DEVON SENIOR MEN CONTINUE THEIR WINNING WAYS IN THE CHANNEL LEAGUE

Devon start the Channel League Season with a win

The first SCL game of the season saw the defending-champion Devon team gather at the Warren to open their defence with a tough encounter with Gloucestershire. With Colin Papworth suffering injury issues and Peter Bicknell unavailable there were two changes to the final selection of 2022, the home club’s Jez Binch coming in alongside a welcome return for RND’s Simon Waddington after a number of years of fraught back injury and surgery.

The first two games on course in the 9-hole Greensome session (playing holes 2 to 10), Churston’s Rick Osbourne and Simon Knapman against Tim Clink (Lilley Brook) and Nigel Gravelle (Players) followed by Waddington and Chris Audin (Warren) playing Steve Yorke (Shirehampton) and Nick Barwood (Knowle), both went the way of the visitors, 2 up and 2/1 respectively. A dominant display from home club pairing of Binch and Team Manager Tim Aggett put Mike Jarvis (Thornbury) and Rich Wood (Long Ashton) somewhat to the sword, whilst the remaining two games seemed to be going Devon’s way.

Golf is a fickle game, though. Having taken a lead with a great par at the 8th Tim Jones (Warren) and Tony Allsopp (Tiverton) looked to have taken control, but Gloucs skipper Nick Morris (Lilley Brook) and determined scrapper Vern Chappell (Cotswold Edge) were having nothing of it and eked out a half.

RND’s Mark Evans, playing as usual with Dave Eva (Thurlestone) was standing over a 15-foot birdie putt on the 7th green 3 up thinking “this could be for the game” at which point Dave Williams (Cotswold Hills) holed from outside him for their 3. Evans couldn’t match that putt. The Gloucs boys then made another great 3 at 8 to win that one as well. Steve Prosser (Minchinhampton) then hit two brilliant iron shots on 9 and 10, both inside 10 feet on par 4s measuring 425 and 455 for two further birdies and a phenomenal turnaround

1 ½ to 3 ½ at lunchtime, the visitors sensing possible victory. Quick start needed to the afternoon singles session.

Team manager Aggett put himself out top in the singles order, and as he was completing his win over Nick Barwood Evans and Audin also appeared at the 17th green having both won at 16, against Steve Yorke and Mike Jarvis respectively. Perfect start for Devon as they drew ahead in the contest with 7 matches still to finish.

Next due through was Jez Binch, and as he came up the 17th 2 up playing Rich Wood Simon Waddington and Tim Jones also appeared both having duly won their matches against, respectively, Tim Clink (5/4) and Vern Chappell (6/5). As Binch finished his match with a solid par Devon had won all 6 of the singles completed to that point to go to standing on the brink of a win, news from tail gunner Dave Eva being as good as it usually is.

Rick Osbourne was next into view, having holed a 20-footer to stay alive against Nigel Gravelle at the 16th. Both players struggled with 17, which can be an awkward hole, but it was hard not to feel for Rick as a putt to extend the match just fell to the right as it reached the hole, giving Gloucester their first point of the afternoon. Rick’s Churston club mate Simon Knapman came to that green next, dormy 2 down to Gloucs Captain Nick Morris, but Morris hit an excellent recovery approach from the heather and when Simon misjudged the yardage into 17 as so many do the game was up and a second Gloucester point was racked up.

Tony Allsopp had been 3 down to Dave Williams, but as usual refused to give up and a gimme birdie at the par 3 16th put him all square. Yet another, however, to misjudge the approach to 17 he fell 1 behind again walking to the final tee. As he did Dave Eva hove into view having completed a 6/4 victory over Gloucester’s morning hero Prosser guaranteeing the Devon win. With the wind now screaming across the tee shot at 18 Williams couldn’t hold his tee shot up and it rolled no more than a foot out of bounds; he and Allsopp immediately agreed the half.

From 2 behind at lunch the Devon side had taken 7 wins and a half from the afternoon session to finish with a 9-6 victory. An absolutely brilliant effort and a fantastic start to the defence of the League title.  

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