The Winning Team of The Royal Burgess with Captain Eddie Whoriskey. Photo by Dan Bolam
THe 9th Musselburgh Challenge was won by the Royal Burgess for the third time. With an excellent aggregate of 83 they won by a clear margin from The Musselburgh Golf Club (88) in second place. Bruntsfield Links (91) came in third. The winning team of T Foggo,D Robertson,G Walker and B Bradshaw were worthy winners.
The course was in fine shape considering a race meeting had been held the day before. The weather was very good with little or no wind blowing. All the competitors were greeted at the clubhouse and enjoyed the breakfast available. After choosing their 'weapons' from the variety offered by Chris Homer they made their way to the first tee for the fun to begin.
Dan Bolam, photographer, was on hand to record the event and he was making good use of the lifting platform to obtain the best shots he could. Once fully extended (100feet)and looking out over the course I could have sworn the Open Championship had briefly returned to Musselburgh. It certainly added to the occasion.
MOCGC did not perform too well as Captain Eddie Whoriskey was still struggling with his broken ankle and our score of 102 never troubled the scorers. Eddie was determined to play and we all appreciated his efforts. Never mind Eddie there is always next year.
A mention for the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers who were edged out for a medal. They returned their best score in the competition since it started. Congratulations to M Murray, A Brown, C Bird and D Foulis. Other notable happenings was the 'two' at the first hole for the British Golf Collectors Society. Congratulations to John Rigg and Jim Colville for acheiving such a feat. At the other end of the scale we saw a record for the Challenge with Prestwick admitting to a 16 at the third!
It is fair to say all the competitors enjoyed the day immensely and even if the golf was not too good the after match lunch soon revived the spirits. The after lunch speeches were well received and Captain Whoriskey thanked all the competitors and their clubs for their continued support of the event. He welcomed the members from the Bruntsfield Allied who were invited to participate for the first time this year. Secretary Robin McGregor annouced the new Club initiative to promote the Old Course and Club further and this was well received by all. Former Secretary Lionel Freedman offered some background to the competition and its origins after which the prizes were presented. Royal Burgess Captain Tom Foggo's kind comments after being presented with the trophy were appreciated by the Club.
We hope everyone who played and was involved enjoyed the day and we look forward to the 10th Musselburgh Challenge next year. Photographs of the day will be published shortly. Special thanks to Harry Bentley, Dan Bolam, Brian and Rhonda Stewart, John Jones and our greenkeeping staff headed by Alistair Patterson. All your efforts were appreciated.