THE men of The Worcestershire in Malvern Wells competed in a charity stableford competition in aid of the RNLI, an event they have held annually for more than 30 years.

The three clubs and a putter format suited higher handicappers who benefited from the greater number of shots.

Best round of the day came from Division Three’s Andrew Colston (handicap 23) who carded 47 points.

He was followed by Oliver Kitchin (24) on 44 and Alan Smith (22) on 40.

Division Two was won by John Whitehead (16) with 39 ahead of Nigel Teale (17) on 37 and Pete Basten (16) on 36.

It was tough at the top but Division One’s Dave Linnie (9) returned with 36 ahead of club captain John Williams (12) and third-placed Nigel Allam (12) on 35.

The competition raised £400 for the charity.

The Worcestershire’s seniors started their summer campaign against neighbouring clubs with mixed fortunes.

In their first match they played at Minchinhampton where a balanced tussle was destroyed by the final two home pairings who sealed a 5-3 victory for the Gloucestershire side.

Away winners were Dave Anderson and Barry Caswell 5&4 and Roger Blackwell and Andrew Whiteley 4&3.

Halved matches were recorded by Teale and Stan Jones and James Noon and Williams.

Losers this time were Ron Gordon and Pat Davis one-down, Andy Peet and Keith Hitchcock 4&3 and Terry Cox and Phil Bayliss 2&1.

Mike Travis fought valiantly on his own to lose 5&4.

Undeterred, the squad bounced back to form with a sound 4-2 home win against Droitwich.

There were good wins for Blackwell and Graham Hill 6&5, Hitchcock and Noon 5&4, Bayliss and Cox 3&2 and Caswell and Alan Homfray 2&1.

Peet and Peter Kirton had a more torrid time with the former losing three balls on the front nine and his partner visiting many trees and out of bounds.

Despite a late rally they went down 3&2.

In the closest match the final pairing of James Ferguson and Gordon just lost on the last hole.

Friendly rivalry was the order of the day for The Worcestershire’s ladies who formed themselves into opposing teams representing their captain Elsie Kelsall and her vice-captain Sue Boardman.

Playing better ball match-play, the sides could not be separated, recording a 5½-5½ draw.