LADIES MATCHPLAY
6 - 7 July 2021
Saunton Golf Club
The 11th Army Ladies Matchplay Championship took place on 6 and 7 Jul 21 on the East Course in very difficult weather conditions. The wind by the afternoon round was keeping the flags horizontal with intermittent driving rain. Despite the harsh conditions, we saw a field of 12 players take to the tee, with 4 byes. Unfortunately, the 2019 Champion, Maj Kate Law, was not able to defend her title because of work commitments. There were two seeds; Lt Col Alex O’Brien (1) (2019 Runner-up) and Pte Niki Sutton (2), the latter playing in the Championship for the first time. With only 12 golfers playing in the first round there were an additional two players over the two seeded players to receive a bye, Sgt Becky Mercer and Maj Sue Lambert had a morning off at the practice ground.
Notable results from the morning round saw, Sgt Kim GlynnGalbraith beating first timer Maj Helen McChlery 6&5, Maj Gina Smith narrowly beating SSgt Mel Van Zyl 2&1 in a very tight match, LCpl Emma Dann beating Maj Lizzie Stileman 3&1 and SSgt Zoe Burrell-Knipe beating Maj Karen Fidell 5&4 all winning through to the Quarter Final.
On Wed 7 Jul 21, the four losers in round one went into the Plate competition for the Bowles Trophy: McChlery, Van Zyl, Stileman and Fidell. With early starts, a drop in the wind and with the rain abating the four took to the field. McChlery against Van Zyl and Maj Stileman against Fidell. Both matches were close run affairs with neither player able to take a foothold in the match; eventually they were concluded on the last two holes with McChlery winning 1Up and Fidell 2Up. Back to the main Championship, the Quarter Final saw a mix of scores. Glynn-Galbraith beat Lambert 2&1, Smith beat the No 1 seed, O’Brien 3&1, the No 2 seed, Sutton, won through against Dann 4&3 and BurrellKnipe eased through with a 5&3 win over Mercer. The semi-final saw Glynn-Galbraith versus Smith and Sutton versus Burrell-Knipe. Neither match appeared to be an easy win for the two finalists, as both were close run matches, until the final stages with GlynnGalbraith just pipping close friend and rival Smith on the last winning 1Up. In the other semifinal Sutton applied the pressure on the back 9 to come through with a 3&2 victory to see her into the final.
With conditions settling, the sun was breaking through scattered cloud and with the wind abating, the final was set to be an enthralling mix of young, raw talent versus the experience of a 4-time Champion. The match did not disappoint, but with Sutton taking an early lead and then playing solid golf throughout, she was able to keep her opponent at arm’s length. Then at the turn she stepped up the pressure with some accurate driving and some clinical long-range putting easing to a 3Up lead. The writing was on the wall though and she sealed victory on the Par 4 16th. It looks like Sutton will be the one to beat in the coming years. On a slightly different note, Thales, the AGA’s headline sponsor, generously provided a Wedge in a free prize draw for the Matchplay Championships. The first correctly completed draw sheet out of the hat was Glynn-Galbraith. Congratulations go to all players for not only the standard of play but also the level of sportsmanship displayed throughout.
The key results were:
Army Ladies Champion – Pte Niki Sutton AGC (SPS) Runner-up – Sgt Kim Glynn-Galbraith AGC Bowles Trophy Winner – Maj Helen McChlery AGC Saunton Bowl Winner – LCpl Emma Dann CAMUS Most Improved Player – Maj Gina Smith REME All photos from the 2 days can be found here.
Pte Niki Sutton AGC (SPS) (left) and Maj Gina Smith REME (right)