ROYAL JERSEY members found La Moye Golf Club to be a happy hunting ground during the first men’s event of the Jersey Golf Union calendar.
In blustery conditions out west, easterners reigned supreme in both the scratch and handicap sections of the Jersey Foursomes Championship.
On the scratch side, steady golf throughout navigated Kevin Therin and Harrison Carlyon to their first JGU scratch title.
The duo beat club-mates Anton Swemmer and Dan Burchell – who made their way into the matchplay with a remarkable three below par back nine in the qualifying – 2&1 in the semi-finals.
In a tight affair, Therin and Carlyon found a couple of key birdies at the 13th and 14th to win the holes.
It was a two-hole advantage that they would not relinquish as the pair booked their place in the afternoon final.
On the other side of the scratch draw, Brett Allen and Harvey Hill got the better of Mat Hague and Sam Crenan in a classic.
The teams could not be separated after 18 holes and ventured down the first again to find a winner.
Crenan and Hill both holed clutch putts at the first play-off hole to extend the match, before a 12-foot birdie putt from Hill at the second play-off hole saw off the Royal Jersey challenge, to ensure the host club had representation in the final.
Therin and Carylon raced out to a 3up lead through as many holes in the final, with some steady golf as the wind continued to strengthen.
Solid golf was the mantra for the Royal Jersey tandem, who made few mistakes and offered the home duo little in their bid to claw back the deficit.
A late rally from Allen and Hill led to a five-hole margin being reduced to three, but when the 16th hole was halved, the teams shook hands with Therin and Carlyon the victors.
Therin said: ‘We really just tried to keep it simple.
‘We knew in those conditions, if we could hit fairways and greens we would be difficult to beat.
‘The fast start helped to settle the nerves really and from then on we didn’t give them much of a chance to come back.’
Carlyon, who has one eye on Zimbabwe later this year, with the Jersey Cricket side, believed that the qualifying was the most stressful part of the weekend.
‘The strokeplay is really tough,’ he said.
‘You’re only really one bad swing away from playing your way out of the tournament.
‘I think birdieing the last three holes in the qualifying gave us a great deal of confidence to lead into the matchplay.’
On the handicap side, Andrew Keites and Guy Gothard took on Paul Le Chevalier and Steven Pearson.
Both teams won 2&1 during their morning matches to set up the afternoon showdown as Keites and Gothard enjoyed the benefit of receiving four shots from their opponents.
After losing the opening hole, they put their shots to good use, reeling off the next five holes in succession to take a four up lead.
The margin proved a bridge too far as Keites on Gothard pressed on for a resounding 6&5 victory.
Keites said: ‘It was nice to have the insurance of the shots during the round.
‘Sometimes bogey, nett par was enough to win the holes in some difficult conditions, so I do feel like we made that count.
‘It is quite a long and tough weekend and I don’t think any of us played our best golf, but to get over the line and win is fantastic.
‘Myself and Guy [Gothard] play a lot of golf together, so we know each other’s games well.
‘For this format, that compatibility is key and certainly helped us.’
Golfers will now gear up for the first JGU Order of Merit event – the Randalls Open at St Clement’s GC on 1 May.
