‘Best nine holes of my life’ sets up victory for Marley

The four-time Island champion revealed that he thoroughly enjoyed watching the popular 48-year-old professional Bland winning for the first time ever in 478 starts on the European Tour in the British Masters at the Belfry on Saturday and the next day Marley threw the form book out of the window in the first local ‘major’ of the year to win both the scratch and handicap trophies by two shots in atrocious conditions.

In doing so, he also proved a point to one of his best mates.

‘Dave Rowlinson asked me last night have I ever won them before and I was like, “yeah!”,’ he said laughing, while checking the engraving on the cups to make sure he was not mistaken.

‘But my golf’s been horrendous the last few weeks, so it’s a nice surprise really.’

So just how did he do it?

‘It was based on this morning – the best nine holes of my life I reckon,’ the 58-year-old said of his amazing three-under-par front nine of 32.

‘I birdied the first from only about 3ft, so that was a good start, and I’ve been on bad starts lately. The second was brutal, just straight into the wind, and I managed to get up and down with a good chip there. Same at three, chip and putt, and then after that just really steady stuff.

‘I had an eagle putt at six from about 12ft – missed it but got the birdie and birdied the seventh.

‘Coming back it was a bit more of a struggle, a couple of three putts in that. I didn’t think I played that bad but the next thing you know it’s a 40.

‘But it was a still a 72 and a two-shot lead over Bobby [Eggo] and I would have ripped your arm off for that at the start of the day.’

As it turned out, though, the main threat in the afternoon came from his playing partner Jeremy Nicolle, whose level-par 70 gross in wind that made breaking 80 an achievement was truly remarkable.

Nicolle started the second round seven shots off fellow two-handicap Marley in both competitions and that gap had been reduced to five by the turn.

‘We both birdied the 10th, both took fives at the 11th and both had pars at the 12th, so I’m still five shots clear of him,’ Marley said.

‘Then he outrageously holed a 40ft for birdie at 13 and he eagled the 14th where I hit a bad approach and dropped a shot, so from being five ahead I’m just one ahead and we more or less knew it was between the two of us and that if he got level with me he would win on the back 18 [countback].’

Crucially, Marley scrambled a four on the 15 where Nicolle’s 8ft par putt somehow stayed above ground.

Marley then parred in for a 75 gross to hang on to his lead, finishing with a 147 gross aggregate.

‘There were some holes that were just out of reach in two this afternoon – 11 and 15 were playing really long – and the rest was just so awkward that you just had to tweak one and you’d be in the bushes, so I was just pleased to not do that.

‘It was almost unplayable really.

‘It was windier this afternoon and it changed slightly, but Jez was holing some putts – you’ve got to to get a good round like that going.

‘It was really good, I’m just glad I hung on.’

Danny Bisson finished third in the Piccadilly, five shots back from Nicolle, the same as Sam Le Huray, who took third in the Brymay.

In the morning, Mike Still, Dave O’Sullivan and Simon Gaudion had matched Marley’s 70 nett as the best score of the first round.