Lisbon - Porto

Bock N Roll Star.

At last, the circus rolled back into town.

A break with tradition - no golf on arrival day – a controversial choice leading to the unmistakable rustle of the Provisional Owls stretching their wings in the bright lights of Lisbon.

Dinner by the water, Super Bock by the gallon whilst watching the sun set after a delightful cruise on the “central line” commuter ferry…at rush hour.

Many bad decisions later, the convoy crept out of Lisbon to Quinta do Peru, one of Portugal’s best-kept golfing secrets. 

By the end of five weary hours the scoreboard told its own story — the course had thrashed the field, the worst average scoring round in provisional history. Has the Owl become a bit too scissor happy?

Mr I. Harrington (Marrington?), talisman of the 4 a.m. Club, defied biology by racking up 29 points — obliterating the unofficial points-per-hour-of-sleep record (14.5 pts/hr). Clubhouse leader, though barely awake.

The next stop: 36 holes at the new Provisional playground, Terras De Comporta. The Torre and Dunas courses saw the field frozen stiff at dawn — except Mr A. Edwards, who was smug enough to arrive in a jumper after eight solid hours of shut-eye, coasting to the top of the leaderboard while the rest shivered in thin polos and regret.

The leader cemented his position after round 4 at Aroeira 2 - a course that time and greenkeepers forgot. 

Off to Porto, the Provisional Owls - existing on a diet of 90% Super Bock, again a nocturnal nuisance.  

The finale: Estela Golf. A tight seaside links, the kind of place that normally demands craft and guile, against a backdrop of 40mph winds and the faint aroma of potential carnage. Mr A. Edwards arrived with a six-shot cushion and quickly hurricane-proofed it, finally delivering what his brother had failed to on so many occasions.

A new name on the board: Edwards. Just not the one the bookmakers had circled.

Congratulations, Mr A. Edwards — your date with the handicap committee awaits.