Matchplay Championship 22

MATCHPLAY

championship

3 - 6 July 2022 Saunton Golf Club

As appears to be the norm now, the event was full well before the closing date and travelling reserve spots were offered to 12 players, six of whom accepted and played in all available Stableford competitions.

An excellent field of 94 players arrived on Sun 3 Jul 22 to commence battle. The main competition started the following day with 64 players, and to reduce the field to this number, there was a pre-qualifying event for 60 of the 94 highest handicapped players.

The winners went into the main draw and the 30 losers went on to compete in their own reserve event, the Keith Seddon Trophy.

The cut for automatic qualification into the main event was made at 2.8 whilst the highest handicap overall was 8.3. This is a testament to the high levels of golf being played in the Army. It is usual to have four seeds for this Championship which comprise the winner, runner-up and two semi-finalists from last year. Due to non-availability, only the runner-up and one semi-finalist entered, thus reducing the number of seeds to two.

The course was as ever, in excellent condition with testing rough waiting for those who strayed off the beaten track. In true links fashion, straight driving was a necessity as was good course management. With Army golf balls being in short supply owing to import issues, keeping the ball in play was paramount so spotters were deployed to assist players when wayward shots were hit.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny for the qualifying round which commenced at 1100hrs. As you would expect with the highest handicapped players taking on the lowest, there were some early finishes with a

Cpl Bisal Gurung R Sigs

Col Jim Brown Int Corps number of 7&6 results being submitted. On the flip side a couple of matches had to go past 18; SSgt Roger Malcolm R Sigs beat CSgt Santosh Gurung Inf and Capt Tom Clarke REME beat Sgt Sanman Thapa Magar RE, both on the 19th.

Day one of the main event commenced with an overcast sky and normal onshore breeze.

First out saw Lt Neil Williams RA up against the 61 seed Lt Scott Proctor Int Corps. This match was close run all the way to the last, before being decided on the 19th hole by Williams. Lt Col Bob Pace R Sigs and Capt Sanjeev Rai R Sigs also needed a 19th hole playoff to secure passage to the next round.

But it took an additional 2 holes for WO2 Stu Hawkins RAPTC to finally beat Capt George Watson RLC on the 21st.

Cpl Raju Tamang Inf with an 8&7 win and WO2 Kerry Roberts RA, SSgt Adam Hayward RA, Maj Danny Saunders AGC (RMP) and Cpl Steven Farnworth Inf with 7&6 wins eased into the next round comfortably.

The 30 players who failed to qualify for the main Championship took part in the Reserve Championship event for the Keith Seddon Trophy. The first part was a scratch Stableford competition on Mon 4 Jul 22 on the West Course, to enable a fair draw and decide the seeding for the Matchplay event (top 16 players) to take place the following day. It should be noted that the 6 travelling reserves played in this competition and although able to win prizes could not qualify for the Keith Seddon Trophy.

LCpl Cameron Weir RLC won through on 32pts, with Maj Ben Stephens Int Corps on 31pts then Maj Om Pun R Sigs on 30pts,

Day two morning of the main event saw Williams out first again, this time against Pace, the latter just taking the spoils 1Up. All other ‘last 16’ matches were close with no major surprises. Another result of note was in the match between Torrie and Churchill, Torrie beat Churchill 3&2, ending his [Churchill] last visit to the Championships after a long and successful golfing career in the Army; the first of his six Matchplay wins coming in 2008.

SSgt Gajendra Gurung RE followed by Cpl James Watson AGC (SPS) on 29pts. The rest of the field followed slightly further back from 26 through to 11, which was testament to the conditions and toughness of the course. Although the travelling reserves were unable to qualify, it should be noted that several outperformed some of those that could.

Tuesday also brings the first of two handicap Stablefords (Mickey Bryant Memorial Salver) for those who are knocked out of the Main and Plate Championships (Mon pm), Keith Seddon Trophy Qualifier (Mon am) and travelling reserves. Scores on the whole were pretty average but 4 players shot 36pts or better: Thomas (36pts), WO2 Ian Mahan Inf (37pts), and Cpl Sean Byrne REME and Clarke (39pts). Capt Tom Clarke REME is the 2022 Mickey Bryant Memorial Trophy winner.

The second round of the main Championship was played in ever improving weather conditions with brighter skies and match results going as expected. Our habitual winner, Cpl Ben Churchill RE, had a scare against WO2 Jason Moore AGC (SPS), with Churchill 2Down and 3 to play and Moore needing a 2-foot putt to win 3&2.

Unfortunately, he missed the putt allowing Churchill back into the match. Churchill took full advantage and went on to win the next two holes before closing out the match on the 19th. Not to be outdone, Sgt Bruce-Smith AGC (SPS) took his match to the 20th before claiming the win over LCpl Lewis McColm Int Corps.

In the Plate competition, the Denton Trophy, held for the first-round losers from the main Championship, there were no clear favourites given the high standard of golfers in the competition. Sadly, Cpl James Boyd RLC had to withdraw leaving LCpl Caspin Sandry Inf with a walkover into round two. Notable scores from round one were: 7&6 wins for Watson G over WO2 Neals Mostert RA, LCpl Peter Forsyth R Sigs over LCoH Nick Jackson RAC and WO1 David Grant AGC (SPS) over WO1 Steve Canning REME. Slightly tighter results were 1Up wins for Sgt Jim Reeves R Sigs over Cpl Ben Dawson R Sigs, Sgt Tom Purce Inf over Malcolm, and Lt Col Stuart Campbell AMS over Capt Tek Rai R Sigs.

TUESDAY STABLEFORD WINNER Capt Thomas Clarke REME Day two afternoon and we are now into the quarter-finals. In the main Championship, Maj Jack Musgrove RA beat Pace 8&7, Gurung G beat Maj Jonny Howse RLC 2&1, Spr Graeme Torrie RE beat Maj Sean Stevenson RLC 2Up and Bruce-Smith beat Roberts 1Up.

A superb set of semi-final matches was on the cards and close results expected.

The Plate results were as follows; Reeves beat Proctor 7&6, Col Jim Brown Int Corps beat Campbell S AMS 4&3, Cpl Bisal Gurung R Sigs beat LCpl Jonny Stevenson Inf and SSgt Furtenji Sherpa RE beat Grant 4&3.

The last of the 3 quarter-finals; the Keith Seddon Trophy, produced the following results; SSgt Aidi Bennett R Sigs beat Maj Ski Nowosielski R Sigs 3&2, Capt Kenny Wilson RLC beat Weir 7&5, Stephens beat LCpl Aiden Dewar REME on the 20th and Pun beat Sgt Milan Rai R Sigs 3&2.

Wednesday morning started bright and early with the semi-finals of the Keith Seddon Trophy teeing off at 0715hrs, followed by the Plate (Denton Salver) and then the Main Championship (Paget Trophy). The second of the handicap Stablefords (Bartley/Taylor Trophy) took place on the West Course.

The result of the first semi-final in the Keith Seddon Trophy did not go to form when Bennett beat Weir 3&2, but in the other the result was as you would expect with Pun beating Stephens 4&2.

The Plate Championship got underway with Brown taking Reeves all the way to 18, finally clinching the match 1Up. In the other match Gurung B took on Sherpa, who incidentally was the highest handicapped player in the whole event and performed very well to get as far as he did. Sadly for him, this was a match too far and Gurung B won 6&5.

The Matchplay Champion could have come from any of the four semi-finalists in the main Championship. Torrie just eased past Bruce-Smith 2&1 but it was nip and tuck all the way until Torrie went 2Up. It was then very difficult for Bruce-Smith to make any in roads as Torrie seemed to play well within himself and not have to chase the game.

The Stableford event as usual had a significant field of 85 which included any Corps team players who had not played in the individual events. Scoring was evidently difficult and only 2 players managed to card 36pts or better; Sgt Prem Tamang AGC (SPS) (36pts) and Thapa Magar (38pts). Sgt Sanman Thapa Magar RE is the 2022 Bartley/Taylor Trophy winner.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER Sgt Mathew Bruce-Smith AGC (SPS)

WEDNESDAY STABLEFORD WINNER Sgt Sanman Thapa Magar RE

The other semi-final saw Musgrove up against last year’s losing finalist Gurung G. Both players had the opportunity to take a foothold in the match but on each occasion the other would raise his game. Going on to the 17th Gurung G was 2Up and the pressure was all on Musgrove. However, Musgrove won the hole and gave himself a chance going up the last. Both were on or around

the green in two with Gurung G on for a solid par. Musgrove then sank a superb 30-foot putt for a birdie to take the match down the 19th. This would turn out to be a historic battle that needed a further 8 extra holes to determine the winner, a record for the Army Championships.

Both players had opportunities to take the match, both missed them, particularly Gurung G who had two opportunities to sink 3-foot putts for the win.

The pressure was telling with a few wayward shots creeping in, but with Gurung G on the front edge and Musgrove over the back of the 26th hole, could this be it? Gurung G stiffed a long putt to 3-inches to finish with a par, with Musgrove leaving himself a 15-footer for birdie to avoid defeat. Unfortunately, as close as it might have been, it just stayed out and Gurung G took the match to reach his second final in consecutive years.

was no different and once Gurung B got his nose ahead he held firm to win through 4&3.

Cpl Bisal Gurung R Sigs is the 2022 Denton Salver winner.

The final of the Keith Seddon Trophy pitted Bennett against Pun. Both players played some good golf, but Pun eventually ran out the winner 2Up. Maj Om Pun R Sigs is the 2022 Keith Seddon Trophy winner.

PLATE WINNER Cpl Bisal Gurung R Sigs

RESERVE WINNER Maj Om Pun R Sigs Reaching a final is never easy and you have to beat all opposition to win the prize.

However, the route there appeared to be relatively comfortable for both players in the Plate Championship. Brown versus Gurung B

The Paget Trophy final was set with last year’s losing finalist Gurung G (0.1) up against a young and talented Torrie (-2.8) in his first Army Matchplay final. The match was a close affair and after only a 20 minute turnaround for Gurung G he was straight out on the tee.

He must be commended for maintaining such high levels of concentration having played 26 holes of golf to reach the final. The match ebbed and flowed with Torrie taking an early lead only for Gurung to fight back to level the scores on the 17th. Moving on to 18, both were off the green in two, with Torrie finding the better lie which allowed him to take his putter and leave the ball about 4 feet from the hole. Gurung on the other hand was not only short-sided by a bunker but he also had a tough lie. The only option was to play safe to the centre of the green and hope that he could stiff a 40-foot putt. A valiant effort that narrowly missed leaving him with a bogie only for Torrie to sink his putt for par.

Both players played some outstanding golf and given their age the future looks bright for Army Golf and the Inter Service Championships later in the year. Spr Graeme Torrie RE is the 2022 Paget Trophy winner.

ARMY CHAMPION Spr Graeme Torrie RE

KEY RESULTS Army Champion

Spr Graeme Torrie RE

Runner-Up

SSgt Gaz Gurung RE

Plate Winner

Cpl Bisal Gurung R Sigs

Reserve Winner

Maj Om Pun R Sigs

Tuesday Stableford Winner

Capt Thomas Clarke REME

Wednesday Stableford Winner

Sgt Sanman Thapa Magar RE

Most Improved Mens Player

Sgt Mathew Bruce-Smith AGC (SPS)