Hoop differential separates top pairs

DOUBLES WINNERS: Robyn Chaffey and Dave Newton went from strength to strength after a second-round loss to win Barry Memorial Croquet Club’s golf croquet doubles tournament.

CROQUET

A SUPERIOR hoop differential won Robyn Chaffey and Dave Newton the Barry Memorial Croquet Club’s golf croquet handicap doubles tournament.

Five pairs took part, arranged so that high- and low-handicap players were in pairs together.

The competitive nature of the clubmates was apparent early on in the round robin, with only a couple of hoops proving the difference in results in the first three rounds.

First-round winners were Christine McCullough and Jenny Barns-Graham, and Ross Thomson and Muriel McMillan.

While McCullough and Barns-Graham continued on their winning way in the second round Thomson and McMillan didn’t.

Newton and Chaffey lost their second-round game, then went from strength to strength, winning their remaining games.

After a bad start in Round 1, Chris Newton and Maurice Allan looked promising. The won their second and third games but faltered in their last, which pushed them out of the prize money.

The final results were close. Newton and Chaffey and McCullough and Barns-Graham had three wins apiece. However, Newton and Chaffey were declared winners because of their superior hoop differential of 6 to 3.

Round 1 of the three-round 2021 Jenny Virtue Twilight Mercantile Golf Croquet Competition was completed at Barry Memorial Croquet Club.

Ball Knockers won relatively easily, with a team score of 63, based on the performance of the top four players in the team.

The players Jacques Van Wyk, David Stevenson, Gavin Loudon and Hamish Campbell played well all night but some had the benefit of playing in earlier years, which gave them an edge.

The Sunshine Tigers four of Peter Findon, Barbara Baillie, David Kirkpatrick and Graham Atkins were second with a score of 50 and in third place were the Agfirst team of Peter Andrew, Marlene Turei, Pip McCulloch and Tracy Lloyd, with a score of 42.

The MVP (most valuable player) on the night was Van Wyk, who ended up with a creditable 17 points. It was the first time he had played, and he showed great skill in running the hoops and defeating his opponents.

Those taking part enjoyed themselves and are looking forward to the next round. Sunshine Tigers and Agfirst will have more players for the remaining two rounds and are confident they will knock over Ball Knockers. Teams have vacancies for several more players so if anyone is interested in playing the next two Tuesday nights they should email barry4fun.gis@gmail.com.