The Somerset team arrived at Knighton Heath Golf Club in good spirits ready to defend the 4 Counties Tournament which was won at Kingsdown last year. There were some late additions welcomed to the team, Dave Bedford, Andrew Cardus-Hall and Ian Robson, following some injuries to the original 12 selected. The weather was set fair and everyone was well prepared for a very warm, sunny day.
First out for Somerset were Vice Captain Marcus Woodward and Craig Wright who set a good standard by returning a very creditable 42 points.
However that score had already been surpassed by the opening pair from Berkshire who claimed the best score of the day with 44 points.
Second away were immediate past Captain Mike Rossiter and fixtures secretary Rob Fear who like many of the competitors found the course very tight. They returned with 35 points and were followed home by Steve Parker and Dave Bedford who scored the same number of points.
Next in were Matt Baker and Ian Robson with a score of 34 points, swiftly followed by treasurer, Paul Chesney and Keri Allchurch. Keri started very steadily with two opening pars and managed to keep it going with occasional help from Paul who never got to grips with the course.
But the pair came into contact with too many trees and bunkers and ended up with 33 points following a very disappointing blob on the last.
The final pair were former President Roy Parmiter and Andrew Cardus-Hall who came home with a very respectable 38 points. The highlight was, without any question, Andrew’s excellent chip in eagle two at the 314 yards 8th hole.
The Knighton Heath greens were quick and true but the main criteria for the course was to be straight and find the fairway. The rough was thick in places with heather and gorse, but under the trees there was much debris in the shape of large cones and broken branches and twigs that impeded any recovery shot. The weather was sunny and very hot, unlike the showers and some of the Somerset team were not appreciative of the cold shower following their round! Despite most people’s belief that the course would suit the home county, it was Berkshire that ran out winners by a clear 10 points.
First: Berkshire 194 Points
Second: Somerset 184 Points
Third: Wiltshire 183 Points
Fourth: Dorset 178 Points
Best Pair: Paul Masters (Berkshire) & Darren Gatward (Berkshire) 44 Points
Twos
Darren Gatward John Cornish Keith Funnell Alan Bates
Tom Heppel x 2
Andrew Cardus-Hall – Eagle 8th
