Ace costs Rowlinson £190

IT WAS an expensive shot but one that will forever remain in David Rowlinson's memory. A hole-in-one is a magical moment for any golfer but for a Guernseyman to sink an ace during an inter-insular victory is something extra-special.

It came at the 190-yard third hole at L'Ancresse on Sunday in Rowlinson's singles match against Trevor Gray, although the Sarnian did not immediately know the outcome of his six-iron shot.

'I did not see it go in. I did not know what had happened until I came up to the green and realised the ball must have gone into the hole,' he said.

'I did not get too excited about it; I just thought I had gone one up in the match and that was the important thing.

'The next thing was that everyone was telling me how much it would cost me in the clubhouse. It was £190 in the end because the place was so full.'

Ironically, Rowlinson's opponent, who had the honour on the third tee, would have felt quietly confident of taking the lead after leaving himself with a short putt for birdie.

'Trevor had hit a really great shot that went just by the hole and finished about six feet past,' said Rowlinson, whose one previous hole-in-one came 24 years ago on the seventh at L'Ancresse.

Gray, playing in his 30th successive island match, was to fight back and ended up winning the match 2 and 1, but by that time the overall match had been won by the home side.

'You ask people how things are going elsewhere on the course and they have a vague idea, but I did not know what was happening until about the 13th or 14th when I just heard that things were going well,' said Rowlinson.

'Then I was stood on the 16th tee thinking that my match was going to be important and someone told me that we had won. So although I lost to Trevor, the match was all over by then.'

The Sarnian admitted that pre-match boasts from Jersey captain Terry Smith that his side was good enough to stuff Guernsey out of sight added to the satisfaction of the result.

'It was great to beat the old enemy, as it always it, but I think it had more of a special feeling because of the comments made by the Jersey captain. It had even more of a galvanising effect on us and I think everyone, even those from Jersey, felt that it was a mistake to say what he did.

'It was a fantastic feeling and now we would like to beat them over there. So much goes with home territory in this match, it would be even sweeter to beat them on their own soil,' Rowlinson said.