" YOU ARE THE APPLEYARD OF MY EYE"
Tony Shearman reports on Paul Appleyard's 4 and 3 win over Rob Parrott in the final of the 2008 Primary Club English Matchplay championship held at Gaudet Luce GC, Worcestershire, between 13th and 15th May.

Ok, you can stop groaning now about the somewhat contrived headline but, believe me, I've been wrestling with a suitable snappy opener since Paul and Rob qualified for the final showdown.

For instance, you could have had "That Parrott is no more" but, I didn’t' think that would have been very appropriate and rather unkind to Rob!

On the other hand, if Rob had won, how about " Who's a pretty boy then" or, my favourite, "Parrott makes Apple Crumble!"

Apologies, to Rob at this point for the pathetic puns around his name which I'm sure he's heard all his life…. I just couldn't resist it!

Anyway, one more headline before we move on: and this one's pure fantasy: If I, by any stretch of the imagination, had won the event, the title would have no doubt had to scream out "Tony is Shear Class!"

As it happened, my involvement in the tournament was short-lived and more of a nightmare than a fantasy after being humiliated 9 and 8 by Andy Sellars in the very first match of the first round! The less said about that the better me thinks.

" The cream always comes to the top" the saying goes and it was certainly the case at Gaudet Luce:  The narrow fairways and the punishing rough just beyond meant that, unless you were accurate and really on top of your game, vital shots would be lost.  And this was borne out by the fact that the highest handicapper left in the competition at the quarter-final stage was 28.

But, don't get me wrong, this is not sour grapes on my part and certainly not a criticism of the club who provided a wonderful setting and offered such excellent hospitality as always.  My sincere thanks go to all the members and staff of Gaudet Luce particularly the Chairman Terry Hartley, President, and Starter, David Worsford, Rod Earle and all those in the Pro Shop and Club Captains Terry Venus and Angie Hayes. Apologies to anyone I've neglected to mention.

I can honestly say the welcome and support we get from the people at Gaudet Luce is second to none and I hope it continues for many years to come.

I should also like to thank our sponsors, The Primary Club, and in particular their Midlands Representative, Rick Coleman, and his wife Ann for taking the time to attend the Presentation where Rick not only dished out the prizes but also treated us all to his latest excellent stand-up routine.

Oh, and while we're on the subject of comedians, let's not forget we owe a huge debt of thanks to the tournament organiser, Mike Loten, who always goes about his work with a smile and a laugh…. which comes in very handy when you can't see and you're trying to find him…. just listen out for that huge guffaw! Tickety Boo!

Anyway, back to events on the course where there were some notable performances in the early rounds: None more so than Francis Radford, the only Lady Golfer in the field, who gave Paul Appleyard something to think about in the very first round, only yielding to the eventual Championship winner at the 14th

Paul admitted afterwards to being "a little nervous during that match”…”Pity he didn't tell us at the time", quipped Francis's guide and husband, Peter.

In the 2nd round, Neil Baxter took Paul to the 17th before going down 3 and 1 whilst Derek Field, by his own admission, threw away his chance of reaching the last eight by finding a bunker on the 18th to lose 1 up to last year's beaten finalist Simon Cookson.

But, Neil and Derek gained some consolation for their narrow defeats by posting impressive scores of 40 and 43 points respectively to fill the first two places in the Lew Vizzard Stableford Plate.

Meanwhile, in the quarter finals of the main event Paul Appleyard had another battle on his hands when just edging past Andy Sellars with a shot on the 19th hole. Elsewhere, Jay Cookson beat Malcolm Elrick, Simon Cookson overcame Roy McKnight and Rob Parrott ended Mike Loten's progress.

Which left us with a semi final line up of: Paul Appleyard versus Jay Cookson and Jay's brother, Simon, facing Rob Parrott.

At this stage I already had another headline in my back pocket: "It's a Family Affair" but, as we now know the pair from Portsmouth were denied their dream final although I'm sure their favourite team's win against Cardiff a couple of days later would have been some consolation.

 
The final of this year's Primary Club English Matchplay Championship was a far tighter affair than the 4 and 3 scoreline suggests with both players executing some stunning golf that would have graced a sighted competition for sure, even though the sunshine we'd enjoyed for the previous two days had been replaced by a definite chill in the air and rain in the later stages.

But with Paul receiving 10 shots it was always going to be difficult for Rob to pull off the win from his 10 handicap mark.

In fact, Rob never actually had his nose in front at any stage during the match:  Paul won the 1st hole with a shot, Rob made it all square after the 2nd and the 3rd hole was halved.  But, with wins for Paul on the 4th, 7th and 9th without reply from Rob, the current champion took the turn with a healthy lead.

Rob did reduce the arrears on the 10th but, the writing was on the wall when he left himself an impossible shot across the water on the 14th which allowed Paul to restore his 3 hole advantage.

The match ended in spectacular fashion on the 15th and Paul will obviously remember it for some time to come
" My ball was sat well down in the rough on the left hand side of the fairway, about 145 yards from the middle of the green. I knew the flag was at the front from previous day's play so took an 8 iron knowing it was also an up-hill shot. I knew I had to hit it hard to even get it out of the rough and was concerned that it might get a real flyer because the ball had so much long lush grass behind and on top of it."

He needn't had worried though because he played the shot more like a pro at a Major rather than an amateur at a blind golf event, landing the ball just 4 feet from the pin. He then stepped up and coolly stroked in the putt to clinch the title for the second year running.

Paul said afterwards that he was "delighted to have won back-to-back Matchplays" and put his success down to "all the hard work he'd done back at home around the greens" and to his 60 degree wedge which helped him out of the rough so many times.

Meanwhile, Rob paid tribute to the other players who supported the pair in the final, despite the inclement weather, and said his first Matchplay Championship was "a fantastic event even though he was obviously disappointed with the result."

I'd like to write at this point that Rob was quoted as saying he was "as sick as a parrott" - but, he didn't, and my journalistic integrity prevents me from reporting otherwise. Shame!