Movement at the station

The Northern Tour blog will be moving to a new location.

Please point your browsery things to.....

http://northerntour.wordpress.com

Done and Won

Well, it's all over for 2009. The festvities have finished and the winner determined. At the finish, the leaderboard was as follows:

1. Ox, 139 - 66 and 73
2. Vaughn, 146 - 73 and 73
3. Craig, 149 - 72 and 77
4. Phantom, 150 - 70 and 80
5. Nigel, 153 - 74 and 79
6. Jack, 155 - 73 and 82
7. Glenn Simpson (82 and 76) and Matti (78 and 78) - 156
9. Gus, 161 - 79 and 82
10. Magoo, 164 - 86 and 78

Did not completely finish
11. Pop - 76
12. Bill - 87
13. Harty (the punter's favourite) - 94

A more detailed post mortem to follow at some point.

Heading into the final day

I haven't got all the scores handy, but the leaders are still

Ox on 66
Phantom 70

Then you've got

Craig 72
Vaughn 73
Jack 73
Nigel 74

The rest.

Pop and Harty are scratchings, so if you're on em, forget it.

Will post victory information later today.

New leader after day 2

While Melbourne finds itself in the throes of Tiger fever, those of us on the tour are now hunting an altogether different beast - The Ox. The leaderboard now looks like:

Ox 66
Phantom 70
Jack 73
Nigel 77
Craig 78
Gus 79
Glenn 82
Magoo 86
Billy 87
Harty 94

Yet to play are Vaughn, Pop and Matti. More info tomorrow.

Day 1 leaderboard

Tough day on the course, 39 degrees and very little in the way of respite.

Net scores

Phantom 70
Ox 73
Craig and Magoo 86
Nigel and Gus 88
Harry 98
Billy 101

We're all hoping for a cool change, but i'm not holding my breath.

More to come tomorrow.

Another one bites the dust.....

Pearcey is officially out - the beer shortage has been averted! Kingy has also confirmed he is out due to work commitments.

Is it too late to practice?

A week to go.....

The last few weeks have seen a number of the starters stumble at the thought of the impending challenge.

Casualties from first acceptances now include former winners in Drummond (80, 89 & 91), T Lane (94) & Harling (96), with evergreen aspirants in Big Mike, Col & Brother Ox all citing work as a distraction that can't be avoided and the defending champion (Kingy) also likely to lose the battle with work. Still no sighting of the Rat since his last surprise appearance at Oscar W's.

With the field and handicaps almost finalised this would be something close to how the TAB would frame a market if they were so inclined:

Hcap Player Non TAB
6 Craig Tingate * $7
16 John Palmer $8
22 Jim Roberts * $11
25 Greg Attrill * $14
26 Greg Lennox * $14
29 Glenn Simpson $16
32 Rob Hart * $14
33 Nigel Roulston $8
33 Michael De Nittis $9
36 Bob Starke * $11
43 Vaughn Moore $16
54 Bill McNaugtan * $9

late scratchings

11 Peter King *** scr
48 Tony Pearce * scr

*** defending champion
* past winner

Late Scratching

Brother Ox - no information at hand at the moment. Kingy now possibility. Will come back when I know more.

The 2009 Form

Well, it’s that time of year again when the blog sharpens its pencil and puts out the form guide for the upcoming festivities. This year is a mixed bag, but we’ll see what we can do. Floating around somewhere is a draft copy of the handicaps and the hypothetical rough odds, but I don’t have it handy so I’ll just make do with guessing :-)

Bill McNaughtan - aka The Metronome

Billy has been quiet this year. There don’t seem to have been any early morning journeys to Royal Park for a hit with the howler monkeys. I’m doubting he can regain the form he had as the winner a few years ago, but he is impossible to discount because of the massive handicap. Once again, I’d expect a good score early and a slow decline over the following days.

Place chance at best

Bob Starke - aka Gus

A recent winner who is trained to within an inch of perfection. At least for any lawn bowls that gets played while we are away. He’s in a good mood because his car which was recently nicked is now back and better than ever. Don’t ever discount a happy Gus.

Keep in the multiples

Craig Tingate - aka Craig

Truckloads of ability. Hard to go past. Handicap should go out a stroke or two this year, so I am expecting great things. He’s also been playing a little bit this year, but history has shown us that practice doesn’t necessarily improve his game.

Easily the best chance on form.

Gary Lennox - aka Brother Ox

Man on a mission. Disappointing effort last year and will be looking for something a bit more special this time around. It must hurt a bit that his brother has his name on the trophy and he doesn’t.

Same advice as last year - Monty as an each way, maybe even try for a good deal as one half of the quinnie with his brother

Glenn Simpson - aka Col's Brother

Will have to take part without his brother again this year, but he’ll have the experience of last year to help him through. Much better than history would suggest and probably a good idea to keep him safe. If he can get it together he's got the game and the handicap to be holding the trophy at the presentation (although that might just be so the winner can get a drink).

Not the worst

Greg Attril - aka Jack

Is the most quoted man on the tour :-) Multiple previous winner and can never be counted out. Always performs miraculously on the last day. May well feature at the finish.

Bet the place

Greg Lennox - aka Ox

Consistency is his hallmark. He can grind out a good four days and is worth keeping an eye on.

Back in a quinnie with Brother Ox

John Palmer – aka Pop

Probably should have won, but doesn’t seem to really have enough mongrel in him to pull it off. Coming back after a spell and has finally been smart enough to fly in instead of catching the bus. Perhaps this shows a previously unseen commitment and may herald in a new era of champion. Has nobbled himself a bit by deciding to only play two days.

Top 5

Michael De Nittis - aka The Phantom

Dark horse of the field. Been on the podium for the last 3 years but hasn’t quite taken the step up to the top. Definitely has the potential to do it this year and will probably hold a fair bit of the smart money.

Get on.

Nigel Roulston - aka Nigel

Has shown nothing in the past 12 months to suggest that he will be any better than previous years. Putting has improved a bit, but the rest of his game has become worse.

Once again, you would be better putting your money on Pearcey instead

Robert Hart - aka Harty

Recently suffered from a terrible bout of physical fitness but has now managed to pull himself out of it. Trained to a peak he will be tough to beat (to the pie shop).

Unlikely chance.

Tony Pearce - aka Pearcey

Has shown very little form over the last few years, so difficult to tell. If previous effort is any indication then I think you can all make up your own minds.

To quote a recent tipster in The Age - No

Vaughn Moore - aka Vaughn

Podium finish last year, and should be rested well for a return this year. Has the dubious distinction of driving up with Pop and will also only be participating in 2 days of bushwalking. This might make it difficult, but then again it might help.

On last year’s form, has to be considered.

Jim Roberts - aka Jimmy

Previous winner from way back, but with no reliable form. Apparently is a good player on his day so will probably be handicapped out of it for his first start after a long spell.

Dangerous, but probably not deadly.

There are a few noteable outs this year (at least at this point)

Peter “Kingy” King – the current champion will not be showing up to defend his title. I think he’s scared of Pearcey

Colwyn “Col” Simpson – managed to stuff up his working arrangements so badly that it means he has to do some.

Mike “Big Mike” Smith – recently changed jobs so has work related issues

Tony “Laney” Lane – I think it’s his wife’s anniversary

Kevin “Kev” Harling – Unknown

Jack says

Nigel is smart - yes, he really said that

Jack Says

I don't like listening to music through my ears

Will it be the year of the Gus?

It seems that 2007 has returned!

Geelong – check
Storm – check

Will R. Starke be making an appearance on the podium in Echuca on Thursday the 12th? Only time will tell, but if you are a fan of history I wouldn’t be betting against it.

Spring Hath Sprung

Well, here we are; September already. The warmer weather has given us the nudge we needed and thoughts now turn to those things more important than trying to stay warm:

• Who’s going to be in/win the grand final? (I’d say the Cats)


• What time do we show up for the GF eve lunch? (whenever the bar opens)


• Why are the NRL playing the Storm’s prelim final on the same day as the AFL GF? (who knows)


• Will Carlton be a chance next year? (yes, and a good one at that)


• Spring Carnival and of course


• The Great Northern Tour

Some (eg Craig and Nigel) have already begun practising for the week long event by playing in the recent DHS golf extravaganza at Spring Valley. Neither did terribly well (obviously Craig better than Nigel), but the excuse is that it was the windiest day this year (or possibly ever).

I’m sure others amongst you (eg Pearcey) have also begun warming up the shoulders. Leave a note and tell us what you’ve been up to.

53 days to go!

Step right up….

With the outbreak of warmer weather, thoughts begin to turn to this year’s tour (as if you ever think about anything else). Some who have a more organisational capacity begin thinking of logistics….

How many beers can I drink?
Where am I going to sleep?
What are the chances of winning the toss for the master bedroom this year? etc, etc.

Anyway, I think the chief handicapper and rules committee would appreciate it if those of you who may not be considered certainties would get in touch with some firm information about whether you will be touring and for how many nights you will be doing it. So, either get in touch with him directly, or leave a comment here and I’ll let him know.

Don’t forget to practise!

The Great Western Tour?

Forget two courses set together and Peter Bloody Thompson. How does 1,365Km for 18 holes sound? It’s not a joke, it’s 18 holes (which actually look alright), par 71 stretched from Ceduna, SA to Kalgoorlie, WA. It opens in August.

See here for details.

Not much to report

It’s all been a bit quiet on the GNT front. People seem to have been concerning themselves more about footy than anything else.

Pearcey is more than likely still in a state of inebriation following the win by his beloved Saints over the Cats of Sleepy Hollow. I’ll be surprised if he can get it together to grace us with his presence on Friday.

There is a gathering of tourers and others for a card night on Saturday, so that should give us some fodder for the blog. The only disappointment is that Jack “just hand over your money now and save yourself the trouble” Attrill will not be attending as it is his wife’s wedding anniversary. This is leaving some of the punters wondering who will avail themselves of the ATM moniker this round.

We shall see…..

124 days and counting.

Jack says

Maybe I should quit while I'm ahead