Varsity Shield second round finalised

MORRISTON'S Ian Davies and Nick Morgan held their nerve to book a second-round meeting with Radyr in the Victory Shield.

The duo’s match at The Grove against Maesteg went to the first extra hole where Davies and Morgan edged home to ensure their safe passage through to the next stage.

The region’s clubs have all completed their first round ties in the fourth quarter of the draw and among those also through are Tawe Vale, who won by one hole in their encounter with Clyne.

Royal Porthcawl lie in wait for them next after they thrashed Coed-y-Mwstwr 8&6 with Matthew Morgan and Richard Jones in top form. Pontardawe could have met Morriston in round two but they slumped to a 6&5 defeat at the hands of Radyr.

Pyle & Kenfig brothers Matthew and Richard Peet were also impressive in their 4&3 victory against Glynneath with Glamorganshire now awaiting the siblings. Meanwhile, Southerndown’s Ben Westgate and Will Hughes bossed their fixture against Cardiff, winning 5&4 to set-up a showdown with Pennard.

Nick Gorvett and John Matthews of Langland Bay beat Wenvoe Castle on the last hole and take on Whitchurch next, Lakeside lock horns with Fairwood Park and Swansea Bay meet the Vale of Glamorgan. Elsewhere in the draw, Carmarthen play Ashburnham.

The Trubshaw Cup ended in a damp squib last weekend with heavy rainfall forcing organisers to cancel the second half of the tournament at Ashburnham.

Ireland’s Gary Hurley fired two rounds of 72 on Saturday to claim the Golden Eagle trophy at Tenby, however, the inclement weather meant the Carmarthenshire Open couldn’t take place.

But, after some deliberation, it was decided that Hurley – leading the event by five shots – would be awarded the overall title.

The West Waterford golfer seemed to cope with the conditions at Tenby better than anyone else and at the end of 36 holes was holding a commanding advantage.

Neath pair Craig Melding and Richard Hooper were six and 11 strokes off the pace set by Hurley. Melding had a share of the lead after the first round having shot 72, but a 78 saw him eventually finish seventh.

Rounds of 77 and 78 left Hooper in 15^th while Pennard’s James Frazer improved slightly in round two to come 12^th on 154 after opening with a 78.

Local knowledge paid dividends for Gower pair Gavin Godbeer and Llewelyn Miller as they carded a superb 63 in winning the eighth event of the West Wales Golf Alliance season.

The duo, aided by a Godbeer hole-in-one on his home course’s par-three ninth, held off fellow Gower pair Steve Bromham and Dudley Lewis to seal victory by three shots.

The runners-up were one of three teams to shoot a net round of 66 with countback giving Neath’s Kevin Spear and Andrew Archibald third place ahead of Darren Legg and Brian Price of Llantrisant & Pontyclun.

It was only through the excellent work of the Gower green staff, something noted by Alliance captain Ed Morgan, that the meeting was played following heavy rain in the days leading up to it.

Godbeer and Miller, both five-handicappers, used their course know-how to good effect to clinch first prize and lead home a Gower one-two. For the record, Neath’s Dai Roberts and Mark Mitchell were fifth with Pontardawe’s Andrew Birch and Carwyn Hammond sixth.

The final round of the current Alliance season will be staged at Llantrisant & Pontyclun on May 25 before the 2012/13 campaign gets under way at Glynhir near Ammanford in September.

The first stage of Swansea Bay’s Millennium Cup Medal was held in treacherous conditions resulting in only one competitor managing to play to handicap. Gareth Jenkins carded a net 72 to win by a shot from the club’s second team captain Billy James.

Carmarthen Ladies beat Pennard in the qualifying round of the Welsh Team Championships at Neath with captain Paula James, Vicki Thomas, Elin Jones, Julia Webb, Shan Lewis and Jane Lindquist – who teamed up to win the Coronation Foursomes – easing to a 4-1 success.

The second of three Carmarthen teams beat Morlais Castle 3-0 at home in the South Wales Seniors Classic, however, in the same competition, the club’s ‘C’ team lost 2-1 at South Pembs. They will have to be content with a crack at the Bowl and try to go one better than the ‘B’ team did in 2010 when they lost in the final.

Carmarthen juniors Scott Jones, Tom Hughes and James Bryan returned net scores of 73, 74 and 75 in the first Dyfed Order of Merit event at Ashburnham, the next competition is at Trefloyne in June.

A better back six gave Barry Wanless first place in the Welsh Team Handicap qualifier at Pennard ahead of David Rees. Paul Veale and Steve Maddock were the other players to go through while Fiona Paton and Sally Wintle’s 40 points secured the Australian Spoons Foursomes qualifier.

Andrew Morgan was the low handicap section winner in the Leighton Davies Lamp qualifier at Glynneath, his net 64 being four better than Glyn Williams. Andrew Godfrey (70) and David Beatty (71) were the best scores in the 13-17 and 18-28 handicap divisions respectively.

Langland Bay’s Summer 4-Ball qualifier was won by Mark Shepherd and Geoff Ellis with a total of 43 points, two in front of Dave Gibson and Andrew Jones, while Alan and William McAlpine narrowly won the Powell Cup at Ashburnham with a net round of 72.

With each player’s 10 best scores going towards their final total, it couldn’t have been much closer in the end with just two points separating first and second – Gordon finished on 376 and Jones on 374.

There was some distance to Colin Rumbelow (345) in third with Mike Wilson (341) fourth and Ged Rave (339) making up the top five.

Rumbelow was a lot closer to snatching victory in the club’s Stableford Cup, his 35 points was one behind winner John Bamsey though the former needed countback to see off Keith Richards for the runner-up spot.

Results

Ashburnham

Powell Cup; 1. A. McAlpine & W. McAlpine net 72, 2. E. Anderson & T. Priestland 72, 3. S. Gravelle & S. Jones 73

Carmarthen

Coronation Foursomes; 1. S. Lewis & J. Lindquist 33pts, 2. C. Fleetwood & S. Lewis 30, 3. J. Barratt & S. Neate 29

Glynneath

Leighton Davies Lamp Qualifier (Medal); (0-12 Hcp) 1. A. Morgan net 64, 2. G. Williams 68, 3. A. Humphreys 69, (13-17 Hcp) 1. A. Godfrey 70, 2. D. Evans 72, 3. S. Thomas 73, (18-28 Hcp) 1. D. Beatty 71, 2. J. Larrazabal 73, 3. I. Evans 74

Langland Bay

Summer 4-Ball Qualifier; 1. M. Shepherd & G. Ellis 43pts, 2. D. Gibson & A. Jones 41, 3. R. Bond & A. Kamil 40, 4. S. Kamil & P. Harries 40

Morriston

Jeff Jones Trophy; 1. C. Fewings net 66, 2. J. Thomas 67, (13-28 Hcp) 1. D. Davies 69, 2. R. Young 69

Pennard

Australian Spoons Foursomes Qualifier; 1. F. Paton & S. Wintle 40pts, 2. S. Taylor & A. Pritchard 34

Welsh Team Handicap Qualifier; 1. B. Wanless 38pts, 2. D. Rees 38, 3. P. Veale 36, 4. S. Maddock 36. Best of the rest (div one) 1. D. Vincent 36, (div two) 1. H. Bennett 35, (div three) 1. A. Jones 36

Swansea Bay

Millennium Cup Medal; 1. G. Jenkins net 72, 2. B. James 73, 3. N. Gardiner 75

The Grove

Stableford Cup; 1. J. Bamsey 36pts, 2. C. Rumbelow 35, 3. K. Richards 35