THE first semi-final of the Maxfli South West of England Open Winter Foursomes and the 5th to 8th place play-offs were played on Sunday at Yelverton Golf Club.

The first semi saw the experienced Staddon Heights' pair of Gary Box (2 handicap) and Neil Hailey ( 5 handicap) playing against Yelverton's Mark Taylor ( 5 handicap) and 15-year old Tom Squire (11 handicap).

After losing the first two holes to pars, Taylor and Squire got one hole back with a birdie three at the 3rd hole. However, Box and Hailey with pars at each of the first 8 holes took a 3 hole lead which was cut to two at the turn following a 4 at the 9th by Taylor and Squire.

Further pars at the 10th, 11th and 12th saw Box and Hailey's lead increase to 4 up with the match being concluded 5 and 4 when Taylor hit his second shot out of bounds at the 14th.

Mark Taylor praised his young playing partner Tom Squire who had played well, not only in this match, but also throughout the competition.

The second semi was between the Butcher brothers from Torquay, Martin ( 3 handicap) and Jerry (4 handicap), and the Moon brothers, Ashley (assistant professional at Ferndown) and Martyn (4 handicap) a member at Elfordleigh.

Despite birdies at the 4th and 8th holes, the Butchers could not match the Moons who played the front nine in one under par which included birdies at the 4th and 6th holes which gave them a commanding 3 hole lead at the turn.

A further birdie at the 14th put the Moons 4 up with 4 to play and they sealed victory by 4 and 3 with a par four at the 15th.

Martyn Moon acknowledged his brother's performance in their victory through his excellent short iron play, which allowed them to recover from the occasional wayward shot to make some unlikely pars, to ensure that the Butchers were unable to exert any sustained pressure.

The 36 hole final to be played on Sunday February 13 promises to be a high quality match. Box and Hailey have won their last two matches by margins of 5 and 3 and the Moons have won their last two matches by the margin of 4 and 3. Both pairs have consistently scored close to par in every round.

Victory for the Moons would mean a second win in the S.W Winter Foursomes for Martyn who won previously, in partnership with Neville Richards in 1995/96.

The 3rd to 8th place play-off matches see the losing semi-finalists, Martin and Jerry Butcher and Yelverton's Mark Taylor and Tom Squire, playing one another for 3rd and 4th places. 5th and 6th places will be contested between Andy Price and Clive O'Sullivan (Yelverton) and the Honiton professional Adrian Cave and his amateur partner Barry Dunn. Seventh and 8th places pit that last remaining lady golfer in the competition, Sarah Shobrook, and her husband Roger, against Dave Wills and Andy Beazley of Stover.