DEVON SENIORS TRY TO DEFEND SOUTHERN COUNTIES

It was a remarkable effort from Devon Seniors defending the Southern Counties' Foursomes title. Arriving at the really hilly Boyce Hill Golf Club on Canvey Island in Essex to take on Bedfordshire, Surrey and Hertfordshire in the final of this year’s Southern Counties' Foursomes, the DevonGolf side staged a heroic fight to try and retain their title.

The reason? In a 5-pairs a side competition Devon had to fight a pair down.

Team Manager Tim Aggett and partner Colin Papworth were playing the uphill 13th when Warren’s Tim Jones appeared driven in a buggy by one of the organising team. Having started from the 10th he should have been half way round the front 9. Instead he carried horrid news; negotiating the very steep 30+ foot bank down towards the green on the 17th hole, Tim’s partner Tony Allsopp had taken a fall and looked to have broken his ankle. He was very clearly too injured to play.

As it happened, Papworth had driven up in a sizeable van, making a delivery of electric bikes to one of his businesses’ principal distributors. All Tony’s golf gear went in the back of the truck. The decision was made for Tim J to drive Tony back to Exeter rather than risk the uncertainties of the nearest A & E Department at Southend Hospital and possible hospitalisation a 5-hour journey from home.

They reached Exeter mid-afternoon and after x-rays and some substantial waits in the A & E at Wonford, Tony was sent home in the early hours of Friday with his leg in plaster - indeed possessed of a broken ankle. We all wish him the absolute best for as speedy a recovery as possible.

Both the games the Jones/Allsopp pairing would have played against Surrey and Herts  had to be conceded, but the organising Committee also ruled this would be with no “holes won”, as in the event of a drawn final that is the tie break – the positive side of each win totalled.

Of the 4 remaining pairs a pretty fair fist had been made of the morning. The powerful duo of Peter Bicknell (newly crowned Torquay Club Champion) and regular partner Exminster’s Chris Audin held off a determined fightback from Herts top pair David Lang and Russell Conway-Lye, crucially winning 16 to set up their 1-up win. With their short games misfiring, the Churston pair of Rick Osborne and Simon Knapman ran into a mauling from the second Herts pair, former England international Tye Carter and his partner Paul Nancarrow, the match finishing on the 14th.

Behind them Aggett and Papworth, having been 1-down when the news of the Allsopp injury arrived, won both the 13th and 16th holes to secure their own 1-up win over Bedfordshire’s Colin Beard and skipper Andy Brown before the ever-dependable pairing of Dave Eva (Thurlestone) and Mark Evans (Royal North Devon) defeated Beds’ Steve Kavanagh and Ian Poulter’s former caddy Terry Mundy 3-2.

3 points from the morning session was a good return, but it left Devon behind Surrey on 4½, aided by that conceded match. Herts had  2½, Bedfordshire 0. With the afternoon concession to Herts because of Tony’s injury, they were effectively on 3½.

But this is a team. The determination before going out to play the afternoon round was palpable amongst the Devon group, particularly with 2 matches against Surrey. The target was 4 points out of 4 in the afternoon session.

Again Bicknell and Audin led off in style, recording a 3-2 win over Beds’ top pair Richard Harris and David Marshall. Osborne and Knapman rediscovered the missing putting touch and ground out their point, again against Beds, beating Peter Mott and Tony Crockford at the last.

The other two pairs were both playing Surrey. Starting from the 10th Evans and Eva had the perfect start, winning the first 3 holes to establish a lead that was rarely threatened. They got 4-up after 11, and although the Surrey duo of Ron Christie and James Wegall threatened briefly at their 12th hole, the 3rd, the Devon boys put the foot back on the pedal and closed it out 5-4.

That left Aggett and Papworth playing John Cassidy and David Boxall. The Devon pair were only ahead once in the match after 2 holes. They promptly lost the 3rd and 4th (12th and 13th on the course) and were never better than level at any point as the Surrey pair played exemplary golf. Worse, Devon went 2-down in the midst of the back 9. They clung on, but after an exchange of holes found themselves dormy 2-down. Maybe the pressure they’d been exerting did take its toll though as, bluntly, the Surrey pair collapsed on the last 2 holes, a pair of pars securing what had looked an unlikely half for Devon.

And that was a metaphor for the whole Surrey afternoon performance. That half against Aggett and Papworth was the only success the team had. They completely folded in the afternoon, losing all 4 other matches, two by sizeable margins, one each against Beds and, crucially for Devon, against Herts. 

Devon had 3½ out of the afternoon target of 4; 6½ for the day out of 8 available. Would that be enough?

With 3 wins (including that concession) plus a half, Herts had got to a tally of 6, with just one game left out on the course, Beard and Brown for Beds and Jason Court and Bob Peacock for Herts. Because of the tie break holes won situation (1 better than Devon) a half would be enough for Herts to take the title, but the Beds pair were 3-up with 5 to play. The Herts duo fought back, winning 3 of the next 4, but it was still in the balance coming to the last. A very wayward Beds tee shot to the par 3, 18th seemed to have sealed Devon’s fate, but a miraculous recovery out of a floral hedge kept the door ajar with Herts a very long way from the hole on the difficult green. Beds couldn’t salvage par though, and a solid 2-putt from Herts won the game and the trophy for them.

Hertfordshire 7 points
Devon 6½
Surrey 5
Bedfordshire 1½

Click here for a full breakdown of match results

Team Manager Tim Aggett said, “Once again, I can’t really put into words just how proud I am of this group and to be a part of this group. Not just those playing today, but those wanting to be a part of the playing team whose support is also so important. The spirit, determination and desire to play for each other and for Devon is something very special. I feel very fortunate to be a part of it. Today was a sensational effort.”

In the last 4 playings of this event, Devon have won once and three times been second by a margin of a point or less. It is both a record of frustration and to be proud of.

To general applause from everyone present, In his victory speech Herts' captain Mike Ready expressed his hope that Tony would make a speedy recovery. We wish Mike and his undefeated team all the best in their forthcoming South East Senior League Final against Kent at West Essex Golf Club, and our thanks go to SE Group Secretary Martin McDermott and his team for running another excellent event.

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