SIMON Allchin put his home course knowledge to good use with an impressive win in the La Moye Trophy competition on Saturday.
In a stacked field full of the Island’s best players at La Moye Golf Club, Allchin, playing with a two handicap, stood tall across the two-round competition. His scores of 78 and 76 claimed him a two-shot win ahead of the chasing pack.
The victorious Allchin said: “I saw the conditions and I thought it was going to be a difficult weekend, but it’s always the same for everyone. I have a low ball flight, which helps when it’s windy.
“This, I think, worked to my favour. I wasn’t expecting to win it. I would have been happy to scrape into the prizes.”
Elaborating on the tough conditions, Allchin continued: “It was so blustery in the showers – the umbrella was useless.
“I was changing from a dry glove to wet gloves every few holes. I had used the wet gloves on the range, however, so I had a good feel for them if I needed to use them.
“With the La Moye course always being tricky, patience is key and that definitely was true on this occasion.
“Everyone was going to run up some big numbers – the ninth off the back tees was a brute.
“So it was a case of shrugging it off, have a laugh about it and reset on the next tee.
“I hit the driver well, which minimised chipping out of the rough and also hitting longer irons with a shorter swing rather than bully a shorter club.
“The course is in superb nick, so all credit to Ollie Pennington and his staff for all their hard work.”
In an emotional moment, Allchin dedicated his win to his late father.
He concluded: “It’s been a while since I won a tournament.
“My Dad passed away a few weeks ago, I’ve inherited his electric trolley, I’ve been using his putter and I’ve added his initials to my ball.
“Considering it was a day before Fathers Day, he was definitely keeping me focused while I was out there – so this win is for him.”
Finishing in an excellent second place behind Allchin was Tom Eaton.
After a first round of 80, he rallied in round two to equal Allchin with the lowest round of the tournament, an impressive 76, to lift him above both Richard Ramskill and Alex Guelpa to finish 12 over par for the tournament.
Both Ramskill and Guelpa were tied first after round one, both shooting good scores off 77.
However, both men struggled slightly on their second rounds, resulting in them both shooting scores in the 80s.
Ramskill’s 81 meant he claimed third place, while Guelpa finished with an 82 to take fourth.
One of the stand out performances undoubtedly from the tournament was Harvey Hill.
Despite finishing in ninth place, he recovered from an opening round score of 90 to shoot an incredible 78 in his second round to recover superbly and finish in the top ten.
The Best Senior prize was awarded to the excellent Bob Wickings, while the Best Junior award made it a very good weekend for the Allchin family, as Oliver Allchin took the plaudits.
