Mapley lands her fifth title

TWENTY years ago Di Hudson beat Kay Mapley on the 37th hole to win her one and only island women's golf title. Revenge has been a long time coming but it arrived at L'Ancresse yesterday when Mapley landed her fifth championship in all, but her first in eight years.

Nobody could deny it was deserved, although the unseeded Hudson made a real match of it having been four down at lunch and dormy five.

Always a fighter, Hudson won the 14th and 15th holes to pull it back to three down, before she finally conceded the title on the 16th green second time around.

'I really thought she was going to come all the way back,' said a relieved Mapley afterwards.

'I'm really pleased with the way I've played because I hadn't played for a little while.

'My short game and chipping has saved me a few times,' the new champion added.

Mapley was never down, although it took two holes to get her nose in front.

A bogey five was enough to win the second and by the eighth she was three up.

Hudson won the next to be two adrift at the turn and it was still that way after 14 holes, at which point Mapley enjoyed a run of three successive wins to be well in control at five up.

A three at the last was enough for Hudson to peg one back and digest her food a little more comfortably, but on the resumption Mapley was straight away back to five clear.

Hudson is not the sort to let her head drop, though.

By the ninth she was back to three down and there was still hope.

However, just as she was eyeing a successful comeback Mapley holed a fine 20ft putt for a winning four at the ninth and claimed the 10th.

The gap had widened again.

More examples of Hudson's never-day-die spirit came at the 11th, 12th, 14th and 15th holes.

At 11 she chipped to two feet from 40 yards and won with a par.

At 12 she found the rough short of the rocks 20 yards short of the green, yet still scrambled a half in fours.

Then, having missed a short putt for a half at 13 and gone dormy in the process, Hudson produced a superb chip to claim a par and win at the 529-yard 14th and followed it up by sinking a long putt for another win at the next.

Ultimately, it was a weak chip from the front right-edge of the 16th green combined with a superb lofted chip by Mapley from above the hole which consigned Hudson to her fate.

In the bronze division final, La Grande Mare's Geraldine Crispini stormed to a 12 and 11 win over the Royal's Sonia Graham.