Early hopes fade away as Jersey blitz the singles

AFTER six years without a victory Guernsey's junior golfers put on a brave effort in their attempt to win back the inter-insular against Jersey on home soil. But despite taking a one- point advantage into the final day, Chris Thompson's young hopefuls could not hold out to take the vital four-and-a-half points required for victory from the closing nine singles matches.

Junior Club president Chris Thompson was, however, upbeat about the future of junior golf in Guernsey.

'We have a lot of strength coming through, certainly for the next two or three years. I'm confident we will get a result within the next two years.'

Against a Jersey side who boasted nine players with handicaps ranging from five to seven, Thompson's confidence in Guernsey's future seems well justified on the back of their opening day fourball and foursomes showing.

In the scratch format, handicaps had to be forgotten and in the opening foursomes Stuart Hamon and Sean Mills led from the front.

On the last, Mills delivered a sweetly struck eight iron to within two inches of the hole to secure a two up win against Giles Robin and Robbie Bailey.

In the final match Wayne Moore and Ross Wheeler also triumphed, while Tom Le Huray and James Cooper gained a valuable half point and the home side held a narrow advantage going into the fourballs.

In the fourballs the familiar pairing of Mills and Hamon again shook hands on the last in acknowledgment of another two-up win, while Guernsey junior champion Jack Mitchell recovered from his surprise foursomes defeat to partner team captain Ave Thompson to a 5 and 3 victory.

The singles draw revealed that Guernsey's main strength was to come at the end.

With Jersey chasing the match they put their big guns towards the top of the draw and Guernsey would have to find at least one win and a tie from the first six matches out.

It was going to be a difficult ask but not an impossible one.

Eyes would have been on Hamon who was second out to maintain Guernsey's advantage, but against La Moye's top junior, Charles Le Sueur, Hamon was always going to have a tough battle on his hands, especially after going five down through the turn.

Despite losing the next two holes to be three down through 12, Le Sueur still had a comfortable cushion to ensure a 3 and 2 win.

Ahead James Cooper succumbed to Mark Tostevin by the same score, while Ave Thompson tried his best to turn his match against Seb Brown around but eventually lost out on the last.

That loss came after Ave's younger brother Emile secured Guernsey's first singles point with an emphatic 6 and 5 win against Andrew Gray, the son of Jersey island stalwart Trevor Gray.

But by now Le Huray had fallen to a hot Piers de Gruchy who was only one over par when the match ended on the 12th green and when Ross Wheeler lost on the 16th, Jersey had blitzed the top order with five wins from the top five matches. Jersey had already retained the trophy.

In the sixth match Moore attempted to salvage some Guernsey pride by winning three of the opening four holes on the back nine.

But Giles Robin had done the hard work earlier on in the round and a half in pars on the 17th green gave the Jersey lad a 2 and 1 win and secured Jersey outright victory for the sixth consecutive year.

The remaining two matches involving Mitchell and Mills had no bearing on the overall result, but in the chase for individual pride they both won and the latter had finished the weekend with a 100 per cent record.