Brother has a hand in Nicki's glory

NICKI WALLBRIDGE is eagerly awaiting the draw for the island women's championships which follow on from next week's men's event. As the first woman winner of the 36 holes Guernsey Charity Open Classic, the La Grande Mare member is aiming for a good run in the matchplay event, even though it will be played on a course on which she is less familiar.

Wallbridge won the two-day classic and the green blazer that goes with it, by two shots from Carl de Carteret.

Winning, though, was certainly not on her mind as she found the ditch on the opening hole on day one and took a treble bogey seven.

Wallbridge, who two years ago lost on the third extra hole of the bronze division final at the island championships, said she 'was due a good round'.

And someone close to home is largely responsible for her improvement.

'I've been playing quite well in the last month after a bad last year.

At last, she is bearing the fruits of the technical improvements and having started the season as a 15 handicap she is already close to her end-of-season target of reaching 12.

'I'd also like to win the scratch prize at the club championships.'

It was her golf on the back nine that under-pinned her success last weekend.

On day one she came back in 32 gross and with the pressure really on the following day, she returned in 35.

There were a sprinkling of birdies and only one other disaster over the 36 holes, which came in the form of a quadruple bogey eight at the fourth on day two, the result of her ball lodging in the guttering in the shed bordering the fairway.

n?GEOFF INGROUILLE became the fifth member of his family to win a Royal Guernsey club competition with his victory in Thursday's Bucktrout Cup.

Ingrouille, the last of the late Mick ingrouille's four sons to take up the sport, won with a net 68 and follows his father and brothers Mike, Tony and Paul in registering club wins.

The 20-handicap needed countback to do so, though.

Trevor Ash and Nigel Vaudin, who took the scratch prize, matched Ingrouille's 68, but lost out on the back nine.

In the scratch stakes Vaudin's 69 beat Mick Marley's level-par 70.

n?GUERNSEY'S 2005 women's champion will have a fresh-faced opponent in the CI final at La Moye on 14 June.

Olivia Higgins, just 17, has won the Jersey title after defeating Gloria Paradiso 3 and 2 in the 36 holes final.

Paradiso had earlier put out Jenny Deeley, widely recognised as Jersey's top woman player.

Joyce McGlinchey won the bronze section.