THE third round of league two qualifiers for Maldon Golf Club’s Ben Volta Winter League was played on Sunday.

The format was a betterball stableford played off three-quarters handicap.

Twenty-five pairs teed-off in persistent drizzle which made for heavy going in some parts, but on the whole the course is standing up well to the winter conditions.

The winners this week were Alan Buckingham and Sam Cummins who returned a fine score of 45 points.

Second place went to Christos Ryan and Dan Gardner with 43 points, while Pete Hawkins and Martyn Cook secured third place on 41 points.

Steve Drake and Paul Jackson were fourth on 40 points while Roy Hurren and Mark Hinton claimed fifth with 39.

Buckingham and Cummins, who were the runners-up in the first qualifying league, rounded off an excellent morning for them by also claiming the nearest-the-pin prizes on the fifth/14th and sixth/15th holes respectively.

After three rounds the league leaders are Nick Rushen and Ricky Todd, with 52 points, but only on countback from Ian Ladkin and Lenny Blagden.

Matt Pepper and Paul Shires currently sit third with 51 points.

Teams of four took part in the latest Saturday Swindle.

The best three stableford scores on each hole counted towards the team’s total.

The runaway winners this week with a score of 123 points – 13 points clear of their nearest rivals – were Dave Allen, Malcolm Burnett, Rob Poynton and Keith Bannister.