Over the last two Sundays some excellent mixed foursomes golf has been played at Birstall Golf Club, as 30 pairs from across Leicestershire and Rutland have competed for the prestigious Baxter Trophy. 

Some great scores were recorded in the qualifying round with just 3 shots separating the top 8 pairs.  The four qualifying semi finalists from the first week being Steve Sansome and Maz Sharpe (Rothley Park) Gross 75, Clayton Turvey and Joanne Morris-Bourne (Willesley Park) Gross 75, Rachel East and John Fairbrother (Cosby) Gross 76, and Vicky Mayfield and Lee North (Rothley Park) Gross 77.

However in complete contrast to the dry sunny day for the qualifying round on Sunday 13^th October, the semi finals on the morning of 20^th October were played in very wet and windy conditions but as the final started in the afternoon, the sun came out and whilst the wind remained gusty, the afternoon was dry and bright.

In the first semi final the two Rothley Park pairs were drawn together, with Steve Sansome and Maz Sharpe continuing their winning form from the qualifying round to win 6 and 5.  The second semi final was closely fought and went to the 18^th with Willesley Park winning 1 up against Cosby, to set up a final between Rothley Park and Willesley Park.  There was some excellent golf from both pairs in the final but the partnership of Steve Sansome and Maz Sharpe remained on form beating last year’s winners, 4 and 3 to win the Baxter Trophy for Rothley Park.

Thanks to Birstall Golf Club for hosting the competition and for making everyone so welcome and to the referees Phil Askew and Angela Allington.  Congratulations to all those players who reached the semi finals and particular congratulations to the 2024 winners, Steve Sansome and Maz Sharpe.

Other prizes from the Qualifying Day were:

Best Gross – Steve Sansome and Maz Sharpe (Rothley Park) - Gross 75

Best Nett – Joe Hodson and Tracey Griffiths (Whetstone) Nett 69 on countback from Second Nett  - Spencer Sheffield and Jan Yeung (Glen Gorse) Nett 69

Full results can be seen at the following link by selecting the relevant round from the drop down menu at the top:

2024 Baxter Trophy Results