The Sarnian under-18s had taken a seemingly valuable 3-2 lead after the opening fourball matches on Saturday afternoon, but some inspired golf from the visiting Jersey youngsters saw them overcome that deficit to retain the trophy with an 8-7 victory.
‘We can’t be too disappointed,’ said Guernsey Junior team manager Dan O’Brien.
‘It was a very good weekend, they all played quite well, I just think there were a lot of fine margins, really.
‘Jersey seemed to hole quite a few important putts when needed. Unfortunately, we didn’t.
‘Or we looked like we were going to win and all of a sudden they’ve had a 25-footer for the half and then they’ve used that momentum to win a few holes, and their whole team seemed to bring the momentum.’
It was nip-and-tuck who was going to come out on top overall right down to the last couple of matches on the course, with Jersey’s anchorman Henry Zeale making a clutch putt on the 16th to ensure his side would retain the silverware before closing things out on the 18th.
‘It’s just been a fantastic weekend, two great days,’ said Jersey team manager Derek De La Haye.
‘There has been some really good golf, but what’s been most impressive is how the standard over the last two or three years in junior golf in the Channel Islands has just progressed so much.’
The Jersey Seniors lived up to their favourites billing in the over-55s match, but they were given a good run for their money by the Greens.
The visitors held a slender 3-2 advantage after the opening fourballs and the two sides shared the first eight points of the singles evenly before the Reds claimed the last couple of rubbers to emerge 9-6 victors.
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