Elmy earns shot at the champ
CJ ELMY has come through his tough first test, now he faces the hardest of all today.
The youngster defeated Jack Mitchell in the afternoon sunshine at L’Ancresse yesterday – his second win over a former island champion in the space of less than nine hours after his victory over Steve Mahy for La Grande Mare in the Hampshire Sevens – to earn the right to face the defending champion Danny Blondel in the first round proper of the 2018 Saffery Champness Island Men’s Championship.
If Elmy carries forward the form he showed in bringing his preliminary round match to a conclusion on the back nine yesterday, Blondel will have his hands full.
It was a topsy-turvy front nine, with Mitchell racing into an early lead having won two of the first three holes, before Elmy got on a roll and won three holes in a row to lead as he stepped onto the seventh tee.
He three-putted that green to allow Mitchell to level the match once more, but a pulled approach to the eighth cost the 2007 winner the hole and he missed a short putt on the next for the win to reach the turn 1 down.
Elmy did not allow him back into the match after that.
The first three holes after the turn were halved, but then Mitchell leaked his tee shot off the 13th tee into thick stuff on the right and his hack out raced across the fairway into gorse on the other side to cost him the hole.
He then went long with his third to the par-five 14th and, with a front-left pin placement, he was quickly three down.
Elmy closed out the match with an almost nonchalant birdie three on the 16th.
Meanwhile, Mark Bertrand beat Chris Thompson to earn a shot at Daniel Griggs in the first round while Dave Nicolle set up a meeting with Bobby Eggo by beating Gavin Rihoy.
Yesterday’s results
Preliminary round
CJ Elmy beat J. Mitchell 4 & 2; M. Bertrand beat C. Thompson 3 & 2; D. Nicolle beat G. Rihoy 4 & 3.
Today’s first-round matches
(starting from 4.15pm)
D. Blondel v. Elmy; G. Melhuish v. R. Bateman; W. Harwood v. W. Anees; B. Rolph v. J. Nicolle; N. Vaudin v. R. Le Marquand; D. Bent v. M. Allez; S. Bonner v. S. Le Huray; D. Jeffery v. D. Bisson.
