Super Seniors
Monday 5th October
Len Busch claimed the Super Seniors Knockout title on Monday, defeating Derek Love across The Mill & The Garden on a bright and sunny afternoon in a match that, by Len’s own admission, could have gone either way.
Derek made the stronger start, taking a two-hole lead at the turn on The Mill and arriving at the final three holes of The Garden still one up. The match swung on the par four Garden 7, where Len made a four to level proceedings. The 8th was halved in threes, sending both players to the 18th all square.
The final hole produced a fitting conclusion. Len’s drive found the right side of the fairway and left him work to do, while Derek striped his drive almost to the bunkers, the better ball in play by some distance. Len responded with a seven iron to around 12 feet, and Derek matched him with a wedge to a similar distance. Derek’s birdie putt came up short, leaving Len with 12 feet to win the match. He holed it.
Congratulations to Len Busch on a well-deserved victory, and well played to Derek Love on a fine match that was in the balance from the first hole to the last.
Senior Singles
Sunday 4th October
Bernard Yeoh claimed the Senior Singles Knockout title on Sunday, defeating Peter Gray, one half of this year’s Concorde Trophy winning partnership, across The Mill & The Garden in what proved to be a memorable and closely contested match played in foggy morning conditions.
Bernard was generous in his assessment of his opponent, describing watching Peter hit beautiful shots through the fog to within one-putt distance on the opening two holes as setting the tone for what lay ahead. Throughout the match, he observed Gray repeatedly recovering from difficult positions and placing the ball close to the hole from long range, a combination Bernard admitted he watched with “a mix of admiration and dread.”
The decisive moment came on the final hole, Garden 7, where fortune played its part. Bernard’s pulled drive somehow stayed out of the water, before a topped second shot found the fairway bunker, only for the ball to roll up and out of the sand into a playable lie at the top, leaving a wedge to the green. From there, Yeoh closed out the match and claimed the title in circumstances that he was the first to acknowledge owed something to the golfing gods.
Congratulations to Bernard Yeoh on a hard-fought and memorable victory, and well played to Peter Gray on another fine run in the competition.
Val’s Vase
Monday 28th September
The Val’s Vase Pairs Knockout Final was played across The Church & The Mill on Monday. Fiona Hockless &Siri Dal found themselves in a commanding position at the turn, five up through ten holes with the match seemingly in their control. What followed on The Mill was a spirited fightback from Mo Carruthers & Sue Noble, who began to claw their way back into contention and make the closing holes far more tense than the halfway scoreline had suggested.
In the end, Fiona and Siri held on to claim the title on the 18th, but not without a nervous finish. Fiona was candid afterwards, admitting she went on something of a holiday on the back nine, and paying warm tribute to Siri, who kept the partnership together when it mattered most and ensured the early advantage was not entirely surrendered.
Congratulations to Fiona Hockless and Siri Dal on winning the Val’s Vase Pairs Knockout, and well played to Mo Carruthers and Sue Noble on a determined fightback that made for a memorable final.
Concorde Trophy
Sunday 27th September
The Concorde Final was played out across The Mill & The Garden on Sunday in blustery conditions, producing a closely fought match between Peter Gray & Alistair Brown and Brendan Nelson & John Langston. Played throughout in excellent spirit, it was the kind of match that does the competition proud.
Nelson and Langston had a strong start, taking the first hole to go one up. The following seven holes were halved in what was a tight and absorbing opening nine, before Gray and Brown won the 9th to bring the match back to all square at the turn.
The back nine continued in the same vein. Nelson and Langston took the 10th to edge ahead again, only for Gray and Brown to respond with a win on the 13th to level proceedings once more. Both pairs halved the par five 14th before Gray and Brown made their decisive move, winning the 15th to go one up with three to play.
The 16th was halved, leaving Gray and Brown needing a win on the par three 17th to close out the match. They duly delivered, winning the hole and claiming the Concorde title two and one.
Congratulations to Peter Gray and Alistair Brown on a hard-fought victory, and to Brendan Nelson and John Langston on pushing them every step of the way in a match that was in the balance for the vast majority of the 17 holes played.
Rank List
The Concorde Final has dramatically reshaped the Rank List with three events remaining in the season. Peter Gray and Alistair Brown claimed victory in the Concorde Final, each earning 350 points, and the impact on the standings has been seismic.
Peter Gray rockets from sixth to the top of the Rank List on 1,811.17 points, with Alistair Brown making an equally extraordinary leap from eighth to second on 1,777.39 points, just 33.78 behind his Concorde partner at the summit. It is a remarkable turnaround for both players, who between them have transformed the top of the table in a single result.
Neil Sharpe drops from first to third on 1,758 points, 53.17 behind the new leader, with Darren Wills fourth on 1,726.5 points and Daryl Cook fifth on 1,669.03 points. With the top five separated by just 142.14 points, the Rank List title remains entirely open heading into the final straight.
Ladies Vase
Wednesday 2nd September
Helen Heasman claimed the Ladies Vase Knockout title on Wednesday, defeating Cindy Dawes across The Church & The Mill in a final played in excellent spirits throughout.
The match was contested in the kind of warm, sunny conditions that had come to define the summer of 2026, a season that had tested players and greenkeeping staff alike with its relentless heat. On this occasion the sunshine provided a fitting backdrop to what was a well-contested final between two players who did the competition proud from the first hole to the last.
Congratulations to Helen Heasman on a deserved victory, and well played to Cindy Dawes on a fine run to the final.