Category D Open Championship (Level singles for Handicaps 30-39) 2015
Sep 25, 2015 - Sep 27, 2015 Hatfield J Dawes
Category D Singles Report
Hatfield once again had the honour of hosting the Category D Singles event for players between 30-39 handicap and as in previous years the event was split into 2 divisions 30-34 and 35-39.
In the 30-34 section the final ended up being an all Hatfield affair as Martin Richards, who last year won the 35-39 section, managed to triumph over Jonathan Fisher 6/5 6/4 in a very tense and closely fought battle. Jonathan started as favourite as the Number 1 seed, against his unseeded opponent but Martin always managed to keep his nose in front with an incredible exhibition of power hitting both in defence and attack. On 4 or 5 separate occasions Martin managed to beat chase 2 or better with forces for the Dedans, on game point, to keep his momentum and despite some very tenacious play from Jonathan, Martin always seemed to have an answer to everything he had to offer.
In the 35-39 section it was a battle of the young against the even younger as Rupert Derham, 28 year old member from Middlesex, took on Vaughan Hamilton,
15 year old member from Moreton Morrell. Both players had come through very tight semi-finals, Rupert against Newmarket member Mark Gooden 4/6
6/4 6/3 and Vaughan against Hatfield member David Barnes 5/6 6/3 6/3. Sadly the final couldn’t quite live up to either of those matches as Rupert
got off to a lightning fast start and rushed off to a big lead and Vaughan was never really able to get a foothold in the match. The final score
of 6/2 6/0 didn’t do the match justice and certainly judging by his two earlier matches, Vaughan has a huge amount of potential and will go on to be
a very good player in the future. Rupert was a very deserving winner though, putting in an almost faultless display in the final and will be
hoping to emulate Martin Richards next year in the 30-34 section.