See BMGA rule 5.2 for deciding placings

On Saturday, 3rd April 2004, three momentus sporting occasions took place: The FA Cup semi-final between Man Utd and Arsenal at Villa Park, the Grand National at Aintree and last, but by no means least, the 3rd London Invitational Tournament at Broomfield Park. Despite the forecast of wind and rain, eight players took part in the LIT, which got underway at 11am after an hour's practise.

And they're off…

The first group out consisted of Russ Dent, Sally Weddell, Will Eagar and Jon Angel. Angel got away first, racing ahead as he did by acing the opening hole with a direct shot. Will was not to be outdone though - he aced the 3rd. By the time they reached the 17th, neither Will nor Jon had dropped a shot. But the 17th isn't nicknamed the "Rocky Horror Show" for nothing. Jon's tee shot flew out of bounds off the left rock and Will's hit the last rock. There will be no steward's inquiry. Eventually, both players finished the first round on 37, but the highlight of the round was Will's excellent ten-foot uphill putt on the 18th. Russ and Sally both came in with respectable scores, 44 and 47 respectively.

Meanwhile, there was a more tentative start in Group B, which consisted of Keith Kellard, Will Knight, Steve Gow and Michael Webb - no player standing better than at 'one-over' after 8 holes. But despite amassing a 5 at the 1st, Steve, who was playing for the first time at Broomfield Park, shot an incredible 40. Michael was also top form and galloped away from the rest of his group, scoring a 38 in typically calm fashion. Will and Keith both did well, each shooting 44.

After a short break to re-jig the groups and to get an update on the semi-final score, the second round commenced. Russ started confidently; acing the 3rd with a well-judged rebound shot and was ahead of the rest of his group at the 7th tee, standing at 'one-under' for the round. But Russ went on to drop one or two shots, allowing Keith and Will Knight to close the gap at the penultimate hole. Sally's unfortunate 7 at the same hole left her chasing the pack, but she can take consolation from the fact that she earns automatic selection for London Minigolf Club in this year's Club Championships. All four players went on to finish with a safe 3 the 18th, so over to Group B…

Steve, Michael, Will Eagar and Jon were all in good shape going into final round and with only three shots separating all four players, it was anyone's for the taking. Dropped shots at the 6th for everyone but Jon, placed him in the lead by two shots, ahead of Will and Michael. He kept this lead until the unlucky 13th, where his wayward tee-shot ended up out of bounds. A similar fate befell Will at the same hole, but Michael was able to capitalise by parring it - so he was now tied with Jon. Jon reclaimed the lead by casually acing the next and then played an excellent rebound shot at the 15th to maintain his lead. But a poor tee shot by Jon at the 17th, coupled with an excellent one by Michael brought them neck and neck going into the final furlong.

Steve, who even missed the Bahrain F1 qualifiers to play in the LIT, safely negotiated the obstacle at the 18th and so carded an outstanding two-round score of 86. A good performance by Steve, who was unlucky to be pipped into the London MC 'A' Team by Will Knight, whose second round eclipsed his first. Never before has rule 5.2.4 been so significant! 

Spectators were left to wonder whether Scott Coe had been training Will Eagar, for he again played a mesmerising putt to hole out from ten feet on the 18th - but alas it was not enough to challenge for the title. So it was left to Michael Webb and Jon Angel to battle it out - neither player having won this tournament before. Both players' tee shots were good, but Jon fell at the final hurdle, fluffing his second and third putts. In fact, Jon was the only player to card anything worse than a 3 at the last hole during the whole tournament.

So like Amberleigh House, Michael Webb came from behind to win and was crowned BMGA London Invitational Tournament Champion, 2004. He takes home a fine shield and joins previous winners, Graham Southern and Will Eagar in the London Hall Of Fame. All in all, it was a good day for Michael, whose team Newcastle defeated Everton later that afternoon.

London Minigolf Club thanks Ian Scagnelli once again for allowing Broomfield Park to stage the LIT and Alan Khadir for fine presentations of both the course and the LIT shield.

Words:Jon Angel