The Battle at Fancourt

The eagerly awaited time had finally come. It was time for the Annual Battle at Fancourt. Hours of gruelling training had been put in by the players to make sure that they were in peak condition and at the top of their games to compete for the ultimate prize. The pairings were as follows:

Team Head Boy consisted of Fancourt Veteran and former Daly Cup Runner Up Charles Roff. He was paired with Fancourt Debutant Thomas Vaughan who is making his professional debut on South African soil after playing for many years on the UK Tour until a crippling back injury plagued him for awhile. He is now back to his best and fighting fit.

Team Bear consisted of Current Daly Cup holder and Fancourt veteran Great Dayne and a player who has burst onto the SA Golfing scene grabbing Rookie of the year, Garth Oliver.

The morning came bright and still, The Battle would be fought on the Montagu Course. The Bears started shakily with both of them blasting out of bounds on the first, while The Head Boys managed to sneak in a par and took an early lead. Blows were exchanged over the next few holes with quite a few birdies had by both teams. At half way the Head Boys were 2 up and looking strong to take home the cup.

Things remained to go slowly for the Bears as they went a further shot down on the 10th. The Head Boys had some solid play and were not allowing the Bears back into the game. So, the Bears were staring down the barrell at 3 down with 4 to play. It was then that the Bears managed to pick up 2 birdies in 3 holes to be standing on the 18th 1 down.

Garth and Charles Roff bombed out and it was left up to a straight out battle between Thomas Vaughan and the Great Dayne for the Title. Vaughan layed up short of the water on the 465m par 5 18th, while Dayne decided to go for the Green in 2, a decision which ended in disaster when his ball found the water.

So, this left Vaughan with the easy task of chipping onto the green and two putting for the win. HE CHOKED. With the entire Fancourt Clubhouse looking on, he unceremoniously dumped his ball into the water and could only manage a double bogey 7. This left Dayne with a cluch 6 footer for the tie. He made the put and for the first time in history, The Battle at Fancourt would go into a playoff over 18 holes at the Bramble Hill course at Fancourt.

The Playoff took place the next day at Bramble Hill. It was a completely different affair this time. The Bears left their golf and their tempers at home. They stumbled, fell, suffered and mared to a 4and 3 thrashing at the hands of the Head Boys.

When interviewed, the Bears Spokesman had this to say "My Boys were thoroughly out played today, we will however be making a formal inquiry into the handicaps of the Head Boys as we feel that they were seriously inflated. Our congratulations go out to them, pending the results of our investigation"

Yogi Bear struggling at Bramble Hill