DEVON MEN FIRST TEAM BEAT GLOUCESTERSHIRE IN THE CHANNEL LEAGUE

On 16th April, DevonGolf welcomed Gloucestershire to a beautifully presented Thurlestone Golf Club for the second Channel League fixture of the season.

Two strong sides lined up for the foursomes and the early stages were full of birdies on the shorter Thurlestone’s front 9 holes.

In Match 1 Tiverton’s Eliot Baker and Jay Scott were down early and couldn’t string winning holes together, often giving a hole back after making some headway. It was a good quality match ending with a precision iron shot from Phillips on 17 to 2ft for a 2-1 win for Gloucestershire.

There were birdies everywhere in Match 2, mostly from Gloucestershire in the early holes before a roaring comeback from Lewis Beer and Jack Jefferey. 3 down through 9 but wins at 10 and 11 with birdies, then 3 more though the middle of the back 9 taking them to the last all square. A cool up and down and nerveless hole out for birdie secured a turnaround win 1-up for the Exeter boys.

Match 3 paired home course youngster Toby White and the in-form Peter Howell. A shaky start from this new pairing saw them 4 down after 4 holes, but heads would not drop and a win before the turn afforded some hope over the much longer back 9 holes. Some success through the par 5’s had Gloucestershire holding a 1-hole lead on the tough 16th. Toby, with the honour, crushed a driver over the corner into the perfect position. In response, Gloucestershire could not make the carry and were taking a penalty drop to make the match all square. Solid pars on 17 and fine long irons to the heart of 18 led to 2 putt birdies from both teams for an entertaining half.

Match 5 showcased some excellent matchplay foursomes golf with Gloucestershire’s in-form Milan Reed and partner Neil Tockell showing outstanding early form on the greens. They had a healthy lead which they would not relinquish as this finished in the field with a comfy Gloucestershire win 4-3.

Match 4 welcomed back former DevonGolf star Dan Rosevear paired with East Devon’s Leigh Jones. This tie followed a familiar theme, down early but still tight, patiently knowing the hole winning opportunities were on the back 9. 2-down through 12, Rosevear played a towering iron shot to the long par 13th, good enough to win the hole. Another win over the long par 5 holes and halves on 16 and 17 took us to 18 all square and the last match on the course. Both drives steered down the right, Gloucestershire in the light rough and Devon in the adjacent fairway. Gloucestershire, hitting first, found the large front bunker. Rosevear cleverly navigated the front bunker, missing long and left leaving an easier angle for Devon’s third shot. The Gloucestershire bunker shot went to 18ft giving Jones the opportunity to apply some pressure. Jones let his clubs do the talking, and chipped a delicate flop close to the hole and Gloucestershire conceded the birdie. The Gloucestershire putt for a half slipped by and a very entertaining and high-quality morning’s golf ended tied at 2½ points each.

The singles got underway with Eliot Baker facing Jake Phillips. The tone for the afternoon was set early on with 2 drives sent into the heart of this par 4 green. This was a high-quality affair with Baker holding a slender lead for most of the round. 1 up on the 18th tee, an uncharacteristic miss left saw the Devon man reloading off the tee. Phillips closed out the 18th and this was a fair shared point.

Lewis Beer, out second, could not win holes back against Gloucestershire’s consistent Ash Millington. Millington showed a very composed all-around game closing out the match 3-1.

In match 3 Toby White was up against current South West Champion Nick Day. It was another match which started with 2 fine birdies, although it was Nick who had no intention of slowing down. A remarkable run of figures had Nick heavily up and significantly under par. This match finished after 12, although they carried on as 59 was possible. I believe Nick was 9-under when they retired to watch the exciting conclusion.

Match 4 had a better start for Devon as Jack Jefferey was in total control of his ball. No mistakes coming in and Jack wrapped this one on the par 5, 15th for a 5-3 win over the experienced Calum Mortimore.

Peter Howell found himself in a real battle with Tom Workman. There was very little in this match as both players played error free golf. It was fitting that this ended in a ½ point for each player.

Jay Scott in match 6 was having his own amazing streak, out in a sparkling 27 shots and 7-up. Jay finished his match with Will Mullins on 15 for a 4-3 win.

This left the match overall tied up at 5½ points each with 4 more matches on the courses, with only 1 hole in 3 of these matches it was a tight finish.

Chris McGill once again faced young Milan Reed and it was the Gloucester man who was able to carry his form from the morning leaving McGill playing catch up, eventually losing 3-1.

Devon’s Rosevear in match 8 had been trailing for much of the early exchanges. Never one to panic, a win in the field holes brought him all square. A clutch up and down on 16 and then a birdie 2 on 17 gave Dan a 1-up lead going down the last. Both players were greenside in 2 with Rosevear’s chip closer, a Gloucestershire miss gave Dan 2 for the win and the match was conceded, capping a great return to DevonGolf for 2 points.

Making his first team debut was Yelverton’s Ryan Moore in match 9. Up against the experienced Mike Day, Ryan flew into an early 4-up lead. His steady golf around the turn maintained a lead that was slowly being nibbled at. 1-up on the 16th, Ryan narrowly missed a winning birdie. On the short 17th both played solid wedge shots to the front pin position. Sensing an important moment,they both had aggressive runs at birdie. A surprising Gloucestershire miss gave Ryan the chance to close it one out. Amazingly, his 2-footer also slid low and it was on to 18.

Two good drives, Devon slightly right and Gloucestershire slightly left, meant tough shots to the elevated 18th. Gloucestershire found the difficult front trap whilst Moore missing more pin high right. Day hit a fine shot to 10-feet but Moore chipped Impressively to 4-feet. Day missed his birdie putt and a concession gave another full point to Devon and a winning singles debut to Moore.

Jones in the back match was quietly sensing the potential importance. Down through the front 9 but confident of making some headway on the long back 9 par 5’s, Jones did indeed win the long 14 and 15th holes to go 1-up. A lost tee ball on 16 added to the pressure as it had now become clear a ½ point would secure the match for Devon. They were all square on 17 after two good wedges from both players but neither could convert. On to 18 with the outcome in the balance. A halved hole would win the match for Devon, a Gloucestershire win would halve the match overall.

Tocknell drew on all his experience to send an accurate tee shot down the middle right of the fairway.  Jones, choosing a more aggressive start line, delivered a high drawn shot down the left edge of the hole. A helpful nudge off the path pushed the ball back towards the fairway in the first cut but crucially a long way down the hole. Tocknell slid a fantastic fairway wood into the heart of the green and, not for the first time today, all eyes were on Jones and a pivotal moment on the 18th hole. From 180 yards from a fluffy lie, Jones delivered a high fading 8 iron that pitched in the middle of the green before feeding into the back right portion of the green, 16 ft from the flag. Tocknell’s long range effort cosied up to the hole and Jones gently rolled his ball hole side to secure the match winning half.

Click here for full match results

It was a hugely entertaining and high-quality match. Thanks to Club Captain Paul Milburn-Fryer for his support on the day and all staff at Thurlestone Golf Club.

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