Bell presents the Cup to captain Hooley

After the dramatic denouement of Saturday afternoon there was plenty of time for celebrations and commiserations in the bar (and indeed for a few hands of brag) before the presentation dinner got underway. The Suffolk hotel’s facilities, incidentally, had been well appreciated throughout the weekend, and excellent cuisine had consistently emerged from the busy kitchens. The bar’s service was noted as friendly, reasonable and also very generously late, particularly on Friday night.

Prior to the presentation of the Cup itself there were as ever some individual prizes up for grabs. Simon Hordern inevitably took the wooden spoon for another pointless display but was unaccountably absent from the dinner to receive his prize; it transpired he had a football event in London which he couldn’t avoid, and the fact he made the herculean effort to drive there and then back later in the evening to join the Ryder Cup revellers out on the town went a long way to making up for his initial absence in the eyes of most.

The teams after dinner, Cup on display

Host captain Bell had this year arranged a special “pond dipper” award for the player deemed to have spent the most time in The Suffolk’s copious water hazards. It was perhaps therefore fitting that he ended up taking that prize himself in recognition of his extraordinary antics on Friday afternoon. The player of the match decision was a straightforward as could be and was graciously accepted by Darren Mountain who had taken his full 3 points, playing superbly throughout, and of course won it for the North on the 18th hole of his singles contest.

Speeches were brief but generous as Bell then presented the Cup to retaining captain Hooley and plaudits for an exceptional renewal were generously scattered around along with hopes for a similarly succesful event up north in two years time. Hooley admitted his team had had a scare but praised them for coming through victorious. Bell, evidently still coming to terms with the result, thanked his team for their efforts and the spirit which which they had played.

Host captain Bell ends up with the Pond Dipper prize

It only remained then for the 2009 captains to be named. “Jack” Horner was clearly proud to get the nod for the North and, in his absence, Simon Hordern (Bell’s vice- this year) was democratically voted in for the South: two more genuine competitors would be hard to find which bodes well for next time.

The champagne then flowed as the players awaited their cars into town, and the drinking (and in some cases dancing, even) continued long into the night in the fleshpots of Bury St Edmunds. The next morning it was reliably reported that a top night had been had by all, although exact details of the movements of two particular North members were strangely unforthcoming – a Ryder Cup mystery which we will perhaps have to wait until next time to resolve …