2023 has brought the return of the very popular, early season Alternate Strokes AC Pairs Tournament at Crake Valley. The last time this was held was 2019, so it was great to welcome 16 players from 7 North West based clubs, on a sunny, if windy, day in the Crake Valley.
There were 3 rounds of matches in two “seeded” blocks, playing 18 point games to determine the finalists. In Block A, Howard Bowron & Sandra Cornes (Penrith & Crake Valley) and Gail Moors & Phil Snowdon (Southport & Fylde) used their (small number) of bisques effectively to both win two out of three games.
By virtue of a better hoop difference Gail & Phil progressed. In Block B, the holders (David Cornes & Simon Robins – Crake Valley) won two matches but were beaten to top place by the more experienced Steve Skelton & Jim Wilson (Keswick) who had two wins and a tie.
The final saw Gail & Phil take the lead but as their bisques reduced, the greater the chance of a comeback by Steve & Jim. In the end Gail & Phil stayed ahead by two hoops to win the event. This is a great achievement by two 10-handicap players who have never played together before.
