BetMinch have once again been hard at work, studying the form for the much anticipated Minch CC Open 2015, the 5thmajor of the year as MCC cricketers and members embark on Royal Minchinhampton Old Course for the annual golf competition.
In 2013 we saw a new winner, Ross ‘9 lives’ Britton. With a handicap of 24 he was indeed a bandit, and ripped up the course with 40+ points with Alex ‘Course management’ Waring defying the odds to finish a nearby 2nd after a tidy round and Dave’ Gota give it a run’ Gordon an impressive 3rd. Peter ‘Call it a 12’ Screen finished last, AGAIN. The less said about his round the better. Rest assured Britton has been summoned before the handicap committee and will be well and truly cut following his triumph. So onto the 2014 event. With recent scorching whether the course has been setup to resemble Hoylake 2006, with burnt fairways and super fast greens. Expect to see most players hitting stinger 2 irons off the tee or in Chris Walls case ‘tink the 1er’ down the fairway (He carries a 1 iron, what an idiot) This years entrants are as follows:
Ross ‘9 lives’ Britton As previously eluded to, Ross won by a handsome margin last year and kept up the competitions history of bandit winners. Fellow playing partners Messrs Cocks and Priest we said to be ‘shocked and dismayed’ by the low scoring on show, whilst all the while Ross strolled around with a 24 handicap under his belt. This is of course frowned upon and the R&A have since chopped him. Last year BetMinch listed 30/1 for the debut man and got stung. This year, despite the lower handicap, 20/1 for Britton to retain the infamous MCC Claret Jug (?!)
Alex ‘I don’t have enough balls’ Waring Last years runner up put in a superb round and repaid those punters who went each way on his 40/1 odds. Recently played on the infamous SOG Tour, bit like the PGA Tour but better players, and he struggled with a) the heat and b) a distinct lack of balls. Adub does not come into this comp in the finest of form but after a 2nd place last year fancies his chances. In his pre round press conference Waring said ‘‘I’m guna smash the likes of Wall and Britton at the MCC open, bloody bandits’’ – tough talk, can he back it up? Is he a big game player? Does he hold it back each year for the MCC Open? – BetMinch thinks yes, lower odds this year at 25/1 for the former Aliens sponsored man…
Jaime ‘GAZ’ Waring Gaz as he was so kindly nicknamed by Chris Wall recently, has played limited golf of late, infact the 3 rounds on the SOG Tour double his rounds for the last 2months. A couple of low rounds recently show some form, however add into that the odd shocking round and it perhaps evens out. Tied 3rd in 2013 and still aiming to be the 1st loser and winner of this fable event, Waring wants nothing more than to notch a win and banish those nightmares of the famous ’05 round where he arrived in jeans and a t-shirt with no clubs. If the long game fires, he may have a chance. If it fails, he is sadly doomed. 22/1 in 2013, given a lack of recent golf, odds out to25/1
Chris ‘I’ve had a terrible round but shot 78’ Wall A previous Winner, C Wall is fabled for his length off the tee. If his short game fires he is a serious contender for the title. But there are some issues 1) If things start to go wrong, Wall will start to mess around and lose all concentration, turning into an 8 year old 2) He will no doubt bin the ball to all parts, hack around in some trees, 3 putt and somehow record a 4 on that hole 3) He has to play with Screener this year… Wall has all the trademarks for a champion and definitely is not a 14 handicapper. BetMinch had remained at 8/1 last year, but pushed it out to 12/1 this year. Over to Butch Harmon for a comment on Wall – ‘‘I like those odds, adda boy Dipper’’
Eric ‘El President’ Wall The club president Mr E Wall Esq returns for his 3rd year on the trot for the MCC Open. The new putter helped last year but couldn’t get Mr Wall up the leaderboard enough to contend. Vast experience and local knowledge are a vital component in this event and Eric has more local knowledge than BetMinch has had hot dinners. Rumours of a hurricane coming in for this event may see the power go down in the clubhouse, but don’t worry Eric is your man if the electrics go. If only he had the trusty FA Wall & Sons van still… 85/1 in 2013, but with a smaller field this year dropped to 75/1 for 2014.
Stephen ‘Bagger Vance’ Rogers Big Stevie makes a welcome return from the far east to the UK just in time for the MCC Open. Not been seen at the MCC Arena for over a year now, Rogers will be warmly welcomed back to the event and team squad, before he jets of to some new and unusual part of the world. Once played Wentworth, albeit illegally, so knows his stuff when it comes to golf. However has a famed attitude of gunning the first 3 holes under par and announcing he is bored and would rather be inside sipping back a few Stowfords. If this was a 3 hole comp, Rogers would have won every year. Can he last the distance, only time & the amount of cider he drinks pre round will tell. Returning odds of 25/1 for the big man.
Peter ’12 holes’ Wallis The skipper has been in and out of this event more than Rogers has been abroad – ie a lot! Injury last year, holiday the year before and up until around a week ago the Test Match this year. Wallis had infact got his dates wrong and is now IN for the 2014 MCC Open. A new and this time legal driver has helped the Wallis game immensely. But he does prefer 12 holes and 18 can prove a step too far. Having said that, if he drives well, he does have a good chance and has a Personal Best around the Old Course so likes the famous links, not many players can say that. A good e/w bet at 30/1 from BetMinch
Dave ‘Busiest Man Alive’ Gordon Dave has seen limited cricket time this year, largely because he has the busiest social diary known to man. Trips to Alton Towers, weddings, cricket festivals – you name it, Dave does it and regularly on a Saturday. But 1 thing he has confirmed attendance for and would never miss is the 5th major of course. A famous putting technique saw him fly out of the traps with a birdie on the 1st last year. But the presence of Screener hacking about last year deflated him and his round tailed off. Leaves the driver in the bag and therefore could be the perfect conditions for him up at Royal Minch, but BetMinch is baffled by this one as limited form going into the event. 28/1 in 2013 – pushed out 30/1 in 2014.
Peter ‘Call it a 20’ Screen You’ll probably see that Screenys nickname goes up in numbers every year. That’s because he gets worse and worse and worse. The fact is that the tournament organisers would dearly love to give the wooden spoon trophy to someone else, but with Screener in the field we may as well present it to him before we tee off. Advises he has not picked up the clubs since this time last year…. Surely this is not true. 1 year Screener will turn up and be good, 1 year his group will get round in under 5 hours, 1 year…but not this year. 300/1 in 2013, out to a huge 500/1 for 2014.
Chris ‘Hope they’ve got some left handed clubs’ Davies A return to the MCC Open for Jon (sorry Chris). The only left hander in the field, Chris will presumably be borrowing the 60 year old clubs from the Old Course. The fact is that these clubs are so old Sam Snead donated them, but Chris doesn’t know that. Hopefully is now aware, as this is his 3rd appearance, that golf takes more than 2 hours and given the MCC Open players are not the finest, could probably take 5 hours. Chris is a man who gets better as the round goes on and once famously made par up the last. No odds from 2013, given not a regular golfer a healthy 200/1 for CD.
Just as we went to print the following ‘golfer’ dropped out, despite his preview being written. How dare he…
Tommy ‘Ello Ello Ello ’ Shearman PC Sherms has been an unfortunately distant man this year after enlisting with the Police Force. Whilst he is sorely missed on the cricket field, he has been given a sponsors invite to the MCC Open 2014 and rumour has it that a lack of cricket has paved away for regular golf. However this is just a rumour and what’s more than likely is that he has been nicking the scumbags of Cheltenham in his spare time. An intriguing golfer, Sherms is also a past wooden spoon holder. But those golfing days are over! 35/1 in 2013, these odds go out to 45/1 2014 BetMinch are running the following money back special. If we all somehow make it to town by 7.30 latest, BetMinch will refund all losing bets. In other words, get a move on!!
Minchinhampton Cricket Club 