We had a great turnout for the first tournament back at the RCOP! Eight teams descended upon the club split into two groups. One group had the higher handicaps in it with the other group consisting of the lower handicap pairings. Both groups had some fantastic matches with Group 1 being decided on the last point between Steve Hufford & Mark Philpott vs Greg Van Schaack & Peter Clement. 9 games all, 40 all game point with both teams playing it safe but Van Schaack & Clement prevailing to take them into the final. In Group 2 Arthur Horowitz & Dan Lamken had the match of the day against Dick Tanfield & John Schellenberg which they snuck out in another nail bitter 10/9! Phil Straus & Stan Scott were on fire in the group stages to secure a place in the final.
In the final Straus & Scott came out on fire not missing anything which, with the handicap, put a lot of pressure on GVS & Clement. With things not going their way, GVS started playing more consistently and mixing up his pace of shot which got them on a roll. Clement then had some superb volleys to keep the momentum going but in the end Straus & Scott took the title 10/2! It has to be said that Phil Straus’s serving was on point and the way he was controlling the ball was impressive and great to see. Stan Scott was controlling his volleys and creating a lot of pressure with well placed balls with the occasional faster ball to keep his opponents guessing.
It was fantastic to have a buzz around the RCOP and we thank everyone for coming out to play in the tournament and look forward to many more to come this season!
John Lumley
