STROKEPLAY championship
20 - 22 May 2025 Liphook Golf Club
Following a number of years playing parkland courses, an opportunity arose for the AGA to take the 2025 Strokeplay Championship to Liphook Golf Club, one of the best golf courses in the UK and certainly in Southern England. With its tightfairways,linedwithanabundanceof heather, gorse and trees, the premium was on accuracy, but its biggest defence was its greens, which ran true and fast with subtle breaks and borrows. Measuring 6523 yards from the Championship tees, this heathland course was going to provide one of the sternest tests of golf our elite golfers wouldhaveexperiencedinmanyayear.
Our thanks must go to the General Manager, a friend of the AGA, Mr John Douglass. A former officer in the 2nd RoyalTankRegiment,who,onleavingthe Army, worked as the Secretary of the Sennelager Golf Club, then the Army Golf Club, before landing at Liphook, his home forthepast20years.
When John announced that he would be
prestigious golf Championships, the Army Strokeplay, in your last year – John’s last day in office will be on 20 Nov –Cambrai Day; for the Tankies who read this,youwillknow.
We welcomed our new sponsors to the event, Josh Edwards from Pozitive Energy, himself an elite golfer with a handicap of +1, and of course, whilst not there in person, Thales, returned as our headline sponsor for 2025. Finally, H&K, who continue to provide our officials’ clothing. We were also able to welcome a representative from PXG to mark the AGA’s formal engagement with PXG, which we hope will provide benefits to all players and the Association alike. Our thanks to all sponsors and supporters of the AGA, without whom events such as thesewouldnotbepossible.
So, with a full field of 72 golfers with handicaps ranging from +4.2 to 9.1, almost everyone took the opportunity to play the practice round. Indeed, some players had played the course several times in the preceding weeks, such was the quality and difficulty of the course, which would have been unknown to manyinthefield.
Round one started early, with the sun rising just above the trees. Although it would stay dry for the most part, there was a chance that play could be stopped owing to lightning later in the day. Fortunately, this would not be the case, although some villages in the local area werenotquitesolucky.
The step up in the quality and therefore level of difficulty of the course became quickly evident, with many of our standout Army players struggling to come to terms with the course, in particular around the greens. But after thefirst round,somefamiliarnames were already moving to the top of the leaderboard. LCpl Graeme Torrie RE led after a round of 71, closely followed by Lt Adam Stone RE, a former tour
professional, on 72. Then 3 back on 75 were Capt Neil Williams RA, the reigning Champion seeking to retain his title, and Sgt Matthew Bruce-Smith AGC. On 76 were Cpl Ross Greenwood RE, last year’s runner-up, and Mr Matt Dale. The AGA Chair, Brig Kieran Sheldon RA, was pleased with his work for the morning, finishing with a respectable 87 in 40th place. Other notable Army players included Sgt Glen Watt RAC, LCpl Thomas Sanghera REME, SSgt Gaz Gurung RE, and former multiple winner Mr Ben Churchill. Whilst all were slightly off the pace, they remained within reach oftheleaders.
Round two started in a similar fashion, the heath and gorse proving a real test for those missing the fairways. Scoring was again a challenge, with some indifferent scoring seeing some dropping off the pace whilst others held their nerve, with only a few bogeys on their cards. Stone was demonstrating impressive consistency, adding a secondround73tohisopening72tofinishasthe day one leader on 145. In second place, just five shots behind, was Watt, who did well to recover from his first-round struggles to post a total of 150 for the day. Bruce-Smith and Torrie both finished tied
for third on 151. Another addition to the Army Team, Capt Jordan Aird RLC, finished 10 shots off the lead on 155, alongside Greenwood and Sanghera. All other competitors were 13 or more shots adrift, meaning it would take great feats of concentration and resilience for anyone to mount a challenge for the top. The overarching thoughts from the day were that Liphook was a big step up from recent venues, and with the greens being cut and ironed each day, there was to be nolet-up.
Day two started in early morning bright sunshine and, after the evening’s rain, the midges were out in force, more’s the pity for all who wore shorts and polo shirts whilst waiting on the first tee. The day progressed much the same as day one, with lots of scratching of heads in frustration, but with much enjoyment of playingonsuchagreatcourse.
In round three of the main Strokeplay competition, it was no surprise to see nineofthetopArmyplayers, all members of last year’s winning Inter Service Team, occupying the final three flights. However, the positions at the top of the leaderboard continued to shift as the morning scores were returned. Williams carded an excellent round of 70, the best of the competition so far. Aird followed closely with a 71, matched by Gurung G. Churchill continued his charge back into contention with a 74, while Stone maintained his consistency with another 74. With several players having posted previous rounds in the mid to high 70s, the final round was shaping up to be a tough challenge for many of the top Armyplayers.
In the first round of the Stableford competition, which offered an opportunity to regroup and start afresh, the course proved once again to be the winner as there were no level-par scores after the first round. The top three were all level on 34pts: Sgt James Watson AGC, Col Andrew Pritchard RE and CSjt
Yambahadur Gurung RCAM. Maj Scott Dunn Inf and LCpl Elliott Homewood RE followed closely on 33pts, with only 13 players from the field of 38 reaching 30pts - thatinitselftoldthestory.
The final round of the main Strokeplay competition left many playing for pride, consolation and, in some cases, a little enjoyment, although to a tee, everyone had enjoyed the experience of playing a course that had been set up similar to an Open Qualifier. So, to post consistent and respectable scores was a real positive for many to take away, knowing their game wasingoodshape.
So, with Stone starting the final round with a five shot lead over Williams and six over Aird, Torrie and Watt, and all others 10 or more back, it looked like the winner would certainly come from the final two groups, but on this course, there were no certainties.
In the final round of the Stableford competition, finding a level of consistency would be the key. After two days of hard work and concentration on thecourse,thiswaseasiersaidthandone. Once again, the course won the day, with only CSgt Bikash Gurung Inf scoring 36pts, and LCpl Jonathan McManus Int Corps one back on 35pts. SSgt James Stafford RE and Homewood scored a respectable 34pts each, but thereafter the scores dropped away sharply, with only 7 of the field scoring in the 30s. After some excellent levels of consistency, McManus pipped Homewood on countback to win the Stableford competition on 67pts. Gurung B was one back on 66pts, followed by SSgt Chris RosieREon64ptsandStaffordon62pts.
In the Strokeplay, it was very much Stone’s title to lose going into the final round with a five shot cushion, and he wasn’t about to give it up. With the chasing pack having to take more risks (on this course, that would always be a gamble) and as the round moved to the
final stages, one by one the field dropped off the pace, leaving Stone a comfortable run down the stretch. That said, Greenwood had a good final round of 72, which moved him up the leaderboard, but his first two rounds were his undoing. Churchill maintained his consistency with a good closing round of 74, which also moved him into contention. At the close, Aird and Torrie carded 74 and 75 respectively, with WO2 Kevin Ramage RA one back on 76. Williams and Watt, who were in contention for a period, struggled a little at the end and dropped off the pace. At the close, therefore, Stone was the clear winner by seven shots on 293, Aird in second with 300, followed closely by Torrie on 301, and then Greenwood on 302.
In the nett competition, Churchill’s consistent play, finishing on 292, earned himthetitleofNettStrokeplayChampion on countback from Aird in second place, withRamagethirdon297.
To close, our thanks go to the Club Captain, Richard Edmondson, and the committee; to the General Manager, John Douglass, and his team (Grant and Julie), the Course Manager, Dave Murdoch, for setting up the course in such spectacular fashion; to Ian in the Pro Shop, and finally to all members of Liphook GC for giving up their course for the three days. Such was the success of the event and the manner in which the AGA was welcomed by the club, we hope to return in years to come. A final special thanks must go to all the AGA officials for the work they do at the event and in the days and weeks prior that ensure we have a full field of players, and everything runs smoothly on theday.
There were 4 holes in one across all four rounds:
Round1(1st)–MajCharlesO’SheaRA
Round 1(12th) –MrLeighton Davies
Round4(3rd)–WO2KerryRobertsRA Round4(1st)–CaptNeilWilliamsRA
