The captains got their heads together, then the vice-captains pitched in too, and now thankfully – after some pretty serious wrangling but without having to resort to professional mediators – we have confirmation of the handicaps for next week. The South team aggregate is 203 versus 207 for the North – a little surprising and probably the first time the southerners have come in as apparently the better golfers on paper.There were reported to be just two or three individuals where the agreement of an appropriate mark proved particularly difficult, but it seems a bit of horse-trading eventually resolved matters to the satisfaction of all. Now it’s all about how the golfers perform on the course – roll on Friday. That handicap list in full:

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