championship MATCHPLAY WOMEN ’ S
After much discussion in 2023 and several “war gaming” sessions, the 14th Women’s Championship saw some slight changes, with the first two rounds played on the West Course and the remainder on the East Course.
In true Saunton style, the weather in the lead -up to the championships was fantastic. Sadly, day one of play provided a “false sense of security” until mid to late morning when the wind picked up and dragged the rain across the course.
Unfortunately, the 2023 champion was unable to defend her title due to a delay in her reserve contract. However, we hope to welcome Lt Col AlexO’Brien back next year. It was great to see three new players enter, all of whom had never played Saunton before. It was a steep learning curve, but they enjoyed it immensely, which is the most important
In round one, the top half of the draw saw debutante ATpr Laura McLean pitted against previous Army number one and two-time winner LCpl Niki Sutton AGC (SPS). Unfortunately for McLean, Sutton was in no mood for charity and won easily 8&7. This placed McLean in the plate for Tuesday afternoon, where she truly displayed her mettle more on that later in the report. Match two, dubbed the “battle of the van Zyls,” saw SSgt Mel van Zyl defeat her wife, WO1 Vicky van Zyl, 5&4, despite it being Vicky’s birthday. Maj Kate Eastman AMS, the 2023 runner-up, had a bye in the first round. The final match in the top half saw LCpl Beth Parker RAC take on WO2 Claire Ham AGC (SPS). With Parker hardly playing in 2024 and Ham frequently on the golf course, the match was set up nicely. However, Parker pushed the pace earlyand won 5&4.
The draw produced a couple of mismatches
SAUNTON BOWL WINNER SSgtMelvan Zyl AMS
Chapman AMS, who, in their first championship, drew twins Sgt Kirsty Kennedy RE and SSgt Abi Kennedy RE respectively. Kennedy K won 8&7, followed by Kennedy A winning 7&6. That left Cpl Emma and Maj Gina Smith REME against WO2 Zoe Burrell-Knipe (BK) RLC. Dann had some injury concerns, and the match was close for a while, but as they came round the turn, Dann turned up the heat, and in Stileman own words, “Lizzy the tennis player turned up,” resulting in a 6&4 win for Dann. As the old saying goes, “beware the injured golfer The closest match in terms of handicaps and score was Smith and BK. Nip and tuck all the way around, with BK determined that Smith would not drag her into extra holes and managed to grind out a 4&2 win.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
In the plate, McLean found her stride, sweeping past van Zyl V 7&5 and Ham 3&1 to set up the final against Smith. Smith had a smooth win over White 7&6 but was pushed to the wire by Stileman before edging out a 1Up win. In the final, McLean faced Smith a fantastic achievement for McLean in her first outing at Saunton. However, Smith's vast experience helped her close out the match 3&2 to take the plate title for 2024 and the Bowles Trophy.
For those knocked out in round one of the plate and round two of the main championship, the Stableford (Saunton Bowl) awaited. Everyone had a decent game, but the top three places scored over 30 points: van Zyl V with 31pts, Parker with 32pts, and the Saunton Bowl winner for 2024, van Zyl M, with an impressive 36pts.
Back to the main championship semi where a rerun of the 2017 final saw the Kennedy twins go head-to-head for a place in the final, where Sutton awaited them after a tough battle with Eastman. Much like her second-round battle against van Zyl M, Sutton was down for most of the match, finally pulling back to all square on 16, then winning 17, and holding on down 18 after Eastman found the deep rough off the tee to win 1Up. The expected “Battle of the twins didn’t go as billed, with Kennedy K running out a comfortablewinner 5&4.
On the final afternoon of the championship, the sun shone brightly as the 2015 champion,
Kennedy K, teed off against the two-time champion, Sutton. The match was very tight all the way through, but on the 16th, Kennedy K hit her blind tee shot into thick rough. Despite what seemed like an army of supporters looking for her first ball, she was forced to play her provisional, which was not in much better shape. Despite this, she managed to hit the green, but Sutton, with the bit between her teeth, took the hole and the match 3&2.
Once again, it was a superb championship played in amazing spirit, with many s
confidence for the Inter Services in
WOMEN’S MATCHPLAY RUNNER-UP Sgt Kirsty KennedyRE
WOMEN’S MATCHPLAY CHAMPION
LCpl NikiSutton AGC(SPS)