News
Liz Farrow win Sussex Open
In a two match final against Robert Clark Liz won the Sussex Open GC Championship, taking home the Hamilton Cup.
Twenty four players entered the competition and spent Saturday playing in four blocks. Eight players qualified for the knockout championship (Stuart Smith, Ross Bagni, Robert Clark, Robin Wootton, Richard Brooks, Roger Sutton, Peter Balchin and Liz Farrow) and played best-of-three matches thoughout Sunday; the remaining players had a four-round Swiss competition for the Plate event, which was won by Ryan Cabble.
Stuart Smith, as the previous holder of the trophy and this year's winner of the GC A Series would have been a safe bet to win the trophy again, but he was evicted by Robert Clark 7-6, 5-4 in the semi-final. Robert himself was bested in the final by Liz 7-6, 6-5.
The Southwick lawns were in good shape, despite the very heavy use over the season, including the recent World GC - a tribute to the good work by our Contractor (and club member who played in this event) Ben Harwood.
Plenty of enjoyable croquet seems to have been played in good spirit and pleasant weather (if chilly in the mornings). Please all come again next year!
Full Results
| Block A | SMS | BH | PB | RC | BA | B | Wins | Net Hoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stuart M Smith | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 16 | ||
| Ben Harwood | 6 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 2 | -4 | ||
| Peter Balchin | 6 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 9 | ||
| Richard Carline | 6 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 1 | -1 | ||
| Bill Arliss | 6 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | -20 | ||
| BYE | 0 | 0 |
| Block B | RTC | PG | MH | JH | RS | SW | Wins | Net Hoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert T Clark | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 21 | |
| Paul Gunn | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 1 | -12 | |
| Mark Hamilton | 4 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 2 | -7 | |
| Jane Humphreys | 6 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 2 | -6 | |
| Roger Sutton | 4 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 3 | -1 | |
| Stephen Wright | 5 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 5 |
| Block C | RB | DG | CH | IS | GT | RW | Wins | Net Hoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Brooks | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 15 | |
| Daphne Gaitley | 7 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 1 | -23 | |
| Christopher Heath | 6 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 5 | |
| Ian Shore | 8 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 8 | |
| Gavin Taylor | 6 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 0 | -17 | |
| Robin Wootton | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 12 |
| Block D | RB | RC | MC | LF | CM | LS | Wins | Net Hoops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Bagni | 10 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 7 | |
| Ryan Cabble | 9 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 7 | |
| Morgan Case | 10 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 2 | -4 | |
| Liz Farrow | 10 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 11 | |
| Christine Merrington | 4 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 2 | -6 | |
| Louise Smith | 6 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 1 | -15 |
Championship Knockout
| First Round | Semi Final | Final | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stuart Smith | Stuart Smith 6-5, 7-1 | Robert Clark 6-5, 4-5, 6-3 | Liz Farrow 7-6, 6-5 |
| Ross Bagni | |||
| Robert Clark | Robert Clark 7-6, 5-4 | ||
| Robin Wootton | |||
| Richard Brooks | Richard Brooks 7-5, 7-5 | Liz Farrow 6-3, 7-1 | |
| Roger Sutton | |||
| Peter Balchin | Liz Farrow 7-3, 7-5 | ||
| Liz Farrow | |||
Championship playoffs
Stuart Smith beat Richard Brooks 10-6 to take 3rd place (Richard Brooks 4th place).
Ross Bagni beat Robin Wootton 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 and Peter Balchin (who received a walk-over from Roger Sutton)10-6 to take 5th place (Peter Balchin 6th place).
Robin Wootton received a walk-over from Roger Sutton to take 7th place.
Consolation Event
| Plate | Games | Wins | Win % | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Cabble | 4 | 4 | 100.0% | P.Gunn +4, C.Merrington +2, R.Carline +4, I.Shore +4 |
| Louise Smith | 4 | 3 | 75.0% | C.Heath +5, J.Humphreys +1, I.Shore -5, M.Case +2 |
| Stephen Wright | 4 | 3 | 75.0% | C.Merrington -1, L.Taylor +1, G.Taylor +4, R.Carline +4 |
| Ian Shore | 4 | 3 | 75.0% | L.Taylor +4, M.Case +3, L.Smith +5, R.Cabble -4 |
| Christopher Heath | 3 | 2 | 66.7% | L.Smith -5, P.Gunn +1, C.Merrington +4 |
| Morgan Case | 4 | 2 | 50.0% | G.Taylor +5, I.Shore -3, J.Humphreys +3, L.Smith -2 |
| Paul Gunn | 4 | 2 | 50.0% | R.Cabble -4, C.Heath -1, P.Balchin +4, G.Taylor +4 |
| Jane Humphreys | 3 | 1 | 33.3% | R.Carline +4, L.Smith -1, M.Case -3 |
| Christine Merrington | 3 | 1 | 33.3% | S.Wright +1, R.Cabble -2, C.Heath -4 |
| Richard Carline | 4 | 1 | 25.0% | J.Humphreys -4, G.Taylor +2, R.Cabble -4, S.Wright -4 |
| Gavin Taylor | 4 | 0 | 0.0% | M.Case -5, R.Carline -2, S.Wright -4, P.Gunn -4 |
| Louise Taylor | 2 | 0 | 0.0% | I.Shore -4, S.Wright -1 |
| Peter Balchin | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | P.Gunn -4 |
Other games
A number of 'bye' games were played (counting on card but not to tournament result)
Ben Harwood beat David Gaitley 10-9
Peter Balchin beat John Low 10-5
Richard Carline beat David Gaitley 10-6
Bill Arliss beat David Gaitley 10-8
Robin Wootton beat Stephen Wright 7-1.
There may be other unrecorded games including a Richard Carline doubles special on lawn 8 - result unknown but clearly greatly enjoyed.