THE quarter finals of the South West of England open winter foursomes competition, sponsored this year by BuddenSmale West Insure, were played at Yelverton Golf Club on Sunday. The course had received a lot of rain during the preceding week and most competitors were short of practice due to their courses being closed or partially closed. However, the Yelverton course is renowned for its excellent drainage and resilient moorland turf, and conditions were good for the time of year. The two Yelverton young cavaliers, Joe Yorke and Tom Squire, had their dreams of reaching the semi-finals again shattered by Jonathan Ruth (aged 15) and Lester Barnes from Torquay. Surprisingly the visitors putted better than the home players, who 3-putted several times. Ruth and Lester were three up after seven holes, and never looked threatened, winning 4 and 2. The Plate competition started the knock-out phase, with the top eight qualifiers playing for the plate. Local duo Dave Garry and Dave Purnell won convincingly 4 and 3, winning holes 9-12 was the deciding factor in their match. Tony Hodgson and Brian Tester from Teignmouth secured a victory over the local pairing of Dave Wright and Graham Plumb by 3 and 2. Two Yelverton pairs were drawn against each other, Andy Price and Nick Arundel finally holding on to beat Dennis Voisin and Karl Eastwood 1 up, after having a sizeable lead until the latter stages of the match. The final match of the plate went to the 19th hole, where Steven Scholfield and Jack Stevenson (Great Torrington) beat Keith Crawford and Jeremy Gates (Thurlestone) after a very close match. The semi-finals of both the competitions will be played at Yelverton on Sunday, January 30.