Pros show their class to reach the last four
THE pros have flexed their muscles and now it is a shoot-out between the four of them to find the 2019 Ravenscroft Open Matchplay champion.
CJ Elmy was the local player who came closest to causing an upset last night when he took the defending champion Steve Richardson to extra holes at La Grande Mare in a match fittingly won by a birdie at the 19th, but the visitors prevailed in all four quarter-finals to live up to their seeding.
Although the top seed holed a remarkable 18ft putt through the fringe to finally see off Elmy, who had his own birdie chance from 6ft only to see the hole shrink once his opponent had poured his ball right in the centre of it before his effort drifted off to the left, the best three of a very windy evening belonged to Darren Leng.
Playing against island champion Jeremy Nicolle, Leng came up with an outrageous par save on the fifth hole after his tee shot had plugged in the muddy douit to the right-hand side of the green.
The Yorkshireman put on his waterproofs to play his second shot, which seemed nothing more than a hit-and-hope but, while standing on a footbridge, he managed to splash it out onto the green and it was almost inevitable that he made his 15-footer for par.
‘That was ridiculous – the best up-and-down I’ve ever made in my life,’ said Leng, who also pointed to his outstanding approach to the 15th to set up a birdie as key moments in his victory.
‘It was very scrappy due to the conditions. On the first day the course played easy because controlling the ball was fairly simple, but with the way the weather was today you cannot help but make mistakes, it’s just a case of trying to minimise those mistakes.’
Leng will now face Max Penney, who was very impressive in knocking out Jack Mitchell yesterday.
Richardson’s wish of facing Bobby Eggo was ended by Adam Chapman, who became only the second player to beat the Guernsey legend in six years of the Ravenscroft.
QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS
Steve Richardson beat CJ Elmy at the 19th; Adam Chapman beat Bobby Eggo 3 & 2; Darren Leng beat Jeremy Nicolle 3 & 1; Max Penney beat Jack Mitchell 3 & 2.
THURSDAY’S SEMI-FINALS
Richardson v. Chapman, 5.20pm; Leng v. Penney, 5.26pm.
