Mahy produces when it really matters

By his own high standards, the former Guernsey champion will admit it has been far from a stellar season and having been drawn with the Island men’s team captain Dave Jeffery for the L’Ancresse Open, Mahy knew time was fast running out to stake his claim for a much-coveted Challenge Trophy inter-insular spot.

His answer was an outstanding 67 gross in the tough morning conditions to land the Scratch Salver by a shot from new Channel Islands champion Jamie Blondel, who has so regularly been Mahy’s playing partner in the Guernsey team down the years.

‘I was actually quite nervous because you’re playing with Dave Jeffery, you know you’re not playing well, you know an Island spot is up for grabs and I knew that I needed to show something. I hadn’t shown anything for the last two months, I’d just been awful,’ said Mahy.

‘I want to represent my island, but I want to represent it playing well, I want to be picked, I don’t just want to scrape in because of whatever.

‘So I was under pressure and I felt it.’

The pressure led to what Mahy described as ‘an iffy’ opening tee shot on the first, but he went on to birdie the hole, which settled the nerves somewhat.

Further birdies came at the fifth and seventh, where his putt down the slope rattled into the cup.

‘I was lucky there, [the putt] was far too hard but it was straight in the back. Then you think “this might be my day” at three under through seven,’ said the 50-year-old.

However, Mahy would then miss good chances for further birdies at eight, 11 and 12 while dropping a shot at the ninth where a 6ft par attempt slipped by.

‘Then you are thinking, “I’m upset because I could be out of sight”. But you get on the 13th tee and I just thought back to the first and I would have taken 72 because it was tricky and I’m two under, so you’re four better than where perhaps you wanted to be. Then it’s just a case of trying to get in the house and it’s all crosswinds, it’s not easy.’

He did that with five well-constructed pars and a special birdie at the 15th, which has only recently been dedicated to his four-time CI champion father Roy and called ‘home’.

‘I hit a drive down the left, found a decent lie and wedged it to 3ft ... one for him.’

He was also thankful that playing partners Jeffery and Tom Le Huray did not tell him that Blondel had posted a 68 gross, which they found out as they walked up the 17th.

Mahy had to hole a five-footer for par there and then completed his round with a good two-putt par on the last.

‘There were no easy holes, so I’m coming off thinking “you know what, I’m proud of myself” because I was nervous.

‘People will see a guy who plays off one and played numerous Murattis, why do you get nervous? But you do because I want to play against Jersey, it’s at home, it might be my 28th or 29th time, and I want to get to 30 but I want to play well in it. Hopefully that has cemented that.

‘You just want to continue playing well, so you put the hours in and it was a good day yesterday. You know I’ll get more bad days than good days on a golf course, but that was a good day.’

He also became the first member of his family to lift the Scratch Salver, with neither father Roy nor brother Andrew having got their name on it before.

‘First time in the Mahy family ... it’s great and it came out of the blue.’