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 | The 21st Blind Golf International, England v Scotland, China Fleet Golf & Country Club, Saltash, Cornwall, September 2008
England Captain, Tony Shearman, reflects on how Scotland regained The Auld Enemies Cup
There were two main objectives ahead of this event: To ensure that England retained the Auld Enemies Cup and to stage a tournament that the English Blind Golf Association could be proud of. The reason for not achieving the first objective was simple enough: we were beaten by a very strong Scotland team who, to coin a footballing phrase, certainly had "strength in depth" - coupled with the fact that they were determined to avenge the home defeat we inflicted on them in Aberdeen in 2007. Not that it's any consolation, we did however appear to achieve the second aim, judging by the feedback we've received from those who were there. This success was due to a great deal of hard work and dedication from the rest of the Event Organising Team of Pat Glover, Martyn Comley, Martin Poole and Marie Southern alongwith Linda Goddard and all the staff & members of China Fleet. The weather also played its part too. During the weeks leading up to the tournament there had been nothing but rain, rain and more rain, which had led to a closure of the course before our arrival. But, the colourful opening ceremony on the morning of the first day Tues 2nd Sept, was played out in brilliant warm sunshine. A lone piper, Ken Shaw, from The City of Plymouth Pipe Band, led the two teams to the first tee where, in the presence of The Mayor & Mayoress of Saltash, the MC David Fitzgerald read out good luck messages from the two Honorary Captains, Nick Faldo & Bernard Gallacher, as well as from Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Her Majesty The Queen. And when The Saltash Town Brass Band and the lone piper played the anthems, God Save Our Queen, Flower of Scotland and Jerusalem, I must admit to having more than just a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat. It was Scotland who took the spoils from the 1st day Foursomes, finishing with a 4.5-1.5 lead, England's points coming courtesy of Simon Cookson & Ron Tomlinson who notched an emphatic 8 and 7 victory whilst Steve Beevers & Derek Field gained our half. For the first time at a blind golf event we were able to follow the latest live hole-by-hole scores on a large display screen in the clubhouse thanks to a system designed by Martyn Comley of the Event Organising Team. This system was also linked to both the EBGA and SBGS websites so people were able to "watch" the event "live" as the scores changed and the match unfolded. At one point, some people trying to log on to the EBGA website were unsuccessful due to the sheer volume of traffic! In 2007, England lost the 1st day by the same score but, then went onto win the 2nd Day Four-ball-better-balls 6-0 before going on to win the Cup. Sadly though, history didn't repeat itself in 2008 as Scotland enjoyed another 4.5 - 1.5 success to increase their lead. Jay Cookson & Mike Loten securing England's winning point on Day Two with Malcolm Elrick & Derrick Sheridan securing a half. Therefore, going into the final day's Singles, England had something of a mountain to climb with Scotland leading 9-3 and needing just 3.5 points to regain The Auld Enemies Cup. Despite wins for Steve Beevers and Jay Cookson and halves from both Mike Loten and Simon Cookson, it wasn't enough to stop the trophy changing hands and returning North of the Border. Scotland were presented with their spoils at the Gala Presentation Dinner, hosted by EBGA Patron, Henry Kelly, where The City of Plymouth Pipe Band with their 18 Pipers & Drummers, ensured that the event closed in a dramatic, and quite fitting, fashion. Neil Baxter, the 2009 England Captain, is the man now charged with leading the team to Scotland next year and bringing back the Cup once again. On behalf of the EBGA I would like to express my sincere gratitude to ... Click here for day 1 scores and results Click here for day 2 scores and results Click here for day 3 scores and results
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