ROUND one of the winter betterball competition at The Worcestershire Golf Club took place in mixed weather.

Overcast conditions greeted the morning starters but when the sun came out the wind became a factor to contend with. Played off three-quarter handicaps, there were plenty of good scores which resulted in a close finish, with the first two pairs, Peter Basten (18 handicap) and Jim Wilde (14) and Norman Bolton (10) and Andrew Boyd (15), gaining qualification for the match-play stage next year.

Both pairs scored 43 points, as did the experienced pairing of Alan Watts (7) and Carl Baylis (3) in third place.

The following day, 32 pairs took part in the first of the season of winter mixed competitions — a mixture of nine holes greensome and nine holes betterball. The winners were Liz Pool (26) and John Williams (17) who came in with a staggering 48 points. Jane Tromans (20) and John Flanagan (23) were second with 45 points.

The seniors’ betterball matchplay title was won by Terry Price (14) and Peter Taylor (23), who defeated Eric Hadwin (17) and Peter Jackson (28) on the 17th green.