DEVONGOLF
Channel League v Somerset away
Devon went into their final regular season Senior Channel League game in determined mood. A win was mandatory to keep their chances of qualifying for the Final alive, and there was the disappointment of the South-West Championships to put behind them. Practice was disrupted on the Monday night by a violent rainstorm, but everyone did get to see the golf course before the days’ play.
Devon fielded three Channel League debutants in Simon Knapman of Churston and Mark Taylor from Tavistock alongside County Champ Nick Draper (Teignmouth), playing alongside regulars Tim Aggett (Warren) Tony Allsopp (Tiverton), Chris Audin (Exminster) Darryl Day and Dave Eva (Both Thurlestone), Rick Osborne (Churston) all under the direction of Team Manager Colin Papworth (Teignmouth)
Left to right - Mark Taylor, Colin Papworth, Chris Audin, Nick Draper, Dave Eva, Darryl Day, Tony Allsopp, Rick Osborne, Simon Knapman, Tim Aggett (front)
Aggett and Papworth led off in the morning Greensomes session against the Bath pairing of Kel Green and Steve Francis and played some solid golf to see them off 2/1, finishing off with a par including a penalty shot after losing the7th to an excellent birdie 2. Allsopp and Draper were next, playing a tough Burnham pairing of the two Andys, Harriott and Fisher. Both pairs holed outstanding 10/12 foot putts on the 8th to halve in pars, but after Allsopp hit it to around 20 feet at the par 3 last Harriott hit it within 4 feet, but it was a very nasty, curling putt across the steep slope. Draper made a brave but unsuccessful attempt for the 2 but Devon could breathe again when Fisher’s putt went marginally low; match halved.
Audin and Taylor never got on terms with the Enmore pairing of James Ward and Simon Rudd and came to the penultimate hole 2 down. After the pair had to chip out of the trees, Audin all but holed the third shot from 100 yards. To no avail, the Somerset pair making a solid par to win. At this point Osborne and Knapman appeared after a convincing 3/2 win over Alan Todd (Burnham) and George Hampshire (Minehead).
Attention turned to the penultimate match. The Thurlestone pair of Day and Eva hauled themselves back level by winning the 8th against Burnham’s Frank Ward and Rob Chandler of Mendip Spring. Day hit a safe tee shot just off the back left, leaving a long approach uphill. The Somerset pair both missed right, leaving them with little chance, and so it proved as their 2nd ended up 30 feet past the hole, from where Ward produced a magnificent effort that was all but holed. Eva’s approach bounced over the fringe, and the extra momentum took it 4 feet above the hole, leaving Day a horror for the match. It was just missed, Eva holing the resulting 3-footer coming back for the half. 3-2 Devon at lunch.
With the golf course completely packed and a club match directly in front the Team Managers agreed to play in fours in the afternoon, two singles matches going out together
Aggett and Audin led off against Harriott and Hampshire respectively. Audin’s game was close in the early stages, but an absolutely stunning recovery by the Devon man at the 11th, with wins on the next two holes saw him take control to win at 16. Having gone all the way to the last in the home fixture Aggett and Harriott were engaged in another grinding battle but one liberally sprinkled with birdies. Only when the Somerset man short-sided himself on the 14th did Aggett get level, and then fired in consecutive birdies of his own to go dormy up. The Somerset man was not finished, producing his own birdie at 17, but another short-sided approach to the 18th, another steeply sloping green, was his undoing, Aggett taking the 2 from 6-feet available to win 1 up
In another repeat of a home tie singles match Allsopp played James Ward, but Ward’s power was key on the course as he who ate up the par 5s to defeat the Devon man at the 14th. Draper went one hole further before falling to the ever-steady Kel Green. Honours even, and the game still very tight.
Osborne dropped a shot at the first in his match with Fisher but was then all pars and a nice birdie run to wallop Fisher 6/5, whilst Captain Papworth was steady in defeating Simon Rudd. However, with Eva losing to Chandler and both Taylor and Day engaged in very close matches the outcome seemed anything but certain.
Knapman, however, went dormy 3 up on Todd and duly converted that to a Devon point on the 16th green. That confirmed the match win for Devon, but with 2nd placed Cornwall still having to play Somerset the side wanted to put as many points on the board as they could.
Taylor had been 1up going up the 16th but lost 17 to a Francis birdie 2. The Devon man produced a solid tee shot, with the Somerset man in the trees. Mark’s 2nd went a bit long, but Francis was in the right-hand greenside bunker, and did well to keep his recovery within 30 feet of the hole. Taylor’s approach came up 10 feet short, a horrid breaking left to right putt, which after Francis missed he duly holed to great applause from his team mates.
Day was still 1 down coming to the last, but an excellent tee shot and approach to around 25 feet put Ward under pressure, and the Burnham man missed the green out to the right. From there he had no chance, and a solid 2-putt from Day secured a halved match.
Devon won 9 ½ to 5 ½ leaving Cornwall needing to win and take 12 points from their final match with Somerset, currently scheduled for mid-September at Minehead, to deny Devon top of the table in the Southern Division