A dream comes true for stalwart Giles

KEN GILES has played in island finals and in many an island match, but until Saturday and the annual competition he helped set up 27 years ago, had only once ever beaten par at L'Ancresse. There's nothing like a home-grown winner and Giles' victory with a net 64, gross one-under-par 69, brought the house down on Saturday night.

There could hardly have been a more popular winner than the 57-year-old who had his elder son Shane, on his bag as he beat the massive entry despite playing at the toughest time of the day, late afternoon, early evening.

Giles, club champion as long ago as 1979, had always set his heart on winning L'Ancresse's 'big one'.

He was chairman of the inaugural organising committee in 1978 and as a player has been an ever-present, winning open prizes but never coming close to claiming the main trophy itself.

'I've broken par only once before ever, and that was many, many years ago,' said Giles minutes before the presentation.

The key, he admitted, was keeping the ball straight off the tee and a very hot putter, one he chose to use only when he putted so badly with his regular one the previous day in the team event.

'It's a putter I like very much, but I hadn't used it for 18 months.

Why the change then?

'The other had been going well for those 18 months,' he explained: That is until Friday.

'He had one helluva hot putter,' said his caddie.

'He was also rock-solid off the tee. He played really, really well,' added Shane.

Giles had found himself a remarkable three-under-par gross after 11 at which point the realisation of something special just about to happen got to him.

The outcome was dropped shots at 12 and 13 and some nervous moments over the closing stretch.

'The last five or six holes I got very uptight,' he said, but to his credit he held it together and finished two shots clear of the long-time leader, Ricky Allen, who had posted a 66 off his nine handicap.

For the 10th time, Bobby Eggo walked away with the scratch salver, his 67 gross being achieved despite some ordinary putting.

'I didn?t hole a thing,' said Eggo, before pointing out that Jeff Domaille, his playing partner, had come within seven inches of a hole-in-one at the 12th.

Eggo had turned in one under 34 after bogeying the second and eagling the sixth.

Birdies at 16 and 17, both holes where he drove the green, sealed a fine round in which he hit 17 greens in regulation.

It was the third time in a row that Bobby had won the salver and as was the case in 2003 he denied young Jack Mitchell a famous victory.

Mitchell returned a 68 gross (net 67) after a blistering front nine of three-under 32.

The island junior champion parred seven of the inward half but he ultimately paid for bogeys at the 14th and 16th.

Andy Eggo suffered even more with his putter than his brother, despite a 69 gross.

'I couldn't putt, I missed so many,' he groaned, as he came off the course.

Defending champion Matt Le Tissier, cooked his chances with disastrous quadruple-bogey eight at the fifth, that after four straight pars to start. Out in 41, he recovered a shade on the back nine but a net 75 left him well short of the prizes this time.

And talking of eights, cousin Danny Blondel also found one, but one hole earlier.

It was enough for the island player to rip up there and then.

Brian Lucas was another to NR but he was not too worried having been the man of the moment 24 hours earlier at the team golf competition.

It was his chip-in for a two at the last which gave the quartet of Ian Thomas, Brian and Martin Lucas and Dave Rabey, victory on countback from three rival fours.