Channel League defeat at Newport

Report from Jason Hampton, County Captain

On Sunday 2nd August, the Devon first team took on Gwent on a beautiful summer’s day, around the equally beautiful course at Newport Golf Club. Unfortunately, due to squad members’ commitments elsewhere, the Captain was drawn into playing yet again, so this report will lack some (in other words, a lot of) detail. 

The weather didn’t start brightly, and neither did Devon, with top pair Dan Rosevear and Sam Dunn losing 3 and 2. Also shaking hands on the 16th were the 2nd group, Matt Wells and Jack Philpotts. And they were joined by the 4th pairing of Tom Trowbridge and Jake Burnage, the tricky par 3 becoming a graveyard for Devon’s hopes. The 3rd pairing of Adam Bridgewater and young debutant Rory Hunt kept going though, right to the end, but again for no reward, as they went down by 2 holes. It was left to Robbie Thompson to carry not just Devon’s hopes, but an ageing captain as well, with a last hole smash and grab victory Devon’s only point from the foursomes. 

Just when you thought it could not get worse, both Rosevear and Dunn took an early bath (not together…….possibly ). But as the sun shone, and the temperature rose, Devon started to turn on the heat. Wells, Philpotts and Bridgewater won comfortably. Hunt lost out to the home club’s plus handicap greenkeeper (never a good draw!), but Devon kept pressing, with Burnage and Thompson securing victories. However, the match was lost as the Captain wilted in the heat against an opponent less than half his age. Trowbridge finished off the day with a respectable half, but despite a fine effort in the afternoon, Gwent won by 8.5 points to 6.5.

Many thanks to the team for their efforts, and to Newport Golf Club for being such excellent hosts for the weekend. 

Return to News Page

Created by intelligentgolf version 10.1.2.