THE first round of the South West of England Open Winter Foursomes competition, sponsored this year by Budden Smale West Insure, was concluded at Yelverton Golf Club on Sunday October 17.
The competition attracted an increased number of entries this year, 99 pairs including two club professionals and nine ladies. Several professionals were knocked out of the competition; Robert Moore, Jody Bee, Tim McSherry and Andy Norman and last year?s winner ? Darren Mallafre, from China Fleet Club, was knocked out by a team from Torquay.
There were some large margins of victory: C Gentry of St Mellion and W Tilley of Elfordleigh beat their opponents G West and P Oak of Staddon Heights 7 and 6. Golf guru Ian Marshall with playing partner Miss K Cann triumphed over local father and son team, John and Ryan May, by the same margin.
The Yelverton junior pairing of Seb Treglown and Martin Petherick had a good win over the Libbaton professional Andy Norman and his partner L Fanthorpe 5 and 4.
Round two will be played on October 31, when those fortunate enough to receive byes enter the fray. Club professional Nick Horrocks (China Fleet) and County Strokeplay champion Adam Bridgewater (Yelverton) will be a tough team to beat again. There are also two mixed pairings that may benefit from the additional shot allocated to the ladies.
Churston club secretary, Simon Bawden and Christine Clayton meet last year?s giant killers, Joe Yorke and Tom Squire (Yelverton) in what promises to be an excellent match. Yelverton also have Mark Taylor and Mrs G Jarvis, who will be playing the Wolleigh professional C Waters and his partner from China Fleet G Waters.
Full details of the results are on the Yelverton web-site ? http://www.yelvertongc.co.uk">www.yelvertongc.co.uk