Ruth Brown wins East Vets Championship

                                                           East Vets Champion 2012

The East Vets Championship certainly took a long time in getting played but it was well worth the wait!   When the River Tyne broke its banks flooding the lower holes at Haddington, away back in June was it?  the golf course was closed to play.  This delayed the earlier rounds of the championship considerably, but they were eventually played with Ruth the winner in the semis over Rosie Dennis  and Sue Penman beating Anne Hanson. All that remained was to find a mutually agreeable date for the final and with Blairgowrie and the Scroggie Cup  very imminent - next week in actual fact - fingers were crossed nothing would go wrong. Today it was accomplished, and Ruth has emerged a very worthy victor beating Sue on the eighteenth hole, after a most exciting match.

What a final!

Ruth started a winning streak by running her second shot of the first hole on to the green and up the little slope, to pin high.   Sue had gone through the green and had a nasty downhill chip which didn't come off.  One up to Ruth.  The next two holes were halved in par.  The dreaded fourth where the ball always seems to run endlessly down the left to right sloping green - it was made to look easy by Sue who had a good par to Ruth's bogey.  All square.  Ruth chipped dead at the fifth to win the hole after Sue had driven into a bunker.  The sixth was then played beautifully by Ruth who had a birdie 3.  Now two up!

Both were to the left of the short eighth.   Ruth putted dead for her par but Sue chipped in for a birdie two!   Both bogeyed the ninth into the wind but Sue played the tenth well and won it with a four.    All square.  The eleventh was conceded to Sue for a birdie four.  Now she was one up.  The damage that the flooding had caused two months previously was now all too obvious with areas in the fairways on the next few holes quite dead.  Not all were made ground under repair, but our finalists were adamant that relief would be given should it be necessary.  It is interesting to note, however that grass will still keep growing above a temperature of four degrees so there is plenty of time for some recovery- a small snippet for your enlightenment supplied by S. Penman while she was waiting to play!

The match had ground to almost a complete halt at this point, having caught up with a couple of (ssh, men) in front.  They routinely persisted in waiting till the game in front of them had cleared for miles even when this distance was considerably in excess of their capabilities - possibly hoping for a Tiger Woods day.

The twelfth was halved in fives but the thirteenth also went Sue's way and again she was conceded a birdie four.  A complete reversal of fortunes and now she was two up. The fourteenth was halved but uncharacteristically, Sue three putted the fifteenth.  Ruth saved her par by holing a good putt.  Only one hole in it.  With all its lovely trees, including a Wellingtonia (never noticed before) the sixteenth hole  always requires such a tight second shot.  Both our ladies caught the green very nicely but Ruth was that bit closer.  Whereas Sue putted dead for her par, Ruth sank her putt for a birdie three and, liking the feeling so much, proceeded to birdie the seventeenth as well.  Back to back birdies if you please giving Ruth the advantage of being  one up going into the eighteenth hole.  A half was all that was needed and so now Ruth will represent the East Vets Division at Blairgowrie next week in the Scroggie Cup.  Bad luck Sue, but you know you played well.  Well done Ruth and good luck next week.