JERSEY’S top golfers got a little taste of the impending summer over the weekend, as Royal Jersey duo Matthew Parkman and Sam Quail once again impressed to defend their men’s scratch crown in the sunshine at La Moye Golf Club.
Meanwhile, a mix of youth and experience took the top honours in the ladies scratch event, with Jersey Golf co-president Juanita Adlington and university student Lily Buckley securing their maiden crown.
Bradley Kiberd and James Styles also wrote their name into the history books of the competition, with success in the men’s handicap contest.
Played as an alternate shot tournament, the tricky format is an element of golf that players are seldom exposed to.
From 48 men’s pairs, just the top four scratch and handicap scores respectively progressed to the matchplay contest on the final day.
In the ladies section, the top four scratch scores from the field of 13 pairs made the matchplay stages.
Parkman and Quail qualified for the matchplay in second place after a superb 73 (+1), which was only bettered by a brilliant level-par 72 from Richard Clarke and Kevin Therin, who ultimately succumbed in a final which went the distance.
Also making the matchplay stages were Dan Burchell and Anton Swemmer, who also fired 73 in a highly competitive qualifying heat.
However, the pair would fall 7&6 in the semi finals to the eventual winners.
Clarke and Therin overcame Andy Clarke and Jeremy Philips 4&3 in their semi-final.
Parkman said: “Foursomes is a really interesting format. Golf is such a momentum-based sport, but foursomes is even more so.
“If you get in a nice rhythm early, you can really get it going, but equally, your score can get way from you with a few small mistakes.
“With 48 pairs to play against, there really isn’t much margin for error. You have to be right on the ball from the start.
“Me and Sam know each other well and, after winning last year, we wanted to give it another go.
“It’s just as important to get on well together as it is knowing each other’s golf games.
“When you are out there with a good friend, it relaxes you and certainly helps in the pressure moments.
“All we wanted to do in qualifying was to get through the tough opening five holes well and then the chances come at the La Moye from there on out.
“There was a little wobble towards the end, but birdies at holes 15 and 16 steadied that and we were really happy with 73.”
Clarke and Therin, who won the qualifying with a combined handicap of five, were in fine form and would continue that into the matchplay for a nip-and-tuck final throughout.
“It gets tiring as the final rolls around, so you can forgive some errors creeping in,” added Parkman.
“But full credit to Kev [Therin] and Clarky, they both flushed it and were brilliant around the greens.
“The final was really close throughout and obviously me and Sam are really proud to have retained the crown in a really quality field of players.”
Meanwhile, in the ladies draw, there were more highly competitive matches to speak of.
Abigail Harris and Hannah Scriven qualified in first, but fell 1down to the duo of Coran Hackett and Sarah Le Boutillier.
In the bottom half of the draw, the experienced Adlington and Loughborough University student Buckley defeated Catharina Hollick and Brona Lambert 3&1, before a convincing 4&3 success in the final over Hackett and Le Boutillier.
The duo, both members at La Moye, clearly felt at home around the links and, for Buckley, she was just grateful to be able to play some golf.
“I have tried to play as much golf as possible, but the courses up in Loughborough have been shut due to the amount of rain over the winter.
“It just felt nice to be able to come back for Easter and be able to play in some nice weather.
“I struggle to play in the matchplay championships and strokeplay events due to them being in summer, so to play a Jersey Golf event was really special.”
The young golfer was quick to praise her clubmate’s “calming influence” on the tandem’s success, as well as enjoying playing together.
Buckley added: “Golf is such a mental game. If you hit a bad shot, it can be quite hard to stay positive, but Juanita was really good at lifting me back up and keeping in the present.
“Foursomes is really tough to get in a real rhythm when you are not playing every shot, so naturally mistakes will happen.
“But we enjoy each other’s company and think we complimented each other well.
“Juanita has a lot more experience in the game than I do and was really good at guiding me through.
“When you play with someone you get on with, it’s a laugh anyway, whether or not the golf goes well. That’s really important.”
Elsewhere, Bradley Kiberd and partner James Styles secured the men’s handicap contest, with a 4&3 victory in the final over Peter Garforth and Steven Pearson.
The finalists both edged through tight semi-final matches, with the former earning a 1up win over Karl Fitzpatrick and Mark Hesford, while the runners up beat Nathan Crake-Jones and Ryan Hafey on the first play-off hole in their last four match.
The attentions of Jersey’s top men’s golfers now turn to a fixture for the Channel Islands team against Hampshire this weekend at Havant’s Hayling Golf Club.
Alex Guelpa, Josh Ozard and Parkman are joined by CI champion Harrison Carlyon, fresh from his trip to Spain with Jersey Cricket.
The quartet are playing with Sarnians Jamie Blondel, Tom Le Huray, Conor McKenna and Jeremy Nicolle.
