Marley set to miss Island Championships

MICK MARLEY has virtually ruled himself out of this year's island golf championship. 'It's 99 per cent certain I won't play,' said the former champion, whose wife, Claire, is due to have their first baby at around the time of the Channel Islands final in Jersey on 19 June.

'The CI final is three days after the baby's due. I can't play really, to be honest,' said the island player this week.

Marley rightly said it was not on to enter the Guernsey section of the CI matchplay championships if he knows he is unavailable for the final, and the situation gives him extra impetus to succeed in the ongoing Henderson Cup, the prestigious inter-club matchplay event.

In that event he is through to the quarter-finals having beaten fellow island player Steve Mahy 2 and 1 in the first round.

'I finished about one over for the 17 played,' he said having led most of the way against Mahy who was given one shot, on the fourth.

'The shot hole was an interesting one,' said the winner.

'I knocked my second shot to about a foot and I thought I might win it.

'But he then chipped up to six inches to halve it.'

Marley went two up at the 12th and although the L'Ancresse player birdied the 13th to give himself hope of turning things around, he missed a putt of six to seven feet at the 17th.

Marley now awaits the winner of the Emile Thompson-Paul Luxton match.

The tightest of the six first round matches so far completed saw Mike Hamon beat Paul Lawrence on the 18th.

Despite having to give 12 shots, Hamon led virtually throughout until Lawrence levelled on the 17th.

At the last, Hamon put his tee shot to 15ft and was conceded the match when his opponent, who had found the hollow to the right of the putting surface, took three to get on the green.

Other Henderson results: Tony Brassel beat Andy Marley 5 and 4; Tony Le Pelley beat Kevin Le Tissier 4 and 3;

Jeff Domaille beat Hedley Watson 2 and 1; Andy Langlois beat Paul Wakeford

4 and 3; Carl Shrigley beat Tim Tucker 7 and 6.

MARION RICHARDS shot

a net 62 to finish a

comfortable winner of the Swoffers Bowl women's event at La Grande Mare.

She finished five clear of runner-up Marilyn Pugh with Rosie Scott third on 69.

Richard also struck the longest drive on the ninth, while Glenis Seal claimed the nearest to the pin on the 11th, with a shot to within 13ft 4in.

KEVIN LE TISSIER'S 40ft birdie putt from off the green on the last hole earned his team the outright victory in the L'Ancresse club's Officemaker Team Golf event.

'My chipping was terrible, so on the last I hit my putt through the rough and holed it,' said Le Tissier.

Joining the former Muratti star in the four were his uncles Peter and Ray and former Belgraves colleague, Lyndon de Carteret, who proved to be a more than able last-minute replacement.

Le Tissier's master-strike at the last earned his team a 90-point Stableford total and victory on countback from two rival fours.

The Blondel family theme continued down the leaderboard with the father and son pairing of Tony and Jamie settling for the runner-up prize in partnership with Keith Jeffreys and Chris Dyer, while in third place were Mark Creber and a trio of five-handicappers in Jason Savident, Marc Collas and Mike Hockey.

Other scores:

89 - Alan Le Noury, Steve Langlois, Trevor Blatchford and Bill Burridge; Paul Tostevin, Kerry Moon, Carl Shrigley and Chris Allen.

88 - Willie Kirkpatrick, Colin Bourgaize, Rob Teed and Gary Wade; 87 - Daniel Bisson, James Domaille, Mark Trustum and Danny Vennard; 85 - Jeff Domaille, Chris Warr, Gary King and Keith Wheeler.

Nearest the pin prizes:

3rd and 18th - Howard Mauger; 7th - John Goodall; 12th - John Smith.

DANNY CARRE and Matt Gill both won competitions as a 14-strong squad of Guernsey Junior Golf Club white tee handicap players spent four days on tour in Hampshire.

Carre emerged tops in a 36-holes event at the North Hants Club and as a result has seen his handicap sliced from 18 to 14.

The following day Matt Gill triumphed at the Royal Winchester after shooting a net 60, 78 gross. He, too, has had his handicap slashed.

Andy Stuart also played notably well, finishing third overall at Winchester.

To complete the trip the Guernsey Junior Golf Club beat a team from Hockley who may make a reciprocal visit to the island later this summer.

The squad: Jack Mitchell, Tom Le Huray, Emile

Thompson, Ross Wheeler, Craig Shorto, Shaun Mills, Stuart Hamon, Matt Gill, Danny Carre, Andy Carre, Andy Stuart, Wayne Moore, Ben Hoskins and Chris Ahne.

They were accompanied by GJGC chairman Chris Thompson and assistants Colin Le Huray and Geoff Renouf.