Good morning all ... Another fine & glorious day on the English South Coast ... we have had excellent weather for the first four days & everything is set fair again.

We have had a special tournament so far & today is set to follow on. The only controversy has been the title of the event. The worldwide readership is possibly somewhat leery of the British habit of knowing their tournaments at just "The Open" (for instance, Golf) or "Wimbledon". But with all the tweaks to the national status of the CA within the WCF, we seem to have sown some confusion among local players. Anyway, I am sticking to "English CA" rather than British, although perhaps historians will have plenty to say on the topic. Anyway, back to things more exciting ... the croquet ...

The first three days have thrown up some exciting croquet. The changes to the format as discussed on the Nottingham List have actually not yet brought to pass the improvements intended by the GC Tournament Committee. The first issue being that the entry only reached 27, rather than the 32 wished for, which would have made full use of the four days (three best of threes for every player on the first two days). Instead players have experienced conditions more like a World Championship: quite amount of sitting around, with most players only having two matches on at least one day. However, the good news has been the discovering of John Paul Moberly, aged 20 and in his second season of croquet. He beat Reg Bamford in the block play, came second in the block, won his first round knockout match with some consistent big hitting and then pushed Stephen Mulliner really hard in the quarter final. It is a pleasure to know that the collection of young English players has a new addition.

The most dramatic match of the first two rounds of knockout matches was Reg Bamford v Pierre Beaudry. The latter had a scare against Nelson Morrow in the first round but came through in three. He then found no form in the first game against Reg ... he suffered his first ever 0-7 loss in a game of GC!? However, he suddenly found his touch and started trading the biggest of blows with Reg after he was 2-5 down in the second. Pierre ran some fantastic 7-yard hoops and made several long clearances, leaving Reg under pressure and starting to miss some very short hoops. The pivotal moment of the match was in the third ... after another unlikely mistake by Reg at hoop 10, Pierre was able to clear Reg to 30+ yards on the South boundary, leaving Pierre with a four-foot hoop for a 6-4 lead. However, Reg hit the return clearance and went on to win 7-6, running hoop 13 from the boundary ...

So, this takes us to the semi-final stage of the main event. These start in 15 minutes (10:30 local time). Reg Bamford plays Martin French (on court 1). Stephen Mulliner plays Rachel Rowe (on court 4). The top two seeds are through, with Reg having the previously observed challenges along the way. Stephen has been less troubled (winning 16 out of 16 games, with only two going to the 13th hoop). However, he lost to Rachel in the knockout of the European Championship, which she then went on to win. Martin reached the semi-final by finding good form against Lionel Tibble who had previously been having a strong tournament.

Martin v Reg has just started ... Martin Be & Bk ... good first approach ... Rd misses ... Bk almost covers Be & Yw hits Bk instead of Be ... Martin 1-0 Reg ...

Meanwhile on court 2, John Paul is playing another young English hope, James Goodbun. First game was close ... James won 7-5 ... on hoop 4 in second, with James leading 2-1 ...

Reg puts in a good Rd ... Martin misses with both balls ... Reg 1-1 Martin.

Martin over approaches hoop 3 ...

Reg is able to make a six-yard clearance & leave Martin with a 20-yard shot, which he misses ...

Reg 2-1 Martin.

Stephen & Rachel finally starts ... Stephen's main warm up was putting all the hoops in new holes on the two show courts ...

Stephen is playing Be & Bk ...

Rd ran hoop 3 to N boundary ... can not see Bk for clearance but makes a block instead. All balls within one yard of each other about six feet in front of hoop 4 ... Martin manages to construct a clearance that takes out both of Reg's balls enough to at least prevent him running the hoop.

Be comes back in. Then Rd.

Martin clears the threatening Rd with good control ...

Meanwhile, Nelson Morrow is going a good job of still walking around with a cheery air after he played nine games yesterday, seven of which went to hoop 13!?

Reg & Martin exchange approaches & clearances at hoop 4 ...

and then we have a wrong ball ... !? ... great to see when the World Champion is playing the Chairman of the CA Rules Committee ... ;-) ...

Martin does not spot when Reg plays out of sequence but they then realise after Martin's shot ... probably not much harm done on this occasion ... Martin seems worried by moisture on his mallet handle, fetches a towel ...

Stephen & Rachel have taken their time on hoop 1 ...

Sorry ... domestic break there ... Reg broke the deadlock with a free shot at a double from 18 yards ... runs hoop 4 & then takes 5 ... he is total command of 6 too ... Reg 4-1 Martin.

Martin can do nothing ... Reg 5-1 Martin ... Yw lurking onside about 1 yard West of hoop 7 ...

Stephen 2-1 Rachel but the latter has control at 4 ...

Martin in trouble at 7 ...

Reg 6-1 Martin ... Nothing big from Reg but the solid 7-yarders are putting the pressure on ...

Meanwhile, Stephen wrestles back control ...

Martin approaches 8 poorly ... he is neither wired from Rd (which ran hoop to N boundary) nor in hoop running position ...

Martin runs hoop 8 from 9 yards ... Martin 2-6 Reg ...

Stephen & Rachel still battling ... she so often seems to find a way to stay in hoops when the chips are down ...

Nothing spectacular but consistent, steady play ...

Martin clears Reg to W boundary from position in front of 9 ...

Stephen makes hoop 4 ... Stephen 3-1 Rachel ...

Reg comes back in ...

Stephen runs hoop 5 from S boundary with the Bk ball that had run hoop 4!! ... Stephen 4-1 Rachel ...

Martin clears Reg to N boundary, from where Reg can only clear Bk to 8 yards from Yw ... Martin makes that return clearance to N boundary, so Reg attempts hoop from there ... hits inside of right leg ...

Martin rushes Bk closer to hoop ...

Reg misses the 30-yard clearance attempt ...

Martin makes the 2-foot hoop & hits the outside left leg of hoop 10 ... Martin 3-6 Reg ... Yw is at 6 yards & Reg fails to wire himself with approach of Yw but then Martin over approaches with Be ...

Martin misses with Yw ...

Rachel 2-4 Stephen ...

Stephen 5-2 Rachel ... (as you can probably tell I am closer to court 1 than to court 4 ... sorry Mulliner & Rowe fans) ...

On court 2, James was too good for John Paul ... The former will play the winner of Pierre & Lionel, which is now in a third, deciding game ...

Reg duly runs a simple Yw ... Reg 7-3 Martin ...

Stephen 6-2 Rachel ...

And then has simple hoop for the first game ... Stephen 7-2 Rachel ...

Martin approaches hoop 1 poorly ...

Reg attempts angled hoop from N boundary ... fails but spins to position to block Bk from having a shot at the hoop ...

I am going to go onto battery power & give you news of Stephen & Rachel for their second game ...

Reg 7-3, 1-0 Martin

Rachel 1-0 Stephen ... She puts in good first approach, which Stephen hits but she then wins the exchange of clearances ...

Stephen's approaches are immaculate & Rachel misses her clearance with Yw ...

Reg & Martin still on hoop 2 ...

Stephen elects to clear rather than angled hoop with Rd lurking ... this does the job as Rachel misses the return 8-yard clearance ... she will be in this match if she can get those going ... Stephen 7-2, 1-1 Rachel ...

Private correspondence has suggested that "Mulliner fan" is an oxymoron (or rare breed?) ... harsh ... and I will leave the audience to judge whether fair!?

Rachel wins the approach phase but shifts both of Rachel's balls with a 7-yard clearance ...she is able to keep control with her return clearance ...

Rd clears Bk to N boundary ... but Stephen makes the return 7-yard clearance ... Rachel can only get Yw to one side of hoop but Stephen attempts a soft hoop shot from 5 yards ... hits outside of right leg ...

Yw into jaws ...

Be makes sure Rd is on East boundary & unable to peel Yw ... Bk has lurked for the clearance from behind hoop, which duly gets made ...

Yw only leaves Be with 7-yard shot at Rd from E boundary ... made ... no balls in front of hoop again ...

Rd to East of hoop, leaving longer shot for Be ... Bk to perfect position ... Yw to four yards ...

Be fails to cover Bk ... Rd makes easy clearance ... almost into jaws of 11 ... but Stephen thinks he has shot at Yw ... misses ... Yw nudges Be away ... cagey stuff at the moment ...

Reg 2-0 Martin ... not able to report how that happened but they are only just making their approaches to hoop 3 ...

Rachel makes 5-yard clearance ...

And Stephen is able to make return clearance ... Rachel has a 8-yard clearance ... She hits ... Centre ball ...

Pierre has beaten Lionel ...

Stephen hits Yw with Bk but it bounces off hoop & stays close by ... Rachel is able to put into dolly position ... Be clears Rd but not by enough to worry Rachel ... she clears Bk to 12 yards from Yw ...unfortunately not wired though ...

And Stephen hits his mid-weight shot with total precision ... now he is the one with the upper hand ...

He takes advantage with a hoop shot from the boundary ... just crawls through ... Stephen 7-2, 2-1 Rachel ...

Reg 3-0 Martin ...

Looks like we are heading to Bamford-Mulliner ... again ...

Rachel over approaches with first shot to hoop 4 ... but looks like she gets control until now Stephen is hitting at 10 yards ... he is not showing much sign of weakness ...

Until he misses from 8 yards ... bows head in disappointment ... and Rachel sticks in jaws from two feet!? ... Mulliner with easy four-foot jump ... into jaws & out!? ... Now Rachel will get this hoop ... Be is on West boundary level with hoop 2 ...

Rachel does nothing special with Yw ... Be goes to half-way ... Rd through by two feet ... Rachel 2-7, 2-2 Stephen ...

The players exchange shots around hoop 5 ... Stephen fails hoop with Be from 5 yards ... but then uses that ball to make clearance to S boundary with Bk in good position ...

Rachel makes the 9-yard clearance!! ... the position swings towards her again ...

Reg wins ... 7-3, 7-1 ... I think he means business this year ...

Shots being exchanged again in front of hoop 5 ...

I am trying to do some research at the same time as the commentary ...

Rachel hits another 10-yard shot to keep herself in hoop & then Stephen clips the Yw (which made clearance) instead of hitting Rd, which is in front of hoop ... Rachel 2-7, 3-2 Stephen ...

She does not run the hoop by much ... but after a good approach by Bk, her Yw is even better ...

Needs a long Yw clearance now though ... misses from 25 yards ...

Stephen fails hoop!? ... from 5 feet ... Rd clears the failed Be & is now perfectly in front ... Bk makes the controlled clearance ... Yw approaches deep ... Be to four feet from East boundary ...

Stephen only just clips Yw ... almost cut to wired position behind hoop but Rachel can see Be & clears to beside hoop 4 ... Stephen tries soft approach / hoop run ... drifts past hoop ... Rachel can only get in jaws though ... Bk & Yw approach ... Be clears Rd ...

Now Rachel clears from 25 yards!! ...

Bk to angled position ... Yw to good position ... Be clears Rd, which comes back in ... And when Bk clears Yw it can not stay in front of hoop ... So the hoop is back in the balance ...

Mistake from Rachel though ... in the return approach from beyond hoop 3, she hits that hoop & falls behind hoop 6 ... :-(

Stephen decides to put Be just out of jaws of hoop ... even though Rachel has two balls behind ... Rd misses though ...

From 8 yards, Stephen goes for the peel ...

I lie ... he clears Yw instead ...

Now Rachel is on N boundary & decides not to shoot ... she often makes this shot ... she avoids having to approach hoop 7 from 30 yards if she misses the clearance ...

Stephen makes hoop 6 unchallenged ... Stephen 7-2, 3-3 Rachel ...

She now uses the ball that she only put to half way to cover her good first approach ... Stephen can only hit the covering ball & not make the cannon ... hoop to Rachel & a big cheer for the conservative line of play ... Rachel 2-7, 4-3 Stephen ...

Furthermore, she runs the hoop to the close vicinity of hoop 8 ... slightly too much of an angle to run, unfortunately ...

She does then make a mistake in over approaching with Yw ...

They trade shots in front of the hoop ...

Stephen then has an 8-foot hoop that he makes ... Stephen 7-2, 4-4 Rachel ...

Rachel approaches 9 well ... Stephen clears with first ball ...

They exchange shots ... Rachel just ahead ...

Since 2008, Reg & Stephen have shared the Open Championship title as follows ... 2008 - Reg, 2009 - Reg, 2010 - Stephen, 2011 - Stephen, 2012 - Stephen, 2013 - Stephen ... they have been the competing finalists in all years apart from 2010 ... but modesty prevents me from reminding the reader who caused a shock in 2010 by beating Reg in the semi-final! ...

Yw is now in best position ... but Bk is at 5 yards ... Stephen makes that position stronger by clearing Yw with Be from near the peg ...

Martin French has just drawn attention to Stephen's secret weapon this year ... special "farty" shoes ... !?

And at his pace that is quite high tempo farting ... !?

It is working for him though ... he gets a mallet to make sure the hoop is firm but then sails through with Bk from 5 yards without touching the sides ... !! ... Stephen 7-2, 5-4 Rachel ...

Good approaches from Yw & Be ... but then she over approaches with Rd ... but Stephen does no better, hitting the back of the hoop with Bk ...

They exchange shots ... some on the sidelines expect Rachel to press the panic button & start some long hoop shots but she keeps it tight & ends up with two balls in front ...

It all comes good for her ... Rachel 2-7, 5-5 Stephen ...

He has Bk near peg, onside from clearing Yw but he hits back of hoop (again!) ...

After the approaches he can use Bk to clear Yw ... Yw from N boundary ... 10 yards ... misses ...

Stephen has a 3-foot hoop ... should go all the way to hoop 12 ... but no ... only through by three feet ... Stephen 7-2, 6-5 Rachel ...

Rd to perfect position ... Bk then Yw deeper ...

Backswing on Be is slightly hampered by hoop but he hits Rd ... !!

Rachel hits back of 12 ... !?

Bk clears Yw ... Yw back ... Be in ... Rd back through ...

Bk clears Yw ...

Then all sorts of fun ... Yw hits Be ... knocking Rd through the hoop ... !! ... only problem is both Be & Rd have no approach to 13 ... Rachel 2-7, 6-6 Stephen ...

Bk is onside on N boundary ... easy approach to perfect position ...

Yw deep ... Be to level with peg ... Rd to East boundary where she has an 8-yard shot at Bk ... Be fails to make the block ... but Rachel misses with Rd ...

For once, Stephen only has to lie down once ... he makes the hoop ... Stephen 7-2, 7-6 Rachel ...

Final due to start in 80 minutes ... Off to lunch for a while ...

Final due in 10 minutes ...

We also have three other finals taking place ...

Plate (position 17 & 18) ... Andrew Hope (SCO) versus Ivor Brand ...

Bowl (position 8 & 9) ... Richard Brooks versus David Wise (AUS) ...

Superbowl (position 5 & 6) ... Pierre Beaudry (BEL) versus James Goodbun ...

So which accumulator do you want ... all the B's (Bamford, Beaudry, Brooks, Brand) ... or all the ENG (Mulliner, Goodbun, Brooks, Brand) ... ? ...

Bamford & Mulliner enter the court ... to a smattering of applause ...

Reg goes straight into his normal practice routine ... balls about three yards apart ... not practicing failure but instead checking he has his shooting in the groove for a shot that he knows he can hit ...Stephen is making his way around the hoops ...

Now Reg does two approaches to 1 ... then to 2 ... then to 3 ... Stephen has reached hoop 8 ... he is practicing failure ... blobbing from 3 yards ... the players are crossing each other ... Reg to 4 ... Stephen to 10 ...

Now Stephen misses from 2 yards ...

Crossing down the middle ...

Stephen makes two perfect approaches to 13 ...

Now the start ... Reg wins toss ... Approach to 3 yards from hoop 1 ... then Stephen suddenly decides that the hoops need to be banged in properly ... !? The crowd heckles ...

The crowds also ask about the career record between Bamford & Mulliner ... the GC rankings now give an easy answer to that question ...

http://rank.wcfcroquet.org/gcrank/player_total.php?tplayertfn=Reg&tplayertsn=Bamford&playcode=266&oppo_order=oppo_games

Reg's most frequent opponent is Stephen ... played 22 ... won 13 ... win percentage 59 % ...

Rd & Bk deep approaches ... Yw clears Be just enough .. Be does not get into jaws ... falls out to 6 inches at an angle ...

Rd clears Bk, which returns ... Yw misses Be, into jaws & spins out ...

Be makes hoop ... Reg 1-0 Stephen ...

Rd to 5 feet ... Bk shoots & misses (Be is about 2 feet through hoop 1) ...

Yw to about 7 feet ...

Reg has slight hampering & plays softer shot than usual that just misses everything ...

Stephen stalks, re-stalks ... shot spins out of jaws to be on the right hand wire ...

Bk from South boundary ... bouncing bomb over Be ball ... tries to clear Rd from hoop ... too high up the hoop ... Stephen peels Rd with Yw ... the latter nestles into jaws ... Stephen 1-1 Reg ...

Good approach with Be ... Rd has to attempt clearance ... makes roquet but only shifts Be from 3 foot to 4 foot position ... easy angle, so Reg plays Bk to half way ... Yw towards peg ... Be runs absolutely cleanly ... Reg 2-1 Stephen ..

Rd & Bk both to good position ... (Be is on N boundary) ... Yw to absolute dolly position in front of hoop ... Be can see Rd though ... Slams into right hand wire of hoop ...

Rd clears Bk to S boundary in front of hoop 9 ...

Bk shoots ... hits inside of left wire ... !! ... wow! ... close ... Stephen makes Yw ... Stephen 2-2 Reg ...

Be to close position ... Rd clears with reasonable control ... Bk to three feet ... Yw to six feet ...

Be attempts to clear Yw ... from seven yards ... misses completely ...

Rd clears Bk towards hoop 10 ... about 14 yards ... Reg decides to attempt block ... falls short ... Stephen stalks & then backs off again for lie down ... shot into jaws & then spins to left hand side of hoop ... possibly wired from Bk ...

Be approaches to 3 feet ... hidden by Bk from Rd ... Rd attempts to be six inches in front of hoop ... falls three feet short ... Bk can easily see Yw, which bounces off hoop 2 ... leaving Yw open ... 20 yards ... hops a foot off the ground half way towards Be but hits centre ball ... !! ...

Be attempts hoop ... about 10 yards & 30 degrees ... hits outside of right-hand leg ... goes off S boundary nearly dead in front of hoop 11 ...

Commentry box attacked by bee ... !? ...

Lost track of shots ... Rd runs ... Stephen 3-2 Reg ... with great control to six feet in front of hoop 6 ...

Bk to two feet ...

Yw is beside Be, so clears to East boundary ... Be no problem ... centre ball from 14 yards ...

Rd nicks Bk, so latter is now 4 yards at angle ... Rd in vicinity of hoop 7 ... about 45 degrees ... Bk goes to one foot position ... Yw to four foot position ... Be to close by Yw ...

Rd hits the 12-yard shot ...Bk though clears Yw from 8 yards ... centre ball ...

Yw makes the 14-yard clearance ... this is slowly beginning to feel like Bamford versus Nasr in the World Championship final ... game 5, hoop 6 ... a series of 14+ yard clearances ... Reg lost that hoop in the end but then completed the come back of legends ...

Be, Rd, Bk approach ... Bk is covering Rd's hoop shot & Yw's shot at Be ... Stephen fails to achieve the canon ... Reg from 4 feet ... through by 3 feet ... Reg 3-3 Stephen ...

Rd to perfect position ... Bk to boundary ... Yw to deeper position ... Be misses 7-yard clearance ... !? ...

Rd runs with great control to three yards in front of 8 ... 30 degree angle ... Bk approaches deep ... Yw also to angled position (closer but more difficult angle) ... Be to better position ...

One lie down & an attempt at the hoop ... fails ... Bk clears Rd to beyond hoop 9 & bounces off hoop to remain in vicinity ... Yw clears Be to East boundary ... Be back in ...

Rd clears Bk from to 16 yards to East boundary ... but this only leaves Bk with an 8-yard shot at Yw ... (sorry missed telling you Stephen 4-3 Reg) ...

Bk clears, Yw misses from 18 yards ... Be runs to N boundary ... Reg 4-4 Stephen ...

Rd to four foot position ... Bk shoots ... misses ... Yw almost makes block ... Be from 15 yards ... hits Yw ... & then just passes hoop ... Stephen lies down ... then again ... makes hoop ... but only through by four feet ... Stephen 5-4 Reg ...

Bk to prime position ... Yw drifts left a bit ... level with Bk ... Be to five feet ...

Rd hits Be ... which goes onto Bk & then to almost totally frustrate Reg just misses going into jaws ...

Then the controversy we have been missing ... Reg is about to play (correctly) Bk ... but then Stephen intervenes to tell Reg it is Be to play ... the crowd includes half-a-dizen referees but we all sit confused ... almost certainly we should have intervened for wrong advice ... but in the hesitation, Reg plays Be & Stephen plays Rd for a second time ... it probably does not make much difference to the balance of the hoop ... several shots are traded as the crowd discuss the situation ...

Reg clears Rd to N boundary & then Stephen makes the 28 yard return clearance ...

All balls come back ... Bk clears Yw to East boundary ...

Yw clears Be from 21 yards ... !! ...

Reg no problem with the return 7-yard clearance ...

Rd comes back in to join Yw ... Bk can see Yw at 5 yards ... no problem with that controlled clerance ...

Yw looks as though attempts to hide Rd from Be but instead hits Rd ...

Reg stares hard ... looks as though he is considering putting Rd onto Yw to make double clearance ... but no ... the most un-Reg like shot I have ever seen ... he attempts block ... fails by a good few inches ... Stephen runs 10 from six feet ... Stephen 6-4 Reg ...

Bk, Yw, Be all approach ... Stephen makes clearance from 12 yards (ball on S boundary after running hoop) but almost peels Bk through ...

Yw returns to deep position ... Be is very angled ... the rejection is impressive ... back to five yards, much straighter now ... but Rd comes in to join Yw inside Be ... Bk shoots & misses from 12 yards ...

Yw from four yards ... into jaws & out ... Be shoots at hoop ... outside of right wire ... Stephen lies down once ... runs from four feet ... Stephen 7-4 Reg ...

Chris Roberts beats Helena Fensome for 10th & 11th position ...

Perfect approach to hoop 1 with Be ... Rd clears ... Bk to good position ...

Yw in ... Be in ... Rd fails to clear Bk ... Reg powers Bk through to the S boundary ... Reg 4-7, 1-0 Stephen ...

Yw, Be, Rd all approach ... Bk shoots ... hits ... Yw to four yards in front of hoop 5 ... Yw hits jaws from 20 yards ... spins out & behind hoop ... which leaves Reg with an easy clearance of Rd with Be, wiring from Rd & Yw ... Rd attempts promotion but only to clearance position not hoop running ... Reg shoots with Bk ... Be & Yw move ... Be is very close to hoop, Yw on S boundary ... Yw attempts to clear Be but only springs out to 4 feet, where Reg runs ... Reg 4-7, 2-0 Stephen ...

Bk is onside (just beyond half way, level with 2 & 3) ... and clears the Rd ball that goes to good position ...

Yw, Be approach ... Rd clears Be ... Yw is at a difficult angle to hoop ...Reg wonders what to do ... eventually chooses controlled clearance ... misses from 6 yards ...

Yw goes into jaws but not tightly so ...

From 45 degrees, just in from boundary, Be does bouncing bomb ... hits hoop, falls down & runs hoop off Yw ... Reg 4-7, 3-0 Stephen ...

Rd, Bk to good position ... Yw is blocked by hoop 3, so has to go wide ... Reg shoots from 14 yards but misses Rd ... Stephen runs from 6 feet ... Stephen 7-4, 1-3 Reg ...

Bk to 3-foot position ... Yw to six-foot position ...

Bk is on N boundary ... shoots at Rd that is three feet through 4 ... hits to S boundary in front of hoop 9 ... Stephen misses ... Bk runs so straight that it hits peg ... bounces back two feet but to side ... Reg 4-7, 4-1 Stephen ...

Yw to 7 feet ... Be to four feet ... Rd over approaches by 3 feet ... Bk to wired position from Rd ... Yw is too angled, so attempts in-off Be ... hits inside of right wire ...and bounces away to left ...

Be back in ... Rd attempts to run hoop backwards but sticks in jaws ...

Bk clears Yw to S boundary ... not quite wired ... Bk on East boundary ... Yw misses & then Reg misses the four foot jump shot (off the cross bar!) ... Rd can now clear the Be ... Bk clears Rd ... Yw in ... Be in ... Rd in ...

Bk hits Be from 14 yards ... both balls offside ... Yw runs from four feet ... Stephen 7-4, 2-4 Reg ...

Be & Bk to penalty spot (the first offside balls in whole match!) ... Be off boundary in front of hoop 7 ... Rd to good position ... Bk just behind Rd ... Yw alongside Bk, congesting Be view of Rd ... forcing Reg to go for hoop ... another very clean stroke ... Reg 4-7, 5-2 Stephen ...

Rd to very deep position (7 yards) ... Bk to 5 feet ... Yw to wide position ... Be from N boundary joins the party ... Rd clears Bk to East boundary & gets the in-off ... I suspect Stephen saw the angle ... & went for it ... Stephen 7-4, 3-5 ...

Bk to 6 foot position ... Yw misses ... Be to 7 feet ... Rd hits Bk from 15 yards ... Bk back in ...

Yw clears Be from 7 yards ... Be back in but does not block Rd ... Rd only nicks Bk & lands close to Yw, preventing shot at Be ... Bk adds to the mess, close to Be ... from 8 yards, Stephen attempts to bombard Rd onto Bk onto Be ... close but no cigar ... Be runs 9 to S boundary ... Reg 4-7, 6-3 ...

Rd to good position ... Bk falls to side, so right side of hoop but too wide to run ... Yw in ... Reg shoots with Be ... 9 yards ... no problem ... Rd to close to hoop 8 ... Rd back in ... covers enough of Yw to make Reg attempt the bombard ... over a short distance, Reg misses !? ... Yw runs no problem to S boundary ... Stephen 7-4, 4-6 Reg ...

Be to three yards ... Rd to one yard ... Bk attempts to cover Yw's shot ... makes it ... Yw slides past hoop ...

Be runs another clean hoop ... Reg 4-7, 7-4 Stephen ...

No delay in play ... Yw to perfect position ... Be hits ... Rd to 4-yard position ...

Bk in ... very close to Rd ... Yw & Be close on boundary, so Be makes block close to Yw, Reg plays jump shot ... just misses Rd ...

Rd runs with control ... to about 7 yards from hoop 2 ... Stephen 7-4, 4-7, 1-0 Reg ...

Bk in to 7 feet ... Yw behind to 9 feet ... Be from corner 4 to deep wide position ... Rd attempts hoop spins away to left ... Reg has no problem ... Reg 4-7, 7-4, 1-1 Stephen ...

Yw over approaches ... Be off boundary ... Rd to close position ... Bk in too ... Yw clears Bk ... Be from boundary ... into jaws ... spins out & falls to left ... Rd through but only by 5 yards ... Stephen 7-4, 4-7, 2-1 Reg ...

Bk to 5-yard position ... Yw to four-foot position ... Be to alongside Yw ... Rd misses Bk ... Bk clears Yw ... Yw clears Be ...

Yw is five yards ... Be to four feet ... Rd alongside Be ... Bk ... from 8 yards ... hits Yw centre ball ... Yw near to hoop 3 ... attempts mid-strength clearance ... misses ... Rd no problem ... Reg 4-7, 7-4, 2-2 Stephen ...

Rd a bit of a scuff shot ... slightly short of good position ... Bk to better three-foot position ... Yw to 8 inches beheind Bk ...

Be shoots ... hits Yw not Rd ... Rd makes simple clearance of Bk to remain in three-foot position ... Bk shoots from two yards beyond East boundary penalty spot ... cuts Rd to West boundary & goes to N boundary ... Yw, Be & Rd back in ... Yw not in running position ...

Bk ... clears the dangerous Rd ... Yw clears Be to N boundary ... And Reg takes the 11 yard shot at hoop ... nails it ... Reg 4-7, 7-4, 3-2 Stephen ...

Rd in to six feet ... Bk to wide, closer position ... Yw to 18 inches in front of hoop ... Be is 8 yards behind hoop, about six feet towards East ...

Be clears Rd ... now Stephen has the dilemma ... To clear or not clear ... he goes in to make it two balls versus one (Be is six feet in front of hoop 8) ... Bk makes the easy clearance on Yw ... Yw back to perfect two-foot position ... Be in ... nestles just off the back of Yw ... Yw can access the hoop still though ... Rd clearance on Bk puts Bk on West boundary & Rd to just slightly wide of hoop running position at hoop 7 (onside) ...

Bk attempts clearance but instead nicks almost hidden Be ball ... Stephen says "Hard luck!", lies down, runs hoop by 5 yards ... Stephen 7-4, 4-7, 3-3 Reg ...

Be to deep ... Rd to trivial position ... Bk mid depth ... Yw cuts Be in clearance to S boundary in front of hoop ... Reg ... takes the shot ... another almost clean 7-yard hoop ... Reg 4-7, 7-4, 4-3 Stephen ...

Be is almost on N boundary, very straight relative to line from 7 to 8 ... Rd approach to open position ... Bk to four-foot position ... Be ... shoots ... centre ball from 8 yards ... Rd off S boundary ... Be near peg ...

Stephen strokes the Rd but goes to right ... Reg ... powers Bk through ... Reg 4-7, 7-4, 5-3 Stephen ...

Yw to 3-foot position ...

Reg expresses confusion about the score ... he queries Stephen & realises the score is 5-3 not 6-2! ... Be clears Yw ... exactly the right cut ... Be off N boundary ... Yw to West ...

Rd to another good 4-foot position ... Bk follows in but just drifts too long ... probably not a danger but Stephen has to wonder if Reg will attempt the hoop shot again ... Yw nestles against Rd ... But Reg sees the finish line & powers through another 7-yard hoop (I hope you are counting out there!) ... Reg 4-7, 7-4, 6-3 Stephen ...

Rd to 5 feet ... Bk to 18 inches !! ... Yw slightly over approaches ... missing all three of hoop, nudge on Bk & blocking Be on Rd ...

So Be is able to shoot at Rd ... cleared to 11 yards away on West boundary ... Rd hits inside of right wire & bounces out ... Trivial hoop ... Reg 4-7, 7-4, 7-3 Stephen ...

Reg Bamford gets back into Open Championship winning ways ... the 2014 champion ... !! ... He powered away in the third game ... Probably the story of his championship ... not perfect but once he turned on the gas, he was imperious ...

That is all from me now ... Nelson Morrow has been posting scores on this site, so please check there to check up on all your favourite players ... Have fun out there & enjoy all your croquet ...