THE semi-finals of the South West Winter Foursomes competition, sponsored by DHS Tool Supply, were held at Yelverton on Sunday January 28. Yelverton Club Professional Tim McSherry and partner Gary Hawking, who won the competition last year, were up against their Tavistock rivals, Mike Beveridge and Dave Burge. The home side went 1 up after the first hole, thanks to a poor chip from the edge of the green by Burge, and they retained their lead up to the halfway mark. But some poor drives from the tee ensured that the home team lead was lost, and the Tavistock pair went up the 18th fairway 1 up. Both pairs needed three shots to reach the green and Burge redeemed himself with a magnificent pitch shot to six inches to secure their passage to the finals. The other semi-final saw local pair Adam Bridgewater and young Joe Yorke, playing against Matt Waterfield and Duncan Sluman from China Fleet. The match was watched by 30 spectators, who witnessed some fine golf. Bridgewater and Yorke had the superior short game and were 2 up after 9 holes, and doubled their lead after their opponents 3 putted twice to secure their place in the finals, 4 and 3. This will be young Joe Yorke's first final; he reached the quarter-finals in 2005, and the semi-finals in 2004, not bad for someone who is still only 13. The Plate competition continued with John Gynne and Tony Finnigan (Tavistock GC), playing Mark Evans and Ryan Jewell from China Fleet. Finnigan and Gynne were always just ahead of their younger opponents and won 3 and 2. In the other Plate semi-final Steven and Cameron Thorne from Torquay took on a pair from Elfordleigh, Paul Hendy and John Crocker. This was a close match, with the Elfordleigh pair winning the 15th hole to go 2 up; but a poor shot by Hendy on 16 reduced the lead to 1. The 17th was halved and then the Elfordleigh pair 3 putted to lose the 18th and bring the match back to all square, after Cameron calmly slotted a 5 foot putt. Steven played a fine shot to 10 feet on the 19th, but Hendy hit an impressive shot to 12", which John Crocker put away for a 2 to secure victory. The finals will be played at Yelverton on Sunday February 11. The main final will be over 36 holes, but the Plate final and third to eighth place finals will be over 18 holes starting at 1pm. Spectators are welcome to attend, and will be guaranteed some fine golf.
