Stephen Mulliner won the Ramsgate GC Open

[<<] [>>] by Trevor Longman at Ramsgate Croquet Club
15 Jun 2014 (GC)

The entry list for this Ascot Cup-qualifying tournament was particularly formidable this year with, under the new handicap system, 16 players with handicaps ranging from -2 to +2. Cliff Jones managed the tournament, ably assisted by his dog Jessie.

The competition started with two all play all blocks of eight. Some of the highest ranked players did not make a particularly good start and, at the end of the block stage, only David Dray, from Ramsgate, had won six out of seven games with three other players winning five out of seven.

The top four from each block progressed to the best of three game quarter finals, which started on the Saturday evening & completed on Sunday morning. David Dray then beat James Goodban 7-5 3-7 7-3) in the first semi-final and Stephen Mulliner beat Lionel Tibble (7-4 7-2) in the second.

In the thrilling final, David Dray took the first game 7-5 but Stephen Mulliner came back to win the second game 7-4 and the third 7-5 to take the championship and retain the trophy he had won the previous year.

The weather remained fair but not too hot for the whole weekend and the Ramsgate wind did not significantly materialise. At the prize giving, Stephen Mulliner thanked Ramsgate on behalf of the players for the splendid hospitality they had received throughout the weekend, including a bar-b-q on the Saturday evening. Also, for the very good condition of the lawns and the hard work of all who helped to make the tournament a success.

Our thanks go to Cliff Jones who managed the competition with great friendliness and vivacity and also to all the entrants, many of whom travelled long distances to play. All players exhibited extremely good and skilful play throughout and were a great example to the game.