Matchplay 2024

MATCHPLAY

championship

12 - 15 May 2024 Saunton Golf Club

The 2024 competition boasted a full field, with 93 players in the main Matchplay competition and a further 21 travelling reserves, who would either step up to the main event or participate in a daily Stableford competition.

Once again, the AGA Chair was tempted to try his luck, and with a sufficiently low handicap, entered the main competition.

Only time would tell how long he would remain a player before reverting to committee duties. The 35 lowest-handicap players gained automatic entry into the Championship, while the remaining 58 had to qualify on Sunday. With sunshine and a stiffening breeze, the Championship got underway.

The automatic qualification cut-off was set at a handicap of 3.4, with the highest overall handicap at 8.2. Some notable Army players were unable to compete due to work, operational commitments, and courses.

As ever, the course was in excellent condition, with thick rough awaiting those who strayed off line. The day started calm, but by the time the later starters teed off, a strong sea breeze had set in. This challenging links course was only going to have one winner—long irons were essential, and keeping the ball low was the smart choice.

With no surprises in the qualifiers, day one of the main event started under overcast skies, with a stiff onshore breeze and light rain. The course was unforgiving, and everyone, regardless of ability, found the conditions tough. Three matches required extra holes to determine the winners.

Those knocked out of the qualifying round and those invited to attend as travelling reserves competed in a scratch Stableford competition to determine the top 16 best scores to win through to the Reserve Matchplay, the Keith Seddon Trophy. Despite the harshness of the conditions, scoring remained high and competitive. Based on the Nett scores, Cpl George Dickinson REME came in first with 40pts, followed by Rgr Robin Ashe Inf in second with 37pts, and Capt Carl Wray REME in third place with 36pts. With the lowest score coming in at 20pts; the score average was higher than last year.

With little to no change in the conditions in the afternoon, all was set for a long hard day, with the last flight setting off at 1637hrs.

However, as the afternoon unfolded, the wind abated and the rain stopped, making for a far more entertaining session. As the conditions changed, the better players came to the fore with some notable scores: the 2022 champion Spr Graeme Torrie RE won impressively with a 7&5 victory, SSgt Gaz Gurung RE also won 7&5, followed by Sgt Bisal Gurung R Sigs winning 6&5, and Cpl Ross Greenwood RE with a 6&4. So, at the end of the day, many of the Army’s top players were now coming together as the competition draw began to heat up, notably LCpl Tom Sanghera REME vs Sgt Richie Over RE, Sgt Matt Bruce-Smith AGC vs Maj Jonathan Howse RLC, and Capt Danny Saunders AGC vs Greenwood.

The Denton Salver trophy, held for those defeated in the first round of the Matchplay Championship, had no clear favourites given the high standard of golfers in the competition. But some notable scores were: WO1 Colin Bell REME beat SSgt Nilkumar Thapa RLC 6&5, WO2 James Butler RE also beat Capt Scott Dickinson Inf 6&5, and Sgt Ben Ware Int Corps beat WO1 Nick Palmer AAC 6&4.

This year saw a change to the normal programme of events with the Keith Seddon Trophy (Reserve) competition setting off first on Tue morning at 0730 hrs. The weather was breezy with light rain; however, unfortunately for the mid-morning tee times, the wind increased, creating problems for the inconsistent ball strikers and for the ball on the putting greens as it was affected by the wind in motion.

Most of the morning matches were closely contested with only the odd 4&3 win. Capt Paul Simpson REME, LCpl Ben Foster RE, Capt Scott Proctor Int Corps, G Dickinson, SSgt John Williams RE, Sgt Tolok Gurung R Sigs, WO2 Jason Moore AGC, and Capt Kenny Wilson RLC all won through to the quarterfinals.

Most of the morning matches were closely contested, with only the occasional 4&3 win.

Capt Paul Simpson REME, LCpl Ben Foster RE, Capt Scott Proctor Int Corps, G Dickinson, SSgt John Williams RE, Sgt Tolok Gurung R

Sigs, WO2 Jason Moore AGC, and Capt Kenny Wilson RLC all progressed to the quarterfinals.

Tuesday also featured the first handicap Stableford event (the Micky Bryant Memorial Salver) for those knocked out of the main and Plate Championships (Monday afternoon), those who did not qualify for the Keith Seddon Trophy (Monday morning), and travelling reserves. Scores were generally good considering the strong winds and light rain. WO2 Dean Geoghegan Inf and WO2 Robert Delamar RLC both scored 37pts, with Geoghegan winning on countback. In third place, with 35pts, was Palmer. WO2 Dean Geoghegan Inf is the 2024 Micky Bryant Memorial Trophy winner.

Perrins, showcasing strong form throughout the match. Similarly, Bisal Gurung delivered an impressive performance, defeating last year's champion Sanghera with the same 3&2 margin, ending Sanghera’s title defence.

Greenwood secured a narrow but critical 1Up win over Bruce-Smith, while Torrie eked out a similarly close 1Up victory over Roberts.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER Sgt Rob Perrins RA

TUESDAY STABLEFORD WINNER WO2 Dean Geoghegan Inf In the Plate competition, a few aspiring Army squad players were on show, having narrowly lost in the main event on day one. Winners advancing to the afternoon matches and quarter-finals included: Cpl Gary Dewar RE, Cpl Steve Farnworth Inf, Ware, LCpl Cameron Weir RLC, Sgt Jacob Timson Int Corps, J Butler, WO1 David Grant AGC, and Bell.

Day two saw some of the best Army players pitched against each other, which is often the norm at this stage of the competition. All three top seeds progressed, although Sanghera had to come from behind in the later stages to defeat the Army Vice Captain, Over. The injured Bruce-Smith beat fellow Army player Howse, while Torrie crushed LCpl Toby Wraight RAC 8&7.

In the afternoon round of the main competition, there were some intense clashes. G Gurung took a 3&2 victory over

The Plate competition also featured thrilling matches in the afternoon. Farnworth earned a convincing 3&2 victory against Dewar, Ware dominated his game against Weir, winning 5&4, J Butler defeated Timson 3&2, and Grant overcame Bell in a gruelling match lasting 21 holes.

In the Keith Seddon Trophy matches, Foster advanced with a solid 2&1 victory over Simpson, while Proctor defeated G Dickinson with the same margin. T Gurung beat Williams 3&2, and K Wilson won a nail-biter against Moore, taking the match 1Up. Wednesday morning began with bright sunshine but a strong sea breeze whistling across the course. The conditions were set for a tough competition, not one for the fainthearted.

The semi-finals of the Keith Seddon Trophy began first, with Foster and Proctor leading the way. The match remained close throughout but eventually saw Foster win 2Up. In the second semi-final, T Gurung and K Wilson teed off at 07:37. This match was similarly tight and was eventually settled on the 20th hole. The afternoon final would be between Foster and T Gurung.

The Stableford event had a significant field of 93 players, including Corps team members who had not competed in the individual events earlier in the week but had arrived for a practice round. After three days of highly competitive golf, performance levels inevitably dipped. With the windy conditions persisting, scoring proved difficult, and only one player managed better than 36pts: Lt Col Chris Granger AMS with 39pts. Two players scored 35pts: WO2 Chris Stephenson RLC and Cpl Gary Adams RLC. Three players scored 34pts, and another three scored 33pts.

Lt Col Chris Granger AMS is the 2024 Bartley/Taylor Trophy winner.

The final of the Keith Seddon Trophy featured Foster, dressed in striking red trousers and top, against T Gurung. Excellent golf was played in the continuing breeze, but Foster eventually wore down Gurung’s efforts to win 3&1. LCpl Ben Foster RE is the 2024 Keith Seddon Trophy winner.

RESERVE WINNER LCpl Ben Foster RE

WEDNESDAY STABLEFORD WINNER Lt Col Chris Granger AMS The Plate Championship for the Denton Salver got underway at 07:44, with Farnworth facing Ware in a close match that was eventually decided on the 20th hole. In the other semi-final, J Butler faced Grant in another tight contest, with Butler prevailing 1Up.

The main semi-finals featured some of the Army’s top players in head-to-head competition. The standard of golf was exceptionally high, particularly given the challenging conditions. However, even top players feel the pressure, and Bisal Gurung, driving into the rough at the first tee, faced a long day. Gaz Gurung capitalised and maintained the pressure to win 5&4. The other semi-final saw Greenwood, a Reservist and firefighter by trade, competing in his first Matchplay Championship, against Torrie, the 2022 champion. The match was a tense battle of wills. Torrie took an early two-hole lead, but Greenwood rallied to pull the match to all square before securing a 2&1 victory, setting up a final against Gaz Gurung.

Reaching a final is never easy, and you must defeat all challengers to claim the prize. Ware reached the final of the Plate competition with a string of convincing wins (6&4, 6&5, 5&4), before Farnworth took him to two playoff holes in the semi-final. Meanwhile, J Butler worked hard to earn his place in the final. However, the final was no different for Ware, who steamed ahead to secure a dominant 7&5 victory over Butler. Sgt Ben Ware Int Corps is the 2024 Denton Salver winner.

PLATE WINNER Ben Ware Int Corps

The Paget Trophy final was at least going to have one new finalist, and one of two new names on the winner's trophy, as Greenwood was playing in his first Championship, and

Gaz Gurung was a two-time losing finalist. In extremely testing conditions that saw the balls affected by the wind when on the putting green, the final commenced in the afternoon session. The early stages were closely contested, with a string of pars and halved holes, but as the match wore on, Gaz Gurung took an early two-hole lead. He held this into the turn before Greenwood pulled them back, going one up himself. By his own admission, Gaz Gurung’s short game was not dialled in. He missed a number of uncharacteristic close-range chips, and his putter was cold. But then, with a touch of brilliance, he chipped in from 20 yards

through a double break to birdie the hole and pull one back. The next was halved before Greenwood went two up on the 17th to win 2&1, becoming the outright winner.

Cpl Ross Greenwood RE is the 2024 Paget Trophy winner.

The standard of play throughout the competition in such harsh conditions was outstanding, and overall levels of sportsmanship were once again of the highest order with some excellent individual performances throughout the week.

Congratulations go not only to the winners but to all the players!

ARMY CHAMPION Cpl Ross Greenwood RE

KEY RESULTS Army Champion

Cpl Ross Greenwood RE

Runner-Up

SSgt Gaz Gurung RE

Plate Winner

Ben Ware Int Corps

Reserve Winner

LCpl Ben Foster RE

Tuesday Stableford Winner

WO2 Dean Geoghegan Inf

Wednesday Stableford Winner

Lt Col Chris Granger AMS

Most Improved Mens Player

Sgt Rob Perrins RA