I very much hope all 70 or so members who took part in the Captain v Deputy Captain Supper Match really enjoyed the event i.e. Friday evening dinner, Shot-gun start and BBQ on the Saturday morning. Deputy Captain Willie Finlayson might be disappointed if I didn’t mention his team won for the second year on the bounce! Well done Willie’s team. A big thankyou to all 20 of the Burgess members who represented our club so brilliantly at Ardglass and Royal Belfast over the 4 days in Northern Ireland. It was a great few days of drinking, eating and a little bit of golf. It is now some 16 years since the Burgess have won the Adamson-Watson Trophy! although Ian Park did win the warm-up event for the Panmure Trophy to emulate his brother Neil Park some years ago. I was fortunate to have an additional game with past Captain Bill Mattocks at Royal County Down prior to joining the others. This involved an invite to the members Hat Match from former RCD club professional of 30 years, Kevan Whitson; who for those of you who might remember was one of my fathers first assistants at the Burgess in the 70’s. Good luck to team playing at Northumberland and Bamburgh later this week. I am giving this one a miss after 5 days in Ireland. Over to our chaplain Michael Gray as match captain. Can I please ask all eligible members, if not planning to attend the EGM on 15 September 2026, and not done so already to please cast your vote online using the link below: Online Voting Form ********************** And so from the 1965 Pringle and Cobie LeGrange’s victory to the 1966 Pringle Tournament held for the second time at the Royal Burgess. Apparently some grumpy members not happy about course being used yet again for another pro event. The Course record of 64 set the previous year was equalled by JW Wilkshire in the pre-qualifying round on the Wednesday and no Peter Thomson (open Champion) this year, who withdrew at the last moment. Neil Coles led after 2 rounds on 136 with Peter Alliss one shot behind and went on to win by 3 strokes on 273. The Open Champion of a year later, Roberto de Vincenzo finished in fourth place. Of course Neil Coles is famously known as the greatest golfer the Americans have never heard of. He had a phobia of flying and only made 1 trip to the USA in 1965 for the US Masters. He was known for his mastery of fairway woods and in his 8 Ryder Cup appearances had a 5-6-4 record in an era where the Americans won virtually all the time. John Yuille - Captain 26th August 2026