Bougourd pulls it out of bag

VERONICA BOUGOURD clinched her sixth Channel Islands matchplay title - one more than her vanquished opponent, Jenny Deeley - after her second 36-hole thriller in four days at L'Ancresse. The 17 times Guernsey champion finally overcame Deeley's stout resistance on the final hole after producing two shots of stunning brilliance on the closing holes and some nerveless putting.

The Jersey champion, who plays off a 2.7 handicap compared to Bougourd's five, could scarcely believe her opponent's chip to eight feet on the 15th and a bunker shot at the 17th.

'She played nicely - but that bunker shot on the 17th was a fantastic shot,' said Deeley, who had no complaints about the result.

The Jersey champion was also staggered by Bougourd's pitch close to the pin two holes earlier.

'She literally had six inches to pitch it into and she did. A great shot,' added Deeley, who has now been beaten twice by Bougourd in CI finals.

Bougourd, one up with two to play, quietly looked on in horror as she saw her approach to the 17th hole plug into the right bunker protecting the front edge of the green.

'I didn't expect to get it out,' she said.

But not only did she splash her third shot onto the green, she holed the follow-up putt of seven feet to grab a half in fours and take her one-shot advantage down the last.

At that last, both players found the green and after Bougourd had lagged her long putt close, Deeley needed to hole her 15ft birdie putt from the back fringe to stay alive.

The ball missed to the left and she conceded.

Deeley, who had been four down at one stage deep into the morning round, said she had left her revival too late.

'I just couldn't get my brain into gear this morning - I don't know why.

Bougourd had led by two holes at lunchtime, but it could have been more.

On the 15th first time round she missed a short putt which would have taken her five up and the miss seemed to shake her over the next three holes, two of which she lost.

As Deeley slowly crept back into the match which got better the longer it went on, that miss at 15 seemed as if might cost the Guernsey champion dear.

By the 30th hole (12th) Deeley had finally got back to all-square, having sunk an eight-footer for a winning four at the previous hole into the breeze.

Deeley was putting like a demon at this stage, evidence being the superb long uphill putt for an eagle three at the ninth.

But Bougourd boosted her own waning confidence with a crucial 8ft putt for par at the 12th and then crept ahead again at the long 14th thanks to a stunning up-and-down from the path leading up to the 15th teebox.

That long putt was pivotal and to follow it up so soon with the wonderful lob-wedge over a greenside bunker to 8ft at the 15th, underlined her return to her best form.

She kept up the pressure with another fine approach into the 16th and although she saw her birdie putt from 12ft stay above ground, a half in fours kept her in command.

Two holes later she was champion again.

'I missed a few opportunities really, but it came good at the end,' said a smiling Bougourd afterwards.

Her victory gave Guernsey a CI double, for La Grande Mare's Rose Scott had already won the bronze division final 5 and 4 against Sue Thorp.

Scott had led two up at lunch and afterwards praised the work and local knowledge of her caddie, new Hampshire champion Liz Darling.