Bishop's Stortford Golf Club men's golfing season swung into top gear with three major competitive events.

They were: The Summer Tournament, the Trautmann cup, and the penultimate captain's qualifying monthly medal.

These popular events all attracted entries approaching 100 contestants and in all cases the top six scores were par or better.

In the junior medal, Lewis Chalk had a sparkling round. Playing off a handicap of nine, Chalk dropped only three shots to par to turn in a six-under par 65 net to sneak the win on count back from Simon Rolando.

Playing in the Hertfordshire Boys County Championships at Mill End Green, Levi Smith - this year's junior vice-captain - produced two sparkling rounds with a combined score of 151 to finish in fifth place in the U16 section. Smith's handicap is now down to five.

2:52pm Thursday 1st May 2008

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