Battling Saltburn hold nerve to clinch victory

Sep 22 2008 by Tim Taylor, The Journal

THE Dixon Cup produced an unexpected winner at Hartlepool yesterday when Saltburn became the second Teesside League team in three years to capture the trophy, following Eaglescliffe in 2006.

The cup is a scratch strokeplay competition for the clubs who win the five golf leagues in the North East, with the best six scores counting from teams of seven.

Saltburn’s total was 439, six clear of runners-up and favourites Hexham, from the Hadrian League – who had the consolation of taking the President’s Cup for the best individual card, Philip Waugh’s 68. Waugh’s effort, two under par, was a testament to his accuracy on a day when course conditions were so difficult even the winning side reported five lost balls among their team members.

Bamburgh Castle (Kaims County Park North Northumberland League) came third on 447, Whickham (Maxim Cleaning Services North Durham Union) fourth on 456 and Prudhoe (Newcastle & District League) last on 463.

Saltburn captain Ray Bannon, a 57-year-old lecturer at Cleveland College of Art, said: “At the heart of this victory is the way we have encouraged juniors at our club.

“Two of them were in our line-up for this final – Ron Brown, who is 17, and Chris Alcock, who is only 15. Five of the seven who turned out have graduated to our league team from our club’s junior section and the encouragement of the team manager, Geoff Emmerson, has had a lot to do with that.

“It was tough going out there. Quite often, it can be windy at Hartlepool, but after all the rain in recent weeks, this time it was the seriously thick rough that was the problem. Once you strayed off the fairway, the odds were on you losing your ball and the fact that between us we lost five balls out there and still won the final illustrates how hard it was.

“We had two lads who carded 70, Jason Jones and Julian Jackson, and that gave the team score a good lift.”

Colin Mussett, the Dixon Cup organiser, said: “This win was down to their consistency. They returned good scores all the way down the team.”