The Royal Navy Golfers took to the course at Hilton Park Golf Club, near Glasgow, for the Royal Navy Golf Championships.
It was an exciting week of golf and probably one of the closest of Royal Navy Golf Championships in recent times.
The composition of each regional team was evenly balanced, with several new talented players discovered through the regional development programme entering the event for the very first time.
In the Match play event, the Northern Region (NR) shook the regional teams on the first day by halving their match with the favourites, FAA. They did not stop there and went on to beat both Eastern (ER) and more surprisingly the Royal Marines (RM) team, leaving a final day where 3 teams could have won the event depending on how results went.
The NR went on to beat the Western Region (WR) 5/3 in the final round, leaving all eyes on the FAA/RM result as the match play championships ended.
The FAA had to win and by a good margin and with many of the matches going to at least the 17th hole, it could have gone either way, but in the end the FAA team secured their win over the RMs 5½/2½.
With both FAA and NR on 3 ½ points, the greatest game difference went to the FAA and they were crowned winners scoring 24½ games to the NR 21½.
In the main event, all 74 competitors took part in the Strokeplay format over 3 rounds. At the end of round 3, the top 24 GROSS scores played in the Strokeplay Final playoff whilst the next best 24 NETT scores (Gross minus Handicap) would compete in the NETT Finals.
The Ladies were also in the same field of play, but they would play in their own final on finals day to find the Lady Champion.
Also, from the 3 rounds, the best 6 scores by each Regional Team were recorded to find the best Strokeplay team. Each of the Regions scored well, but it was the Royal Marines who took the Team Strokeplay away beating the FAA by just three shots!
Those who did not make either, took part in the Greensomes events on the Club’s alternative course the Allander. 11 pairs took part in this tightly fought competition.
Pairings were evenly split based on handicaps and whilst AB Cam Williams with Jeremy Black scored a credible 36 points, it was Lt Cdr Mark Jones and CPO Steve Aries that walked away as victors with 37 pts.
To summarise the NETT competition, Lt Declan Johnson RN, who only took up golf 12 months ago and had to borrow a set of clubs to take part, was playing steadily through the first two rounds. He was 4 shots clear of WO Chris Stewart after 3 rounds with an increasing gap between them and 3rd /4th place.
Chris closed the gap to 2 after round 3, and with 10 shots between them and 3rd place.
On finals day, rain delayed the start of the round but the players were keen to get out and get the round underway.
Declan and Chris were in the Final NETT pairings up against each other and they both battled well. Chris endeavoured to narrow the gap but by the 18th, Declan remained 2 strokes clear and became the NETT Individual Champion.
In the Ladies event, SET Olivia Trewhela started her quest to win the Ladies individual competition with an incredible Gross 70 – 3 under par and a potential course record for Hilton Park GC.
After Round 3, she was 10 shots ahead of last year’s champion, AB Alex Forrest. Lt Cdr Lauren Hulston, the RN Lady Captain was out with Lt Cdr Lucy O’Connor and between 1st and 4th positions, there were 31 shots.
A huge ask for Lucy and Lauren to close that gap, but for Alex, a great challenge in the final round.
Both ladies played well and despite Alex finishing with a gross 70, it was just not quite good enough. Alex had closed the gap by 8 shots, but Olivia with a Gross score of 282 after 4 rounds beat Alex by 2 shots to become the RN Ladies Individual Champion.
In the Men’s Final Strokeplay event, Lt Kieran Dixon and Cpl Alfie Fletcher were leaders of the event and were out in the last group of the Championships.
Despite a delay start due to inclement weather, superb golf played by all, especially those fronting the competition. PO Ryan Moore scored the best round of the men’s event on the final day with a gross 70 which put him back up in the top standings and Lt Dixon shot a gross 79, his highest score of the week.
Cpl Alfie Fletcher finished with a steady gross 73 to put him in pole position with 297 shots. Ryan finished 2nd on countback to Kieran who both finished with gross 298s.
Cpl Alfie Fletcher became the 101st RN Navy Golf Champion and a very strong and consistent Championship.
