Northumberland Schools Golf Tournament - 2008

Whitley Bay Golf Club Thursday 24th April 2008

The golf team comprising of three yr 11 students; Graeme Cowings (5 h’cap), Chris Wappat (16 h’cap) and Jordan Thompson (18 h’cap) were keen to play well in an effort to win the title for a second time in four years. It’s always a nervous experience teeing off on the first hole in any competition but when your name is called out in true Masters fashion in front of a crowd of about thirty people it’s a real pressure moment.

Well done Jordan who was playing in his first schools tournament and was particularly nervous on the first tee. He handled the pressure well and smacked it 250 yards right down the middle.

The opening holes were a mixture of pars and bogies for all three players as they got to grips with the challenge of an exposed links course and the blustery conditions. By the end of the 9^th the weather had really closed in, rain, strong wind and bitterly cold. The scores reflected this with all three boys shooting over par but hanging in there, particularly Graeme who was 42 at the turn and putting well on the patchy greens. Through the second nine the weather started to improve and so did our hopes of a strong finish. The long hitting Chris Wappat, with a bolti pie in one hand and a no nonsense style of play, improved to finish with 89 (net 73), the ‘professional’ Graeme Cowings finished with 85 (net 79) and Jordan Thompson, who hits a beautiful iron shot as l’ve ever seen, finished with 92 (net 74). Well done to all three who represented the school very well.