Cornwall Golf Union
Cornwall Grab Draw With Devon at Tiverton
Cornwall's Men's team snatched a draw in their Channel League match versus neighbours Devon at Tiverton GC yesterday.
Leading 3 - 2 after the morning foursomes, the Duchy men underwent a nail biter of a finish with a half in the very last match alive on the course secured by 'Iceman' Kieran Faulkner (Looe), who had been 2 down with two to play, but birdied the 17th and won the last.
[CGU County Captain Peter Simmons reports]
In Cornwall’s penultimate Channel League match of the season the team travelled to Tiverton Golf Club to face our county border rivals Devon!
The weather was not looking good with heavy rain the night before and an already wet golf course. Thankfully the match was able to be played, and our gratitude must go to the Greenkeeping team at Tiverton GC for making this possible.
In the morning foursomes the pairing of Sam Crocker (Carlyon Bay) and County Champion Jamie Greet (Mullion) led Cornwall out and played excellent golf , showcasing some great short game skills to eventually win 4&3. Meanwhile in the second match a much closer game was being contested with Matt Richards (West Cornwall) & Tom Stephens (Trevose) going all the way to the 18th hole where Matt holed a nervy three-footer to win 1up. (2-0 Cornwall).
The third pairing of Ethan Tempest (West Cornwall) and vice-captain Adam Bridgewater (Launceston) also played very well and would run out winners by a 4&2 margin. This gave Cornwall a 3-0 lead and we were hoping that we could increase that lead. Rob MacGregor (Tehidy Park) and George Law (Perranporth) played the 18th one down and were unable to win the hole meaning Devon picked up their first point. Meanwhile Jared Mortimore (Truro) and Kieran Faulkner (Looe) were all square playing the last hole and with Devon making a par four and the Cornwall pairing taking five Devon had reduced the lead to 3-2 at lunch.
In the afternoon singles Matt Richards continued his good form and bagged the first point winning 3&2. Match two would see Devon take the win when Tom Stephens lost 5&4. County Champ, Jamie Greet had a great game that went all the way before Jamie closed it out on the 18th with a 2up win. That result was quickly cancelled out as Sam Crocker succumbed to Devon County Champion Dan Rosevear 5&4. In match five Cornwall talisman Rob MacGregor proved his class with a 3&2 win - this gave Cornwall a 6-4 advantage at the halfway stage of the singles. Devon would quickly respond though and won matches six, seven and eight to give them a one point lead. In match ten Jared Mortimore was playing excellent golf against Devon Captain Sam Dunn and would close out his match on the 17th hole winning 3&1.
That left the match to be decided in game nine where Kieran Faulkner was playing Matt Lynn – Devon had been in control of this match for much of the afternoon and with Kieran two down playing the 17th Cornwall needed some magic. Kieran duly delivered with a superb birdie on the 17th and when Lynn missed a 6 foot putt on the 18th to win after a solid par by Kieran that was enough to give Cornwall the half point they required to level the match score at 7.5 – 7.5.
This was a very good team performance away from home against our old rivals Devon and credit should go to the team. There is work to be done over the winter but for now we will focus on the final match of the season which is against Wiltshire on the 22nd September. This match will be played at St Enodoc and will mark the end of an incredible amateur career for Rob MacGregor who will be turning to the professional ranks in October.
As captain it will be an honour for me to announce him on the tee for his final match in the same way it has been an honour for me to have been his captain. I would like to urge as many player’s, officials and supporters of Cornwall Golf to come and support ‘Boc’ in his final match for the Cornwall Golf Union.
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