It was the first 36 hole competition of the season and conditions were perfect for the Rider Cup at Falmouth Golf Club last Saturday.

This year's sponsor was Blue Flame and they ensured that the thermostat had been adjusted, as the weather was boiling hot. Early leaders after the morning round were Paul Collins, who had a gross 73 for a net 68, Steve Thomas, also on 68, Tony Annear on 67, Marek Churcher, 66 and the leader after the morning round, Jeff Lenihan, who returned a net 65.

Jeff is an unknown quantity and all eyes were on him to see if he could repeat it after his lunch. They set off for the afternoon round and some succumbed to the pressure, but others thrived on it. 3rd place overall went to the unflappable postman, Gerry Storey.

He followed up his first round 71, with a 2nd round 70 for a total of 141. The star of the afternoon round was Grant Nicholls, who scored an impressive 67 to take 2nd place overall, which was the best score after lunch and resulted in a total of 141, beating Gerry on the back 9. Having done so well in the morning a disappointed Mr Lenihan was unable to return his second card, after losing a ball on the 17th.

This left the door wide open for our very own globe-trotting rugby guru/psychologist, Marek Churcher. Recently back from his travels and having put himself in the mix with his morning round, he just needed to hold it all together in the afternoon sunshine. Despite an early wobble, he managed to produce back to back birdies at 12 and 13 and another at 16 to secure a 1 under par 70, which gave him an overall score of 136.

This resulted in victory by five shots and earned him the prestigious title of Rider Cup Champion for 2012.

Results: 1st Marek Churcher 136 (66, 70), 2nd Grant Nicholls 141 (74, 67), 3rd Gerry Storey 141 (71, 70)

The previous week saw the ever popular Spring Open, which signals the start of the season. It usually sets the scene for the year and over 150 took advantage of the fantastic late April weather. Second place on the day went to the youthful team of Tom Hunt, Harry Perry and Paul Tripp. They scored consistently during their round and ended up with a very creditable 81pts. 1st place on the day went to the ultra veteran squad of the 3 stooges, Bob Aggus, Gary Muchan and Gerry Storey, who used their vast and varied experience to carve out a winning score of 84pts. We should also mention at this juncture that the Club's star of stage and screen, Paul Jose, who has appeared on Radio 2's Popmaster once every 6 months for the last five years, recorded a hole in one on the tricky 11th, it is believed he went down the shaft of his driver and took an easy swing to produce his ace.