Greet is County Amateur Champion - a County Week Round-up

The Cornwall Amateur Championship 2021

Mullion Golf Club’s unheralded Jamie Greet became only the second winner of the Cornwall Amateur Championship when he defeated Richard Ackland (St Mellion) in Saturday’s 36-hole final over a splendid Truro course. Greet, 24, follows in the footsteps of 1979 winner Pat Gilbert who, along with a number of his home club members, was present to witness Greet’s achievement.

Jamie’s path to the win had started with a tied 19th place in the 36-hole strokeplay qualifier on the preceding Wednesday as he returned scores of 71 and 76 for a +13 total of 147,  3 shots under the qualifying mark of 150.

Top qualifier – winning the Scratch Cup - was Kieran Faulkner (above, Looe) on 136 after he registered a level par 67 followed by a 69. He finished one shot ahead of home club member Jared Mortimore on 137 (71,66) followed by 5 players on 139 – Alex McHugh (Mullion, 71,68), Adam Bridgewater (Tavistock, 69,70), Joe Reynard (Trevose, 69,70), Cameron Kenworthy (China Fleet, 68,71) and Thomas Stephens (Trevose, 67,72). Mortimore finished runner up in the Scratch Cup with McHugh in third spot. Ackland meanwhile comfortably qualified for the matchplay stages with rounds of 69 and 71.

The Handicap Cup was won by Ben Treleaven (Trevose) with nett rounds of 64 and 68 for a 132 total, 3 shots ahead of Kenworthy (135) and third placed Martin Rowe (Truro, 137).

Highlighting that age is no barrier 75-year-old Malcolm Edmunds (West Cornwall) also qualified for the top 32 matchplay but he had to endure a playoff involving 5 players looking for 3 spots. Those 5 were Andy Rowe (Looe), Simon Bray (Truro), Edmunds, Alec Penrose (Truro) and CGU President Andrew Clotworthy (Tehidy Park). In the playoff a quick result was achieved on the first playoff hole - Truro’s downhill 12th - as Edmunds, Penrose and Clotworthy made par 4s to progress.

Full Qualifying Scores 

And so to the matchplay stages for which the draw was conducted in a packed clubhouse. With the top 4 qualifiers placed in the draw the remainder were drawn at random to considerable amusement as local players and county team members were pitted against each other. It is probably fair to say there were no great surprises in the first round of the matchplay on Thursday morning, but once again Edmunds was to the fore in beating Kenworthy, 47 years his junior, by 2&1. Clotworthy was a winner over George Bray (Truro) by one hole.

Thursday afternoon saw the last 16 playing. Faulkner had an impressive 5&4 win over Liam Wilson (Trevose), Greet beat Josh Chapman (Tehidy Park) by the odd hole, Penrose beat clubmate Mark Bracey 3&2, County team member Reynard despatched Clotworthy 6&5, George Champion (Truro) saw off Ethan Tempest (West Cornwall) by 4&3. Edmunds was now pitted against 17-year-old Will Hardwick (Perranporth) and the former rose once again to the challenge as he won 3&2. The two other matches stood out. In the first of these Ackland won 3 of the last 4 holes in regulation play to take Justin Barnard to extra holes before winning on the 21st. Possibly the match of the afternoon saw Mortimore versus Tom Stephens. The two good friends and former clubmates traded blows throughout in great spirit and those present to witness it saw excellent golf. It was Stephens who prevailed in winning the last two holes.

Friday and the last eight were up. Greet who was on the rise survived an epic with Faulkner eventually winning at the third extra hole courtesy of a birdie 3. Penrose, a self-confessed underdog, beat Reynard by one hole and Edmunds run came to an end at the hands of Tom Stephens (5&4). Ackland beat Champion 4&3.

So, we had two semi-finals, both of which proved to be close encounters in the only wet conditions of the week with rain almost throughout. In the first of these Greet managed to scrape past Penrose by one hole whilst in the second the experienced Ackland prevailed in a 2&1 win over Stephens. The finalists had emerged.

Saturday morning dawned dry and remained so with the lightest of breezes. The finalists went through the customary pre match routines on the first tee, and they were off, under the watchful eyes of two-time former County Captain Andrew Ring and referee Steve Ashby.

Almost from the outset things were to go very much the way of Greet as the unfortunate Ackland struggled with his game. The pair halved the first hole but Greet went ahead at the second and increased his advantage at the third. He made a birdie 2 at the 4th to go 3 up and at the next hole that became 4. When Ackland lost a ball at the 6th the lead was 5 and the writing was on the wall. At the 8th Ackland reduced the deficit but by 10 it had become 5 up to Greet again. Finding the hedge on 13 led to Greet going 6 up before Ackland got it back to 5 with a birdie at 15. Struggling all week with the tee shot at the par 3 16th Ackland was forced to concede  and then lost the 17th to be 7 down. A brave birdie 3 at the 18th meant Greet had a 6-hole advantage at the halfway point.

Greet was clearly in the driving seat and increased his lead at the afternoon first hole and there was no looking back for him as he advanced to 9 up after 5 holes of the afternoon 18. It was still 9 up after 9 holes but Ackland won both 10 and 11 to extend the match before the inevitable conclusion was reached at the 12th. Greet was the County Champion.

At the presentation a clearly overwhelmed Greet said ‘I am very pleased but to be honest cannot take it in at the moment’. He paid tribute to his opponent Ackland and praised Truro Golf Club for the excellent condition of the course. Ackland earned himself great respect in speaking very eloquently in congratulating Greet on the win and the 39-year-old was still able to apply humour in making the losers speech after appearing in 4 Cornish County Championship finals and not managing a win in any of them. He thanked his wife and sons for their enduring support.

The Royal Cornwall Goblets (Sunday 12th September)

The traditional curtain raiser to County Week saw 204 players treated to a pairs foursomes stableford on a lovely day and first sight of the Truro course in excellent condition with the greens just fabulous.

Coming out top of the pile were Adam Haynes and Ken Robinson (St Austell) on 40 points, 2 points clear of three pairs on 38. Runners up spot on countback were Ian Hodge and Mark Hughes (West Cornwall)

Top 6 prizewinners

1st           40pts     Adam Haynes & Ken Robinson (St Austell)

2nd          38pts     Ian Hodge & Mark Hughes (West Cornwall)

3rd           38pts     Andy Mortimore & Andy Watson (Truro)

4th            38pts     David Hasty & Martin Kitt (Carlyon Bay)

5th            37pts     Bob Darnell & Terry Fisher (Mullion)

6th           37pts     Dick Gregory & Gavin Wilkie (Launceston)

Full Results 

The Seniors & Founders Cups (Monday 13th September)

The Seniors Cup winner was David Hayhoe (Truro) with an exceptional 46 points in the individual stableford. Playing off a 17 handicap Hayhoe suggested he had the round of his life having played to 7. Founders Cup winner was Darragh Dunleavy (Truro) with an excellent 42 points, beating Greg Mewton (Falmouth) on countback. A total of 134 players competed.

Seniors Cup - Top 5 prizewinners

1st           46 pts    David Hayhoe (Truro)

2nd          42 pts    Greg Mewton (Falmouth)

3rd           42 pts    David Kneebone (Truro)

4th           40 pts    Andy Beazley (Truro)

5th           40 pts    Graham Etherton (Perranporth)

Founders Cup - Top 5 prizewinners

1st           42 pts    Darragh Dunleavy (Truro)

2nd          42 pts    Greg Mewton (Falmouth)

3rd           42 pts    David Kneebone (Truro)

4th           40 pts    Andy Beazley (Truro)

5th           40 pts    Tony Friday (Radnor)

Full Results 

The Royal Cornwall Challenge Cup (Tuesday 14th September)

140 players took to the course and winners of this pairs betterball competition were Liam Wilson (Trevose) playing with Stuart Nicholas (Newquay). The pair registered 47 stableford points to win by two from Greg Mewton (Falmouth) and Karl Martin (Truro).

Top 5 prizewinners

1st           47pts     Liam Wilson (Trevose) & Stuart Nicholas (Newquay)

2nd          45pts     Greg Mewton (Falmouth) & Karl Martin (Truro)

3rd           43pts     Brian Green (Newquay) & Jamie Green (Truro)

4th           43pts     Glyn Rowett (St Austell) & Chris Pountney (St Mellion)

5th           43 pts    Clyde & Jack Kevern (West Cornwall)

Full Results 

The Lawrance Cup (Thursday 16th September)

Truro GC claimed another winner in Josh Meenaghan who scored 45 points in the individual stableford competition , 4 points ahead of runner up Stuart Nicholas (Newquay). 58 players competed on a day where a large part of the tee times available were taken up by the Amateur Championship matchplay stages.

Top 5 prizewinners

1st           45 pts    Joshua Meenaghan (Truro)

2nd          41 pts    Stuart Nicholas (Newquay)

3rd           38 pts    Tony Kellow (Porthpean)

4th           38 pts    Andy Beazley (Truro)

5th           37 pts    Ricky O’Neill (Truro)

Full Results 

The Western Morning New Challenge Cup (Friday 17th September)

This 3 man team stableford competition with two scores to count saw another home club win as Simon Bray, Darren Murrish and Jeff Cowls dovetailed very well to return an 82 point haul, pipping the St Mellion trio of Peter Mehigan, Simon Parsons and Mark Knight by just the one point. 96 players competed in total.

Top 5 prizewinners

1st           82 pts  Simon Bray, Darren Murrish & Jeff Cowls (Truro)

2nd          81 pts  Peter Mehigan, Simon Parson & Mark Knight (St Mellion)

3rd           81 pts  Paul Jackson, Dave Tregidgo (P/porth) & Tony Kellow (P/pean)

4th           77 pts  Ian Veale (W/church), Andy Beazley (Truro) & Andy Rowe (Looe)

5th           76 pts  Paul Farquhar, Jim Oliver (Porthpean) & Rob Button (C/Bay)

Full Results

The Jamieson Trophy (Saturday 18th September)

The winners of this foursomes stableford with an excellent 41 points were Paul Farquhar (Porthpean) and Dave Tregidgo (Perranporth). 64 players competed.

Top 3 prizewinners

1st           41pts     Paul Farquhar & Dave Tregidgo (Porthpean & Perranporth)

2nd          40pts     Michael Rooney & Gary Sullivan (Porthpean)

3rd           38pts     Andrew Barton & Chris Dennis (Perranporth)

Full Results 

The Presentations

CGU President Andrew Clotworthy welcomed a packed clubhouse to the prizegiving. He thanked Truro GC for hosting County Week and for their total embracing of the event. He referred to the fact this was the first time the Championship and indeed County Week had been held at the club, a club which had produced so many good golfers over the years. There had been so many nice touches ancillary to the golf which made clear how much effort had been put in by the club before and during the week. He praised the 3 man greenkeeping team under Course Manager Dominic Gibbard for the excellent condition of the course and in particular the green surfaces – something commented on all week by competitors. He added thanks to the members who had raked bunkers all week ahead of play and those who had assisted as starters.

He thanked the catering and bar staff for their first class service to all those who had attended across the week, and  thanked PGA Professional Scott Richards and George Bray for their efforts too. He thanked Acting Club Chairman Mike Hicks, Captain Dave Ealing and Club Manager Peter Simmons for their parts in making the week so successful, one he was sure would ensure Truro will feature again in the future. He also thanked photographer and host club member Chris Mather for the very professional pictures taken of the golf across the week. Clotworthy referred to the longevity and playing efforts of Malcolm Edmunds, something duly acknowledged by the audience. He concluded by congratulating the two finalists.

Club Captain Dave Ealing (above) was delighted to welcome the Cornwall Golf Union to Truro and expressed the club’s pride and feeling of honour in being invited to host. He too thanked all of those at the club who had contributed to the week. Messrs Ealing and Clotworthy then presented the respective trophies and prize vouchers.

Course Manager Dominic Gibbard posted regularly on the Truro GC Facebook page across the week, and you can read his thoughts and see further pictures here. Dominic said ‘It’s been a tough week but very rewarding to hear all the positivity. A real honour to be at the helm to present your course for Truro’s first ever county week, hopefully not the last either! The good comments helped us keep going when we started to flag a bit midweek so Thank-you all and particularly to Chris Pountney and Pete Simmons for all your positive support this week. I have thanked our many volunteers’ numerous times this week and it wouldn’t have been so successful without them. But the last Thank-you must go to Steve and Phil who have been solid, skilled and dependable all week with the workload. They really have gone above and beyond working split shifts, horribly early starts and coping with me changing my plans to adapt to conditions, feedback and of course the weather. Can honestly say we have not had one cross word or snappy conversation all week, not a bad little team really, I’m quite lucky to have their combined 55+ years of greenkeeping experience.’ Thank you Dom, Steve and Phil!

Chris Mather’s Facebook page contains many great images of the week, and you can view these here. Thank you Chris!

County Week 2022 takes place at Tehidy Park GC from 15th – 21st May and we look forward to welcoming you there during the club’s Centenary Year.

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