Hexham hope to be kings of Castle

Sep 18 2008 by Tim Taylor, The Journal

BAMBURGH Castle go into North East league golf’s top fixture of the season at the Hartlepool club on Sunday in rampant form.

As champions of the Kaims Country Park North Northumberland League, Bamburgh qualify for the Dixon Cup, a seven-man strokeplay shoot-out in which the top six scores count.

They play against the four other league champion clubs of the region – Hexham (Hadrian League), Prudhoe (Newcastle & District league), Whickham (Maxim Cleaning Services North Durham Union) and Saltburn (Teesside League). After a spate of postponements, Bamburgh signed off their league season with two 12-0 victories in three days, away to Belford and clinching the title at home to Wooler.

That left them 12 points ahead of runners-up Goswick, who this year became the only North East club ever to stage regional qualifying for The Open Championship. Alnwick were third.

On Sunday, Bamburgh completed a league double by beating Wooler 4½-½ in the Knock-Out Cup Final at Magdelene Fields. Team manager John Cairns, the 2009 Bamburgh club captain, said: “To do the double was quite a comeback bearing in mind we lost 11-1 at Magdelene Fields in our first league match.”

Leading the surge was the 2008 club captain Peter Sanderson, a 51-year-old builder who works for William Johnson & Sons, based in his home village of Belford.

Ever-present Sanderson won 30 of a possible 32 individual points over the 16-match league season and Cairns said: “That was a reward for Peter’s accuracy and consistency.

“He is one of those annoying golfers who seems to knock the ball straight down the middle all the time and who always seems to get more than his fair rub of the green when he is putting. On top of that Peter is highly competitive, in the best possible way. He’s got plenty of bottle and he hates losing.” Sanderson has another achievement to show for his captain’s year, £1,900 raised to help the fight against multiple sclerosis – more than £900 of it from club members who splashed out 50p every time they landed in a bunker.

This Sunday, admission is free for golfers who want to follow any of the club teams in the Dixon Cup at Hartlepool, with a noon tee-off for the showdown at Graeme Storm’s home club. Dixon Cup organiser Colin Mussett, also the Hadrian League secretary, said: “It adds a bit of spice that it is on the same day the Ryder Cup is decided. We should have a winner around 4.30pm and after the Dixon Cup finishes, the Ryder Cup will be reaching its peak on television.

“It’s not as if lovers of the sport have to take in one or the other. They can do both. What a fabulous day for golf in the North East.” It is likely to be the Hexham captain, Ian Crawford, who will be able to sit down in front of the television with the cup on his lap.

When it’s the cold reality of a scratch strokeplay tournament rather than the fervour of matchplay, the usual league format, you dare not bet against a team with the pedigree of Hexham, who have also completed a league and cup double. Hexham will field three plus handicap men in Phil Waugh (+2), Ben Taylor (+1) and Sean Heads (+1). The other four are not far behind – Martin Coup (scratch), Warren Young (1), Alastair Clark (3) and Ian Paxton (4).

So Prudhoe, Bamburgh, Whickham and Saltburn will be making up the numbers on this occasion – just like the Americans in the Ryder Cup.

:: SEE Monday’s Journal for a report on the tournament, plus all the results.