WITH summer still evading the Island, waterproofs, umbrellas and much frustration surrounded Royal Jersey Golf Club for the 2024 Club Championships, which saw the men’s, ladies’ and senior champion for the year crowned.
Matthew Parkman and Josh Ozard, who occupy the first two places of the Jersey Golf Men’s Order of Merit, were absent from the field, but third and fourth, Sam Quail and Alex Guelpa, enjoyed a titanic battle against both each other and the elements in the men’s competition.
After the morning round, the lead was shared by Mathew Hague and Paul Le Chevalier, with 74, as Le Chevalier’s endeavours earned him the seniors’ title.
Three-time winner Steven Anderson found himself a shot adrift on 75.
The tough morning took its toll on the field, but as the wind reduced and the course softened after the rain, the leaders began to fire.
Hague would unfortunately fall away with a second-round 79, as would Le Chevalier, who finished with an 82.
The contest hinged on Guelpa, Quail and Anderson, all playing some solid golf in the afternoon. The latter’s race was run after three bogeys in the final five holes, to finish on ten-over-par total, a score shared by Jack Waters, who shot an excellent 72 in the second round.
Guelpa and Quail tussled, both with brilliant rounds, but it was the former who sealed the deal, concluding with a brilliant birdie three up the last to win by two (76-71) and lift the trophy for the third time in his golfing career.
Quail, after a morning 78, climbed the board to finish with a 71 for a nine-over total.
Meanwhile, on the ladies side, the crown was also contested over two rounds, with the first played earlier in the week.
Assistant general manager of Royal Jersey Melissa McMahon led after the first round with a 74 (+3), which featured a trio of birdies on the challenging back nine.
Teenager Iman Hamid-Wilkinson was just two back after a 76, with Helen Gray rounding out the top three with 80.
The placings would stay exactly as it was, after McMahon’s excellent 77 in challenging conditions steered the six-time Dorset Women’s county champion to victory, by five shots. Hamid-Wilkinson’s 80 earned her second place by six strokes from Gray, who concluded with an 82.
McMahon, who still represents her county, looks sure to compete at the highest level of the game for years to come locally, offering yet more class to a burgeoning ladies’ section of the club.
