Yellowdot Christmas Cup 2016

Eight hopefuls lined up for the 2016 Yellowdot Christmas Cup at Hampton Court Palace Golf Club, with the benign conditions leading to good scores all round.

As is tradition, reigning 2015 Champion Chris Cox was first off, but despite securing a couple of Nearest the Pin prizes, he finished bottom of the pile with 30 points – a respectable(ish) score most days. Paul Calfe held things together remarkably, and although falling just short of a podium place, managed to win the Champagne Moment having drilled his approach to the 13th green into the left buttock of a grazing stag. We were all surprised just how quickly those creatures can move from a standing start…

In third place was Geoff Young, who was flying along until an untimely visit to a greenside bunker on the 16th. A handful of shots trying to escape the sand meant him missing out on valuable points and ultimately seeing him fall just one point short. It also induced a loud burst of Tourettes much to the amusement of his playing partners.

Joint-winners on 38 points were Chris Foreman and Jay Patel, with Jay sneaking outright victory courtesy of the dreaded countback mechanism. Tough luck for Chris as he remains a bridesmaid for another year, but many congratulations to Jay who collected the trophy and champagne, and within 24 hours had added the credit to his email signature!

Thanks to all who competed and made the 18th year of this event such a success.