Marley shocks Eggo on way to his fourth title

MICK MARLEY is once again island matchplay champion. He successfully defended his Deutsche Bank Offshore Guernsey Championship by beating surprise package Jamie Blondel 6 and 5 in yesterday's 36 holes final.

It was Marley's fourth island title and given the conditions the golf was quite exceptional and all this after both players were involved in energy- sapping semi-finals.

Blondel has been the cause of some upsets during the week's play and in his semi-final against former champion Nigel Vaudin, his victory at the first play-off hole provided the biggest upset of all.

Two down with two to play Blondel looked doomed and Vaudin was probably wondering who he would be facing in the final as he strolled up the 17th hill.

Ahead of him Bobby Eggo and Marley were locked in their own titanic battle.

Eggo made a crucial birdie putt at the 17th to take a one down deficit down the last.

Marley admits that he fears playing Eggo at matchplay as he knows the Guernsey number one can come up with the most wonderful shots under pressure.

Proof of that was his tee shot at 18. A wedge to 4ft was the result, while Marley left his short and right of the green.

With Eggo so close Marley must have been contemplating possible defeat in a play-off.

But Marley chipped up close and Eggo missed his putt to win the hole and was out.

Meanwhile, on the 17th green and with Blondel having secured a par, Vaudin had a short putt of his own to seal a place in the final.

But, simultaneously, the two former champions agonisingly missed their respective opportunities. Marley was through and Vaudin had a fight on his hands.

Blondel had the honour on the last needing a certain birdie if he was to take the match to sudden-death.

The only L'Ancresse representative left in the championship then caressed a short iron leaving his ball 4ft from the pin. Vaudin did not crumble and he landed inside Blondel's ball before rolling the best part of 12ft past the pin.

But Vaudin missed another opportunity and Blondel holed-out with stone-faced composure for his two.

The drama was not over.

None of this year's championship play-offs has gone passed the first extra hole and Blondel wasn't going to let this match go any further either.

At the first and with his rival needing a 10ft putt for a four, Blondel chipped in for the biggest win of his golfing life. Vaudin looked dejected having let victory slip through his fingers.

Come the final both Blondel and Marley still had some great shots left in the bag, but the unseeded player was chasing the game from the very first hole.

Marley did not have to do much other than par the first four holes to take an early three-up lead, but by the 10th it was down to two.

Blondel pressured the experienced Marley to play his best golf and at the luncheon interval Marley's morning one-under par round of 69 was good enough for a four-up lead.

Back on the course it did not take long for Marley to extend his lead further.

Sadly for Blondel he again lost the first hole having flown through the back of the green. He then stood by and watched Marley hit a two-iron onto the green at the par three third to set up a birdie and to go six up.

Blondel did make a birdie at the long sixth hole, but the five-hole deficit remained come the turn, a massive mountain to climb against an opponent of such experience and talent.

On the 31st and what proved to be the final hole Blondel's swing looked a little tired as he caught a short approach iron heavy on the sodden ground, as he had done once or twice on earlier holes.

Still, yet another wonderful recovery for par forced Marley to hole a 3ft putt to win 6 and 5 and gain his fourth championship in 11 years.

Marley now has a 50 percent winning record in Guernsey championship finals and he hopes to improve his victory percentage in the Channel Islands final to be played later this year.

For Blondel it has been a week he will not forget and can build on as he competes for a permanent first team spot for the L'Ancresse and tries to catch the attention of the island selectors for the inter-insular in September.