ERUGC Men's Matchplay 2017

The damp drizzling conditions on the day proved to be a key factor in this duel between the two East Riding veterans making the dense heavy rough an area to be avoided at all costs. Alan (57) and Andy (53), had both fought their way through the elimination stages of the Championship to reach the final. Alan was ably assisted by caddie Charlie Fountain and Andy had young rising star Joe Allenby on his bag.

The match began with two magnificent drives on the first 369 yard hole leaving both players with less than a hundred yards to the pin but poor seconds left both players struggling to achieve par, however, Woodhead managed to get down in two putts to win the hole with a four. An errant tee shot from the second tee left Woodhead in deep rough and struggling so Wrights par was good enough to square the match. From the 3rd tee, Woodhead again found trouble finding the deep cavernous bunker just short of the green. Although playing his second from the rough, Wright found the green whilst Woodhead’s bunker shot disappeared over the green, a weak chip followed and he gifted the hole to Wright who went one ahead with a par four. The 4th hole saw Wright in trouble when he lost his ball in the deep gorse to the left, whilst Woodhead had played the hole well and Wright had no option but to concede the hole for the match to go back to level.

The short 5th was won by Wright with a par 3 after Woodhead had overshot the green. A magnificent drive down the 6th left Wright with no more than a 180 yards to the pin leaving him in the driving seat but when he failed to hit the green, a par five from Woodhead was good enough to halve the hole. The challenging 7th hole saw both players in trouble off the tee with Wright in deep rough left and Woodhead bunkered. A bogey five from both players left Wright one up on the 8th Tee.

The following three holes were won by Wright with pars as Woodhead continued to find problems off the tee. By the 11th hole, Wright was 4 up and seemed to be taking control, however, he found himself bunkered and after taking two shots to get out he conceded the hole. On the 12th, Woodhead hit a magnificent 3 iron to the centre of this dog-leg hole, less than a 100 yards from the pin but when he missed the green left and failed to get down in two more he allowed Wright to halve the hole with a bogey 5. The players halved the par 5 - 13th in par. The following three holes saw three concessions, two from Wright and one from Woodhead leaving Wright in the lead by two holes. The 17th saw the first birdies of the day when both players scored 3’s at this 247 yard hole. A par 4 down the 18th saw a much relieved Woodhead leave the course at the half way stage with only a one hole deficit.

The second round began much like the first with both players hitting perfect drives to the centre of the 1st fairway some 80 yards short of the pin, this time both players got their pitches to within 10 feet of the pin but neither could convert these fine shots into birdies so the hole was halved in par. The second hole was a repeat of the first round as far as Woodhead was concerned as he again pulled his drive into deep rough and after failing to get near the pin after four shots conceded the hole to Wright who was certain of a par 4. The 3rd hole saw Woodhead’s driving woes continue when again he pulled the ball left and lost his ball in the deep undergrowth. So very quickly Wright had re-established a 3-hole lead which was extended to 4 when Wright hit a pin-point iron to within a foot at the 407 yard par 4 to make birdie.

At this stage, it looked as if Wright was back on his game and Woodhead was struggling, but in this game of golf, especially in match-play, you can never write the script as by the turn on the second round, Woodhead had got the game back to level. Wright had 3 putted the 5th to lose it to a Woodhead par, at the 6th Wright missed a 5 footer to lose the hole, at the 8th he conceded the hole when he found deep rough to the right and on the 9th hole he found green-side bunker from which he took three shots to get out. The game settled briefly at the 10th with both players returning par 3’s but on the 11th Woodhead took the lead when his par 4 was good enough to win the hole. The tricky 12th dog leg saw Woodhead in trouble in the trees so Wright’s par 4 was good enough to restore his lead. The 13th was halved in birdie fours and the 14th in par 4’s. Both players found trouble at the difficult 436 yard par 4 15th.

Wright had an excellent drive leaving him only 156 yards to the pin but inexplicably he missed the green to the right and chipped poorly to record a double bogey 6 whilst Woodhead managed a bogey 5 to win the hole and go one hole ahead. The match was back to level at the 16th when Wright, who was bunkered greenside for two, played a remarkable bunker shot to within a foot and return a par 4 to Woodhead’s bogey 5.

When Wrights tee shot on the 17th hit a tree Woodhead had the chance to regain the lead but a wayward tee shot and lost ball meant he was one hole down on the 18th tee. The final tee shots saw both players in the deep rough to the right of the fairway, both failed to find the green but, Wright’s bogey 5 was enough to achieve a half and so win the 36-hole Championship by 1 hole.

At the after match dinner in the Ganton clubhouse the players and ERUGC executive were warmly welcomed by Ganton Captain Stephen Larard. Mrs. Julie West representing her husband Chris West of Bridlington Building Supplies, sponsors of the event was thanked by East Riding President Steve Thornton who then presented the winners salver to Alan Wright. This was Alan’s second victory in the Match-play Championship with him previously winning in 1998.