British Open - Strokes, Margate - Sat 21 / Sun 22 September

Freebird wrote:

Freebird wrote:

Mr X wrote:

Freebird wrote:Player pack sent - let me know if you're playing but haven't received it!

I Haven't got mine FB, I have another email address - a.exall61@gmail.com can you fire it there? Ta!

Will do!

Just checked the original email and that's the address is went to - perhaps (perish the thought) your gmail account stuck the chairman in the spam/junk/trash email!!

Will try again later anyway.

It couldn't possibly FB! Got it now though - Ta!  

So, here we go the eve of the Players Championship and one day away from the British Open.
If anyone wants some help with lines I'm happy to go round with you.
Good luck to all!

VTK

Will be taking you up on your kind offer

VTK (including the category 3 title!)

Quick heads up regarding tomorrow.

11am - trial of the handsets - chance for anyone present to do a live round, get used to the handsets, play a pre-PC competitive round and also very useful for me from an organising point of view. Be great to have a load of players doing this (will take approx 45 mins as will do it shotgun start to test this for the PC).

1.45pm - final registration cut off for PC

2pm onwards, the Players Championships....

Between rounds 2 (Matchplay) and round 3 (final 4 ball) will be a HOLE IN ONE CHALLENGE - details to be confirmed tomorrow.

AlienUK wrote:Will be taking you up on your kind offer

VTK (including the category 3 title!)

Only happy too just don't watch TP!  

If anyone down this morning has any chalk can you bring it along - need it for some course markings and can't find usual stash!!!!

Well played today guys, nice to see so many KMGC players in the top 8 and our new players seem to be taking to the course well. With Sean and Adam's excellent form, Andy's Megabowl form, and of course, Tony's new putter, I think we have a great chance of getting a 3rd successive (but different) winner in a row.

Good luck to you all. Come on!

VTK

Good luck today everyone, good day yesterday-Even though I played s@@t!

A better day for me today so happier tonight! Nice to see KMGC names up the top, well done guys, especially the awesome HIOK, keep it up tomorrow!  

Well done Michael and all the others that played a part this weekend! Adam's 27 is mind-boggling as is the winning average!?! The standard is most definitely on the up no small part to the dedication to international style training and events abroad.
Bring on the World Crazies...gotta bring my A* game by the looks of things!!
VTK  

It was serious stuff Force, good to watch but hard to try & live with. Well done Michael on the best weekend I have seen anyone play in my 7 years of BMGA competitions - absolutely awesome!
Adam's 27 too, flamin' hell it's ridiculous! That score will never be beaten I'm sure.
Well done Scott for acknowledging Sean's hard work after the awards, a nice touch & thoroughly well deserved, I could see he was working hard all weekend & we all appreciate that, and Marion's help too, along with Brenda, thanks guys.
A fine KMGC weekend as ever, Strokes is just the best course for the BO & Brian, Matt & Frankie were great hosts as always. Chris Smith, J.Paul Johnson, Chris Harding, Michael & Adam were great playing partners & made it very enjoyable for me, I'll be back - I have a few new lines to try out!
 
VTK!

To Sean, Marion and Brenda thanks again for an enjoyable tournament, as a newbie it was an eye opener and a challenging but enjoyable course to play for the first time. With a bit more experience the next step is a sub 40 average (or at least to get within 10 of Michael's average to get some points!)

Massive thanks to Scott for the coaching he gave us, it helped a lot.

From the BMGA website:

UK number one Michael Smith retains the British Open title at Strokes in Margate

Michael Smith wins the British Open for the second year in a row.

The sixteenth BMGA British Minigolf Open was held at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate over the weekend of 21 & 22 September. This year saw the popular UK course host the event for the fifth time and saw players from across the UK along with internationals from Germany and Sweden compete in both the individual and team competitions. 32 players, including 3 previous British Open champions, along with the top 6 ranked players in the UK, took to the greens throughout the weekend event, battling for the title.

The two-day event saw a number of changes to the format from previous years, notably the expansion of the competition to a nine-round tournament and for the first time in the UK, the introduction of the BAMS mobile handset scoring system, enabling players and spectators at the course, as well as the global minigolf audience, to watch the action unfold, lane by lane, round by round in real time - adding to the excitement and drama of the event as it progressed.

As well as winning the Players Championship on the Friday - full details of which can be found at http://www.minigolf.org.uk/joomla/index.php?option=com_eventlist&view=details&id=105&Itemid=56) Michael Smith (Kent Minigolf Club) retained his British Open title with an incredible nine round total of 49 under par, dropping just 2 shots across the entire weekend and finishing 10 shots clear of the field. Adam Kelly (Kent Minigolf Club) took the runner up slot with a nine round total of -39. shooting a new a new course record in round eight of 27 (beating the previous record by 1 shot). Fellow club team mate Andy Exall came third, with Chris Harding (Midlands Minigolf Club) third and James Rutherford (Cambridgeshire Minigolf Club) in fifth place.



     Michael Smith (Great Britain) 2013 British Open champion

Speaking after his record breaking victory Michael said "I am absolutely delighted to have won 2013 British Open. To have won this tournament two years running is a dream come true. I got a little lucky in 2012 when a monsoon meant the final round had to be abandoned, and it is especially satisfying to win by 10 shots, shooting -49, and only dropping 2 shots on what is a difficult course that can punish you for any slight misjudgement. To have also won the Players Championship on Friday and been part of the winning Kent Minigolf Club team that won the British Open Team Tournament completed the most incredible weekend. It was undoubtedly the best minigolf I have played in my four years on the BMGA tour."  

Reflecting on the weekend he went on to say "There are a few people who I would like to thank. First, to the Wood family for hosting the tournament. Second, to the organisers for running such a brilliant tournament. Thanks also to everybody who played in the event, especially the overseas players who travelled from Germany, Sweden and Scotland. From a personal point of view, I'd like to thank all my team-mates at the Kent Minigolf Club, my parents, and Chris Harding who have given me so much support since my debut in the Star City Open in January 2010. Finally, the standard of play was phenomenal across the field all weekend but I would like to pay special tribute to Adam Kelly, who played incredibly well and achieved a fantastic score of -39. He's had a magnificent season with five top 2 finishes in six strokeplay ranking events on the BMGA Tour and it's only a matter of time before he wins his first Major Championship"

The British Open team event also ran across the first 8 rounds of the competition, with 9 teams of 3 players taking part with the lowest combined team score winning the trophy.  For the second year running, the Kent Minigolf Club secured the team title (won by Kent 1 comprising of Michael Smith, Adam Kelly and Sean Homer) with Sweden taking the silver (Mattias Stahl, Mikael Karlsson and Jan Hedstom) with Kent 2 (Tony Kelly, Will Donnelly and Scott Lancley) picking up the bronze.


                                     Team Kent (from L to R) - Sean, Adam, Adrian, Tiger, Andy, Will, Michael, Dave, Scott, Tony, Brian, Mark, Martin & Chris

The Open also saw a number of other prize winners, recognising the quality of play across all the tour categories. Freddie Blackburn-Shaw won the category 2 title and Terry Exall won the category 3 title. Mattias Stahl won the Category 1 aces champion prize, Chris Jones won the Category 2 aces champion prize and Chris Wood won the Category 3 aces champion prize

Sean Homer, BMGA chairman said “The 2013 British Open was a major step forward for tournament organisation and execution in the UK with the enhanced scoring and reporting system used fo the first time on the BMGA tour. Being able to watch the rounds develop on the big screen in real time as the event progressed added another exciting dimension to what has always been a top class event on the calendar."

Sean added “ I would personallly like to thank Matt, Frankie and Brian Wood for their support and hospitality throughout the event. A note of thanks must go to Lars Isberg for the support he gave from Sweden in helping ensure we were able to set up the technology effectively and to the German Minigolf Federation and Pasi Aho for supplying the hardware. Special thanks go out to the tournament director Marion Homer and the Assitant Director Brenda Smith and of course, a big thank you to all of the players for giving us another outstanding minigolf competition across the two days.”

Full round by round results from the British Open (both the individual and team events) can be found at http://bmga.co.uk/2013BO/result.htm

A photo gallery from the event can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/13680867@N02/sets/72157635793777884/ (courtesy of the Kent Minigolf Club).

At the end of the 8th round on Sunday the players all took part in a Hole In One Charity challenge at hole 17 (not aced throughout the competition). Using just a standard course ball, with no practice, players had one shot (£2 for Category 1 players and £1 for everyone else) to try and ace the hole. Half of the money goes towards this years chosen charity - Cancer Research - the nominated charity of Michael Smith & Sean Homer who tied after the 3rd round of the Players Championship on the Friday before the Open, the remainder getting split between any players that ace the hole during the challenge. With the crowds watching, close to 30 people took on the challenge and Sean hit the perfect shot to take the £32 prize fund (rolled over from previous competitions).

Thanks Marc and Andy.  
The scoring was a bit ridiculous at times but it is just a natural result of years of doing the right things - especially the KMGC tournaments and a willingness to share lines/notes and supporting each other. The newbies have given no new life to the club this year and all have a huge amount of potential. Going to be a fantastic end to the season.

Congratultions once again Michael on a fantastic performance.

Also well done to Adam and Andy, an awesome display of minigolf by all three.

HIOK wrote:The newbies have given no new life to the club this year ...

I hope that's a typo  

So do I, before we start to have a player exodus!

AlienUK wrote:

HIOK wrote:The newbies have given no new life to the club this year ...

 I hope that's a typo  

Well after your 'mini' ryder cup performance  

The Natural wrote:
Congratultions once again Michael on a fantastic performance.

Also well done to Adam and Andy, an awesome display of minigolf by all three.

Thanks Mark but I was just trying to hang on in the end, Michael & Adam were far far away!  

AlienUK wrote:

HIOK wrote:The newbies have given no new life to the club this year ...

 I hope that's a typo  

Haha knowing Michael well I'm sure it is but I echo his sentiment. The KMGC goes from strength to strength under the expert leadership & drive of FB & DT, picking up yet another new member at the BO. A dominant force for years to come, I can't see any serious challenge.

AlienUK wrote:

HIOK wrote:The newbies have given no new life to the club this year ...

 I hope that's a typo  

Sorry, yes that was a typo. Clearly the two extra rounds have sent me over the edge of sanity!  

Congratulations to Michael on a brilliant result, surely the best ever performance by a British minigolfer over a weekend. His consistency was amazing and shows why he is British number one and a multiple major winner.

Well done to Adam on his round of 27 and an average that would have won every BO at Strokes except 2012 and 2013.

Thanks to all of my playing partners, it was fun to play 8 rounds with Freddie and good to play alongside Adrian in his debut tournament, he will be a great addition to the ranks of KMGC.

Above all, thanks as always to Sean and Marion for putting on a fabulous tournament at a great location and all the hard work behind the scenes to get the technology tested and set up.

Roll on the World Crazies!!

Something a bit special report-wise to mark the latest British Open success...

http://www.kentminigolfclub.co.uk/2013BO.htm

Read on and enjoy!!

VTK!!!

The KMGC Player of The Tournament is… Mr X!
 

Great reports both of you, interesting & fun to read - well done!
One of the highlights of the weekend was after Tiger's third ace & Grrrr in a row at the start of his round, "Tiger, Tiger"" started ringing around the course - it really made me laugh.
Great BO!

Two very funny reports which brought back happy memories of a wonderful weekend.

Thanks Tiger and HIOK