Halford Hewitt Cup

It was another disappointing year for the Watson's team at this year’s Halford Hewitt with a first round defeat at the hands of our neighbours on Colinton Road, Merchiston.

The team consisted of the usual suspects Richard Johnston, Martin Hopley, Scott James, Brian Bingham, Graham Brown, Andrew Helm and Andrew Hogg along with the return to the side of Alan Williamson and Greg Nicolson who has recently returned from a scholarship in the United States. It was also good to welcome Stephen Gullan into the team for his debut and we hope it is the first of many trips to Deal for Stephen.

Deal was unseasonably warn this year and the flat calm conditions meant that the course was playing relatively easy (as much as Deal can be easy) for most of the week.

The match against Merchiston started well with Johnston & Hopley racing into a 5 hole lead and eventually winning 5&4. Unfortunately this was the only piece of good news as all the other pairs seemed to struggle and Merchiston had built up good leads in all the other games over the front nine.

In the end the middle three pairs all lost and the final game was called a half on the 17th green with Merchiston 1 up with 1 to play. The final result of 3.5 – 1.5 was a fair result as Merchiston deserved the win and this meant it was Watsons first foray into the Princes Plate, although we will always be the last school to have “qualified” for it!

It was left to Hopley, Bingham, James, Nicolson, Hogg and Gullan to fly the flag in the plate and it was the intention of all involved to win some silverware. After a good win against Brighton in the first round we were undone by Edinburgh Accies in the 2nd round and this left a long drive home on Saturday afternoon.

All in all it was a disappointing year, however, congratulations to Clifton for winning the Halford Hewitt and Radley for winning the Princes Plate. We hope that we can once again start competing at the business end of the tournament in future years.

Thanks to all those who played this year and if you are a category 1 golfer and would like to be involved in the Halford Hewitt for Watson's please contact the Secretary.

Another disappointing year for the Watsons Halford Hewitt team with a second round defeat at the hands of a good Repton side. The week started off with very un-Hewitt like weather with warm sunshine and a mild breeze across the links of Royal Cinque Ports meaning the course was there for the taking, something we failed to do in practice. The team had a familiar look to it with the exception of debutant Patrick Tommison and the returning Douglas Neave, the team being led by Graham Brown as club captain.

The first round saw us drawn against an improving Mill Hill team and the prospect of losing in the first round for the first time since 1989 saw us off to a solid win. Good wins by Andrew Helm and Brian Bingham at the top of the order were followed up with more solid performances by Martin Hopley and Andrew Hogg and Douglas Neave and Patrick Tomisson at the back. Richard Johnston and Scott James sneaked a 1 hole victory at number 2 and the only loss being recorded by Captain Brown and Gus Montgomery allowed a more comfortable than it felt 4-1 victory.

The second round was always going to be a tough game having just beaten Repton on the way to the trophy in 2007 and more recently being put to the sword by them in the 2008 Grafton Morrish. Johnston and James led the side and some solid golf round the turn led them to a solid 3&2 victory and the first point on the board. Second couple Helm & Bingham played some good golf but came up against the Repton top pairing, one of which is looking to turn professional this year, and eventually lost a good match 2&1. Behind them Neave & Tomisson holed some good putts to stay in touch, however, a birdie at the 17th gave the Repton pair a 1 hole lead which they held onto down the 18th to make the score 2-1 in the match.

The match was finally decided when the final Repton pair birdied the 16th to win their game 3&2 against Brown & Montgomery. The fourth match of Hopley & Hogg called their game a half on the 17th green as the match was over and it allowed the Repton team a chance to get in and have some lunch before their afternoon round against Radley.

All in all, a disappointing year for the Watsons team, Tonbridge defended the trophy beating Merchant Taylors in the final 3-2. Every school seems to be improving and no games are easy in the Hewitt with more schools bringing quality golfers to the tournament and Watsons are looking for the same. Therefore, if you are a category 1 golfer and would like to play for the Watsons team in the Hewitt and other scratch competitions throughout the year please contact the Secretary whose details can be found on this website.

Round 1 v The Leys (Won 4.5 – 0.5)

In what was a tighter first round match than many expected it was all very close at the turn with 2 matches down, 2 matches up and one all square. Coming back into the wind proved too much for The Leys with most of the Watson’s couples going a few holes up and sealing a solid win. The top match was very close all the way with The Leys pair getting a great up and down from just short of the burn at 18 for a 4 and to save the whitewash.

Round 2 v Dulwich (Won 4 – 1)

We knew Dulwich had a strong team and they would prove to be a handful. This was to be shown in the early holes when Dulwich were more than a match to the Watsons pairs. The third couple playing against Captain Bingham and James certainly took a liking to the two par 3’s on the front nine by going 1, 2 at holes 4 and 8. Couples 1,2 and 4 proved too good for the opposition and won with couples 3 and 5 calling it a half so we could get in for a bite to eat before the 3rd round match in the afternoon.

Round 3 v Wellington (Lost 3 – 2)

We all knew that Wellington were a strong team with a couple of new players in the team and having disposed of Loretto in the morning they were ready to take on another Scottish school. In very strong winds the course was playing tough and those couples who were tight around the greens and didn’t make stupid mistakes were going to prevail.

Johnston & Turner proved to be as reliable as ever with a win at the top and this was closely followed by a solid win from the back by the experienced Helm and Williams. Couples 2 and 3 were both 2 up through 12 and with the match at the back being all square things were looking good. However, the back nine at Deal is a treacherous place and James & Bingham won 16 to go back to 1 up and were then pulled back to all square with a good par at 17 from their opponents. This was then followed up by another good par into the wind by Wellington at 18 to win the hole and the match and put all the pressure onto Hogg and Hopley who were 1 up playing 18. Unfortunately a solid 4 at the 18th from the Wellington pair was good enough for extra holes and then some trouble at the burn at the 19th by the usually reliable Watsons pair was enough to put us out the tournament and send us home to watch The Masters.

It was a sad end to the tournament as defending Champions and our record of never winning in an even year continues. Thanks to Helmy for organising the trip once again and to Brian Bingham for his Captaincy. Tonbridge won the tournament beating Malvern in the final and they rarely seem to have been troubled so congratulations to them, we look forward to challenging them next year.

For the fifth time Watsonians win the Hewitt with a 4.5 to 0.5 win over Epsom in the final. Captain Brian Bingham partnered ably by young Scott James lead from the front, well number 2, but it felt like the front after the legendary Andrew Turner and Richard Johnston finished their game in time to get a coffee and hot dog at the hut by the 12th before heading off to catch their private jet home. Bad boys. That left Graham Brown & Angus Montgomery and Martin Hopley & Andrew Hogg to seal wins on 18 and 17 simultaneously with the veteran pair of Andrew Helm and Alan Williams in control of the final game back down the course as the trophy was clinched.