North District Crowned GolfKings Men’s Area Team Champions
The North District won the GolfKings Men’s Area Championship for the first time since 2000 in dramatic style at Cawder Golf Club today.
Opponents Fife Golfing Association were up against it early on, as the North District came flying out the blocks, winning all morning foursomes matches to take a 3-0 lead into lunch.
With six points up for grabs in the afternoon singles session, Fife responded to win the opening three matches after victories from James White, Greg Wishart and Andrew Davidson. The two teams traded one more point each to make it 4-4 with wins for Scott Crichton (Fife) 4&3 over Lewis Reid and Chris Gaittens (North) defeating David Mitchell Jnr 6&4.
It all came down to the match between David Joel (North) and Fraser Carr (Fife), which went right down to the wire with Joel winning by one hole to claim a 5-4 victory.
After his crunch match, David Joel said: “I was so nervous. It is bad enough when you are playing for yourself, but when it is a team event it is so much more nerve-racking as you don’t want to let the other guys down.
“It was nice to have two putts for it on the last and I dribbled it down safely. I don’t think I would like to go through it again if I am being honest.
“There will be some champagne on the team bus on the long road back up to Inverness tonight, I am sure we will enjoy ourselves.”
Moray’s Kyle Godsman said: “It’s a big honour to represent the North District and to come out as the winners is difficult to put into words.
“It was a close match this afternoon and it always looked like it was going to come down to David’s match. Chris Gaittens won his match quite comfortably early on, 6&4, and I am absolutely delighted that David managed to pull through for the team and get the win.”
Peter Abbott, Secretary of the North District said: “I am very proud of the team today. We would like to congratulate Fife Golfing Association on a great tournament, they played very well and it was a tight game that went right down to the last putt on the last green.
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“I would also like to thank Cawder Golf Club, who have been fantastic hosts. Cawder is a beautiful course with a beautiful clubhouse and we have all made a lot of friends this week. We look forward to coming back in 2010 to try and retain the trophy.”
The GolfKings Men’s Area Team Championship Final Match play results can be viewed here: https://www.scottishgolf.org/championships/#/competition/1714384/teammatch/215828
