Unlucky No. 19 for Eggo as Mahy ends his unbeaten run

It has taken five years and 19 attempts, but finally someone has managed to inflict defeat on Bobby Eggo in the Ravenscroft Guernsey Open Matchplay.

Having been unable to play in the inaugural 2013 edition won by the current LGM president Dave Jeffery, the following year Eggo embarked on his astonishing winning streak that earned him 18 match victories and four titles.

It needed a top player to be at his best to get the better of Guernsey’s finest, and perhaps it was fitting that it was the 2016 island champion who comes from a family steeped in island golf folklore, too.

Mahy got off to the dream start, walking straight from the car park onto the first tee and quickly finding himself winning the opening three holes.

Against any other opponent, he might have taken his foot off the gas, but you simply cannot afford to that against Eggo and Mahy knew it.

‘I had a good start – 3 up through three – and from there you just kind of hold on,’ he said afterwards.

‘You have got to keep going just because of who he is.’

Mahy did that superbly.

Although Eggo won back a hole on the fourth, he could not build any real momentum and by the turn Mahy was back to three in front.

The champion chucked a typical warning shot at Mahy on the 10th with a quality tee shot leaving him just 6ft for birdie that he rolled in with minimal bother to indicate that he was not about to give up his crown without a fight, but when both were hampered by trees with their seconds to the 12th, Mahy made the better job of salvaging a par to win that hole.

Crucially, he then managed to get up-and-down from an awkward spot to the left of the next green while Eggo missed from 10ft for a two and the gap remained three.

Then, apart from a brief blip on the 16th green where in attempting to cosy his first putt up to hole side he instead ran it 8ft past to make a bogey, Mahy closed out the match with excellent composure.

‘I played well,’ was his assessment of his evening’s work.

‘I hit the shots I wanted to hit and I kind of never really let him in.

‘He never got on a run and it’s key against Bobby that when you do lose a hole, you don’t want to lose another one straight away and allow him to get on a roll.

‘He is always dangerous and even when I was dormy 3 up you think “he can still finish 2-2-3”.’

It will now be a battle of the Steves in the final as Mahy faces former Ryder Cup star Richardson in today’s showpiece.

The 1989 English Amateur champion was given a real test by Jamie Blondel in yesterday’s second semi-final, with the L’Ancresse man reaching the turn 2 up before Richardson turned things around.

‘I did pretty much everything I could on the front nine, played really well, but then just a couple of poor swings after the turn proved costly,’ said Blondel.

They were all square by the time they reached the 16th but on that hole and then also the 17th, the Guernsey player put his tee shots in the water.

• JIM BANKS won last night’s Ravenscroft Plate final, beating Alex Ford 7 & 5.