Matchplay 21

MATCHPLAY

4 - 7 July 2021

Saunton Golf Club

With this being the first event in the AGA calendar to go ahead in 2021 there was a clamber to enter and the event was o ver su bsc ri bed we e ks i n advance of the closing date.

The introduction of the World Handicap System saw some surprising exclusions as individual handicaps level out under the new structure. With numbers being reduced slightly because of COVID restrictions a field of 93 arrived on Sunday 4 Jul 21 to commence the qualifying round. An additional 10 travelling reserves were invited to attend.

The field once again saw many of the best golfers the Army has to offer and was testament to the high levels of golf being played up and down the country on a regular basis. 58 players were drawn to take part in the qualifying round in order to find 29 players to join the 35, who had already qualified based on their handicap; the line was drawn at 2.6 which was incredibly low.

After a wet and windy start to the day, and with standing water creating additional challenges on top of the nerves and tension, associated with Matchplay competition, the weather improved as the day progressed. This enabled some close-run matches with a

number going down the 19th.

Having said all that, there were no surprise results in the qualifying round.

There were four seeds for the main Championship and they were the two losing semi-finalists from 2019, Cpl Ben Churchill and LCpl David Blick, and the winner and runner up from 2019, Maj Jack Musgrove and Fus Lewis Phillips. The remaining entrants were seeded in handicap order, with the draw pitching no. 1 seed playing no.

64, 2 playing 63 etc. All was set for an excellent Championship.

Day one, the start of the main competition commenced with better weather for those out on the early tees. First out saw last year’s losing semi-finalist and winner of this competition on numerous occasions, Cpl Ben Churchill, up against the 61st seed WO2 Ian Mahan. This match got off to a tricky start with a lost ball on the first and the two players walking straight to the second; a close-run match ended with Churchill winning 2&1.

Lt Col Stuart Campbell and SSgt Adam Hayward needed an extra hole to secure passage to the next round and Cpl Liam Burrows had to go down the 20th to

progress. Hayward’s reward was a match against the reigning Champion, Musgrove, who had a relatively easy 7&6 win in his match.

WO1 Dave Sanby and Maj Jonny Howse also eased into the next round with comfortable 8&7 wins.

The second round was played in ever deteriorating weather as the wind and rain moved in from the coast. A case of survival, good admin and strong mental fortitude would win the day. It was at this stage that we started to see some shocks on the score board; Musgrove became the first of the top seeds to fall, losing to Hayward 2&1. Next up was last year’s Runner Up, Phillips, going out to our previous Captain, Maj Bob Pace, again 2&1.

Other notable performances saw 2Lt Harry Owen beat WO2 Kerry Roberts 4&3, and the winner from 2018, Gdsm Jordan Slater, winning 5&3 over Capt Kenny Wilson. With light fading and the rain continuing to fall there were som e close- run matc he s requiring extra holes; Lt Col Mick Cowie and Blick held firm to win through on the 19th and 20th respectively.

Day two and thankfully the rain had subsided, although the wind had picked up and was now gusting across the course; this and the treacherous rough made for a tough day. This was proved to be the case with some of the top players falling by the wayside in the morning round. Gdsm Jonny Stevenson was beaten 3&2 by Blick, and Capt Neil Williams knocked out WO1 Dave Sanby on the last despite Sanby’s valiant fight back from 3 down. Other results saw Spr Graeme Torrie, new to the competition, win through for a quarter final match against

Owen. Slater beat Burrows 5&3, previous runner up SSgt Gaz Gurung beat Hayward 3&2, and Pace beat M Cowie 4&2.

So, with several of the top Army players in the quarter final it was difficult to gauge who might make a charge for the trophy.

More on this later!

In the Plate competition, the Denton Trophy, held for the firstround losers from the main Championship, there were no clear favourites given the high standard. All was set for another tight and enthralling event with consistency and an ability to stay on the fairway being key to success. The semi-final saw Maj Mark Nowosielski lining up against WO2 Kevin Ramage, and LCpl Lewis McColm versus Capt Robbie Lewis. Both semifinals were close encounters, Nowosielski managed to hold his nerve to win 1Up; Lewis however had a slightly less stressful match final winning 3&2. Neither player had enjoyed an easy route to the final with most of their matches going to the last. This continued and despite a slight back injury for Nowosielski he managed a 2Up win to become the 2021 Army Plate Champion.

The 29 players who failed to qualify for the main Championship on Sunday morning plus the 9 travelling reserves (who are unable to qualify for the Reserve Matchplay), took part in the Reserve Championship Qualifier for the Keith Seddon Trophy, a scratch Stableford affair on Mon 5 Jul 12 played on the West Course. This decides the seeding for the Matchplay event to take place the following day.

Gross scores from the Stableford were low but that was not unexpected given the worsening weather conditions. Capt David Thomas won though on 30pts,

Sgt Josh Macinnes - 1st Hole in One

with Cpl James Watson and Cpl Clinton Prime following in a close second and third on 28pts on count back.

Sgt Josh Macinnes scored his first, but not only, Hole in One on the Par 3, 16th but more about this in the Inter Corps report.

Although the travelling reserves were unable to qualify, they were eligible for the prizes. It should be noted that several of the traveling reserves outperformed qualifiers, indicative perhaps of the WHS still “finding its feet”. All matches were tight and won by the odd hole. The semi-final saw Capt Paul Simpson line up against Thomas and LCpl Caspin Sandry versus Prime. Thomas had the harder route to the final and eventually won 2Up. Sandry on the other hand managed a convincing 6&5 win over Prime.

So, the final was between Thomas and Sandry. Both players played some very good golf in challenging conditions, but Thomas eventually ran out the

winner and took the match to win the 2021 Keith Seddon Trophy.

The two subsidiary Stableford events on Tuesday and Wednesday (played off handicap), for those knocked out of the Matchplay events, took place on the West Course off the white tees. On Tuesday, the difficulty of the conditions with driving wind and rain and standing water on the course kept scores fairly low; the majority scoring below 31pts. The highest posted score was 37pts

by LCpl Cameron Weir, Sgt Josh Macinnes posted 34pts and WO2 Ian Mahan following closely with 33pts.

The Wednesday Stableford competition for the Bartley/Taylor Trophy which was contested by 91 players. Scoring in this competition was impressive given the strong gusting wind 11 players scored 36pts or better.

The final results were, in third place, with 39pts on countback

from SSgt Aidi Bennett, was Maj Danny Saunders, Runner-Up on 40pts was Sgt Simon Bennett, and the winner with an impressive 42pts and playing off a handicap of 10 was Capt Phil Lovell.

Returning to the main Championship and the quarterfinals, the afternoon round saw the weather settle and the rain subside, although a strong westerly wind created additional problems for the players to contend with. As the course dried and greens firmed up the afternoon was set for some good golf and tough matches. Torrie was a surprise winner against long standing Army Player and former Champion, Churchill, winning 2Up. Slater and Gurung, two previous finalists, battled it out and Gurung ran out the eventual winner 1Up. Pace went out to SSgt Paul Dickinson 3&1 and Blick beat Williams 4&3.

To the semi-final, Torrie versus Gurung and Dickinson versus

Blick. Neither match was close owing to the high standard of play from the two pervious finalists who turned on the gas with a string of birdies mid round.

Whilst not the longest off the tee, Gurung was able to play consistent irons and approach shots resulting in one putts. Blick too played impressive golf from tee to green which resulted in a Gurung/Blick final, winning 6&4 and 6&5 respectively.

The final was set with local lad and previous winner Blick, an ex Saunton member, playing off +4 and previous finalist Gurung playing off Scratch. It was to be a very close-run affair and a match of contrasting styles of play. Blick, the quicker player and longer off the tee, showed no emotion irrespective of the outcome of his shot. He gave nothing away to his opponent and played steady but accurate golf. Gurung on the other hand with his methodical and deliberate style of play ground out a solid round. With nothing between the two on the front 9,

Blick turned up the heat at the turn scoring a number of birdies in quick succession. Gurung had to force the match through the back nine and the pressure showed on the par 5 ,15th, when some indecision of club selection resulted in a loss of the hole. On the 16th, Blick, in the second cut hit an 8-iron to 12 feet, Gurung hitting the bank to roll off the green to the right. A ‘chip on’ left a 35 foot putt with 4 feet of break – he nailed it to put the pressure back on Blick but his nerve held firm and he holed out to half the hole and win the match 3&2. Two top players playing great golf which bodes well for the Inter Service Championships later in the year.

The standard of play was once again of the highest order with some excellent individual performances. Considering the weather conditions in 2019; bright sunshine and a gentle breeze, this year was the polar opposite with strong winds and driving rain.

Congratulations go not only to the winners but to all the players, as the overall levels of sportsmanship and standard of play were second to none. The key results were: Army Champion – LCpl David Blick PARA Runner-up – SSgt Gaz Gurung RE Plate Winner – Maj Mark Nowosielski R SIGS Runner-up – Capt Robbie Lewis SCOTS Reserve Winner – Capt David Thomas Int Corps Tuesday Stableford Winner – LCpl Cameron Weir RLC Wednesday Stableford Winner – Capt Phillip Lovell RLC Most Improved Player – SSgt Gaz Gurung RE All photos from the 4 days can be found here.

SSgt Gaz Gurung RE (left) and LCpl David Blick PARA (right)