Goldring and Lilley win for third time in four years

RICK Lilley and Roger Goldring won the Phyllis Court open doubles tournament and lifted the Ian Lindsay Cups for the third time in four seasons last week.

It was a win that contrasted sharply with the higher handicappers Class 2 event that ran alongside for the first time and produced winners Dilys Gordon and Cathie McEntee.

Lilley and Goldring cruised through their three block games to qualify for the afternoon two-round knock-out, along with Robin Coates and Alastair Broom.

In the other block Helena and Mike Fensome were the quickest to find form as they also swept to a trio of morning wins and Chris Roberts and Frances Colman qualified in second place to progress to the semi-finals.

In the first semi-final Goldring scored with two long-range in-offs and scored hoop 10 from 28 yards which sank the comeback hopes of Roberts and Colman, as he and Lilley won 7-4.

In the other semi, Coates and Broom came from behind to win 7-6 against the Fensomes. In the final Coates and Broom kept Lilley and Goldring within range but trailed from the mid-point onwards before Lilley won in style at hoop 11 with a tight angled score from fully 13 yards away on the north boundary.

The Class 2 event was reduced from six players to four due to illness and no-shows. Rupert Hunte and Val Cumming were the main threat to the undefeated Dilys Gordon and Cathie McEntee in the all-play all-morning block, but they lost their semi to Veronica Lawson-Smith and Penny Godfrey, as Gordon and McEntee won again in the other semi against John Moore and Sheila Ferris.

The finalists dodged the frequent rain bursts and Gordon and McEntee rounded off their tournament undefeated.

Last weekend, Phyllis Court's Helen Essa enjoyed a fine second day at her debut at the National Women’s Open Championship at Surbiton, alongside clubmate Patricia Mulcahy making her fourth appearance.

Neither player from the Henley club qualified for the main event knock-out, but Essa shone in the plate event on Sunday, winning five of her seven games to finish tied on wins with two others but missed out on net hoops to Sue Pendry (Surbiton) and winner Rose Gebhardt (Surbiton).