MARK Roberts marked his first anniversary as a member of The Worcestershire Golf Club by winning the Spring Meeting Medal.

The 12-handicapper carded a nett 68, the best score of the 120 entrants, took Division One by two strokes and lifted the Easter Challenge Prize.

Six players returned nett 70 to vie for the minor placings in the first division, with Lynn Morgan (handicap 11) securing second place from Dave Marshall (1) in third, with Steve Bradshaw (8) fourth.

Consistent play from Division Two’s Jon Lane (17) saw him take the Spencer Cup on countback from Peter Jolley (13), both on 69, ahead of Peter McNeil (13) on 71 and John Whitehead (16) on 72.

The Horton Cup, for Division Three players, went to Wayne Stinton (22) on 70, with Edward Gaynor-Smith (22) easing second place from Mike Holt (19), both on 71, with Oliver Kitchen (24) fourth on 72.

The Worcestershire’s ladies competed in the EG Trust Stableford where Division One was taken by Diane Meakin, on 39 points ahead of second-placed Janet Long and Liz Evans in third with both on 36.

Returning to form, Betty Hakes led home Division Two with 38 points ahead of Brenda Jones on 37 and Liz Bird on 36. Meakin and Hakes hope that their combined score will be sufficient to qualify for the better-ball element of this national competition.

From a smaller entry, the ladies’ weekend medal saw a win for April Wilding-Greene, whose nett 75 was matched by second-placed Tina Jukes, with Jane Poynder third on 77.

Kate Cross returned an excellent score of 19 points to secure the nine-hole stableford by one stroke from Barbara Teale, with Liz Gordon third on 16.

Division One of the men’s mid-week stableford went to IJC Smith (16) on 37 points ahead of Thomas Deehan (4) and Graham Chatterton (14), both on 34.

MJ Downes (18) took Division Two with 36 points, from Brian Piner (19) on 35 and Alan Homfray on 33. Meanwhile. the inter-club matches brought mixed fortunes for The Worcestershire.

The men’s A team struggled to cope with challenging course conditions at Sapey in the second fixture of their A Team League campaign, going down to the home side 4 ½ : 1 ½ .

The only high point for the visitors was a creditable half for the new pairing of Josh Marshall (5) and Nick Day (9).

Marshall was in good form again and the experienced Day held his nerve to hole some vital putts in the closing holes.

The pairings of Andy McCabe (4) and Bill Thomas (9) along with Gez Bird (7) and Tom Davies (3) were both unfortunate to lose one down on the last hole.

Steve Carter (9) and Rich Higgs (6), one up at the turn, were faced with third birdies in six holes and ended losing 3&2.

Reliable duo Brian Kendall (12) and Dave Tucker (9) also lost 3&2 despite playing some very tidy golf.

The Worcestershire will play at home in their next fixture against Evesham and hope for a change of fortune. The ladies’ DICL squad ran out winners by three matches to two in a closely-fought contest at Gaudet Luce.

Winners for The Worcestershire were Jill Piner, Pat Rose and Helen Thomas, while Brenda Jones and Penny Stevenson lost on this occasion.