Mahy and Blondel shine through mist

WAVES of sea mist rolling in off the bay played havoc with Saturday afternoon's quarter-finals, which still had plenty of local interest. Of the home matchplay qualifiers, Danny Bisson and David Nicolle failed to make it into the last eight.

Bisson seemed to be cruising at three up on Jersey's Alex Guelpa after six holes, but turned level after losing three on the bounce to pars.

Utimately the island's lowest handicap went down 2 and 1, while Nicolle surrendered an early two-hole advantage over the defending champion, Stuart Archibald.

But Blondel and Mahy kept flying the flag vigorously alongside two Jerseymen.

Blondel put out Dummer Golf Club's Mark Bell on the fourth extra hole after a monumental battle which had seen the two play some excellent golf over the front nine.

Bell birdied four on the trot from the third, but Blondel, who had birdied the second, eagled the sixth to reduce the deficit to one hole.

A fantastic save from the rough at the back of the green on seven could be said to have been the turning point.

Blondel won the eighth, lost the ninth but hung on to collect a fine scalp.

Mahy's match with Richard Ramskill, the Jersey champion, was nip and tuck over the outward half, but boosted by a magnificent 20ft birdie two at the seventh, there was no holding Mahy on the inward half and a 5 and 4 win must have left Steve's father Roy, the former island great, oozing with pride.

The quarter-finals were half complete when the worsening mist stopped play for an hour.

When it lifted, Mahy, who had been three under for the first eight holes and out in 34 despite a six at the ninth, drove down the 10th along with opponent Guelpa.

The mist immediately closed in again to leave the top match stuck on the 11th teebox and the other three matches also down under Rocque Balan.

'Maybe they should play a six-ball to get things going again,' said one joking spectator, but when the murk did lift sufficiently to resume play, Blondel duly lost the 11th to see his advantage on Brokenhurst Manor's Jonathan Young, the top strokeplay qualfier, reduced to two holes.

Mahy, too, seemed affected by the stoppage.

He lost the 10th to a birdie and also the 11th and 12th to leak five holes in succession and walk to the 13th two down.

At the par-four 13th the young Jerseyman missed a 6ft putt for the win and a relieved Mahy stepped up a gear for the remaining five holes.

Having stopped the rot, Mahy ultimately triumphed on the last where he rolled in a 45-footer for birdie to sink the gallant Guelpa.

Blondel also won the final hole to beat Young, two up.