A beautiful Spring day welcomed the Somerset and Cornwall Captains to Oake Manor Golf Club on the 29th May which was in great condition for this keenly contested match. Oake Manor Captain Charles St George welcomed both teams at lunch time before the pairs were revealed (eventually) and the players headed out for their matches.
Having won three in a row since the opening day loss in Oxfordshire, (ignoring the rain washout at Clevedon) Somerset Captain Mike Rossiter was keen to get a fourth consecutive win and continued the SGC tradition by partnering Oake Manor Captain Charles St George in the opening match against Cornwall Captain Mark Twynham and his partner Beau Meagor . The game was close throughout and, despite an almost miraculous recreation of Barnes Wallis by Mark on the 5th hole, the Somerset pair held on to record a narrow win on the 17th – both teams having made a 2 on the 16th to extend the match.
Match 2 saw Chad Patel team up with SGC Secretary Clive Stilwell to take on Andrew London and Mike Pamphilon from Cornwall. The match was close all the way through and although Somerset pulled three clear around the turn, they were soon pegged back and the Cornwall pair were level going into the last 4 holes with all of the momentum. But Clive made a couple of putts and Chad made the game safe on the 17th having plotted his way down the long Par 5 and hands were shaken as Somerset won 2&1.
Steve Parker and Max Putman were next up for Somerset against John Basset and Dave Bundy. Somerset didn’t get off to the best of starts being two down early on but the round just got better and better as the Somerset pair made light work of the course and the opposition being only four over gross by the time the match ended. A resounding 4&3 win was a bit flattering though as Cornwall had a day when nothing went in.
In match 4, Simon Waddington (a Cornwall resident but Somerset Captain) and Roger Gazzard played Chris James and Chris Denis. This match was also close right from the start and was described as “nip and tuck” by all the players. A great game ensued with very little in it and it was not unexpected that it came down to the last putt on the last green for Somerset to tie the match. Alas, it lipped out and Cornwall had their first point on the board – 1 up. The home team still had a comfortable looking 3-1 lead overall at this point.
Match 5 saw Geoff Rooke and Mark Swallow take on Nick Pascoe and Larry Shepherd in yet another close game. Geoff’s putter was red hot and Nick had a storming run early on the back 9 taking the game down the 18th with Somerset one ahead. Mark came in at the critical moment to make the half and see Somerset through by 1 hole. A cracking game where even Somerset thought that Cornwall were robbed!
David Bate and Jim Boyce were out in the 6th Match and played Paul Hicks and Simon Tonkin. The home team’s local knowledge proved to be lacking a couple of times with the river being wider than they thought and the bunkers being a lot bigger! As a result, they couldn’t quite hold on to the Cornish pair who won on the 17th hole to make the overall match much tighter at 4-2 with two groups still on the course. Would it be another win or would victory elude Somerset?
Paul Hucker and Graham Hewlett were our bankers in Match 7 and so it proved with Cornwall’s pair of Mike Martin and Ross Oliver unable to do much about a string of birdies from Graham (who after all has form on this course!). The home pair dovetailed well and the game ended on the 16th with a resounding 4&2 win for Somerset. Another overall Match win was secured as a result
The final pair of Colin Warnes and Match Manager Iain Robertson took on Andy Parkin and David Lawton in the final match which also went all the way to the 18th green. Although the match went Cornwall’s way, the Somerset pair were hanging on with some great chipping and putting and the result was in doubt right up to the end. A great day on a great course with great company.
The usual after-match banter was carried out alongside some excellent food and great service from the Oake Manor team and our thanks goes to everyone at the Club. Next up is the Six Counties at Stover and then a match at Mendip Spring against Warwickshire where Somerset will do their best to keep the winning run going and add to the engraving bill for 2024!
