On Sunday 5 April the South Gents team travelled to Minto Golf Club, near Hawick, to play their first match of the season. They arrived to find the course looking in great condition and bathed in sunshine with no wind. After the wind and rain of the winter this was a most welcome sight and lifted the spirits of the team.
Although only a few had played the course before they set off for the morning foursomes full of hope and expectation. Their confidence was soon dented as the Borders took an early lead in all matches with the new pairing of Alan Birdsall (Dumfries & County) and Jamie Telfer (Wigtown & Bladnoch) being able to fight back to record the only victory for the South. Most of the games were fairly close but the Borders led at lunch by 4 games to 1.
In the afternoon singles The South players lost their rustiness and their swing and rhythm returned to enable them to put up a better show winning 5½ games to 4½. South got off to a great start winning the first three games only to narrowly lose the next two. This put pressure on the final five matches but Borders could see victory beckoning and were not to be outdone making sure of a draw with three games to finish. The match was played in a very friendly spirit and enjoyed by all.
Results (South names first)
Morning Foursomes
- Grunwell & I Thomson lost to A Chalmers & P Johnston by 5 and 4
C Riddick & S Hislop lost to D Gillie & J Berry by 2 and 1
N Hamilton & C Corbett lost to G Tinlin & D Martin by 1 hole
D King & R Murray lost to C Virtue & A Ballantine by 2 and 1
A Birdsall & J Telfer beat A Fortune & A Roberts by 2 and 1
Foursomes Score South 1 Borders 4
Afternoon Singles
Michael Grunwell (Powfoot) beat Allan Chalmers by 2 holes
Iain Thomson (Powfoot) beat Paul Johnston by 5 and 4
Clark Riddick (Southerness) beat Derek Gillie by 2 and 1
Stephen Hislop (Lochmaben) lost to Jackson Barry by 1 hole
Neil Hamilton (Powfoot) lost to Graham Tinlin by 2 and 1
Chris Corbett ( D & G) beat Derek Martin by 4 and 3
Dave King (Southerness) lost to Colin Virtue by 1 hole
Ross Murray (Southerness) beat Adam Ballantine by 4 and 3
Allan Birdsall (D & C) lost to Aiden Fortune by 4 and 3
Jamie Telfer (Wigtown & Bladnoch) halved with Angus Roberts
Singles Score South 5½ Borders 4½
Match Result South 6½ Borders 8½