THIS year’s Examiner Matchplay Championship is positively bristling with former winners.
No fewer than four players in this year’s first round have gone on to win the tournament – and with it the magnificent prize of a holiday – while there are also four players who have actually won the Examiner Overseas Challenge also in the draw.
The first round is again to be played over 36 holes (home and away) and current Matchplay champion Dave Robinson will entertain Woodhall Hills’ Ray Hitchcox at his own Bradley Hall course first.
The Pudsey-based Woodhall club have, in fact, the highest number of entrants in this year’s event, 10, with three being lady members.
Julie Whiting plays Steve Williams at Longley Park in the first half, while her club colleague Tracey Hughes meets Huddersfield’s Jonny Heyes at Fixby and Mandy Lange visits Peter Sykes at Crosland Heath.
Another Examiner Matchplay winner is Andrew Mear, from Cleckheaton, who won the competition on the last occasion that the prize of the holiday was to Fuengirola, which is the prize on offer to this year’s winner.
Other past winners include Woodsome Hall’s Patrick Carmody who has been drawn to face Eddie Doherty, now at Bradley Park, while Fixby’s Nick Wilson, winner of the inaugural competition in 2004 will tackle one of seven Crosland Heath members, Simon Whitham.
Other names to watch out for in the opening round are ex-Overseas Challenge winners Steve Whiteley (Meltham), Tommy Ward (Longley Park), Brian Verity (Woodhall Hills) and current champion Denis Walters (Blackley), who retained the title last year in Vilamoura after lifting it the year before in Benidorm.
Because the first round is over two legs (with the score carried over to the second leg) extra time has been given to complete the tie, with the results to be submitted to golf writer David Lockwood, at the Examiner (01484) 437757, no later than June 6.
Should any tie be all square at the end of 36 holes, sudden death will decide the outcome, down the first extra hole and so on.
The competition is to be played to full handicaps, although the maximum allowance for men is 20 and for ladies 28.
There will be an Intermediary round with four players drawn out to play each other in order to bring the draw down to a straight 16 players in the second round proper.
The final of this year’s event will be held at Crosland Heath, on Thursday, September 22.
It is the responsibility of the first-name player to contact his/her opponent to arrange a mutually convenient date and time to play.
All competitors will be notified by post along with a copy of the competition rules.
First round:
Steve Hnatkiwskyj (Longley Park, 14) v Steve Whiteley (Meltham, 11); Jonny Heyes (Huddersfield, 6) v Tracey Hughes (Woodhill Hills, 27); Tommy Ward (Longley Park, 14) v Paul Land (Crosland Heath 11); Michael Havis (Dewsbury, 15) v John Hughes (Woodhall Hills, 15); Steve Williams (Longley Park, 15) v Julie Whiting (Woodhall Hills, 21); Dave Robinson (Bradley Hall, 20) v Ray Hitchcox (Woodhall Hills, 16).
Paul Marsland (Crosland Heath, 12) v Darren Whiting (Woodhall Hills, 10); Ian Colleton (Longley Park, 16) v Richard Lange (Woodhall Hills, 12); Peter Sykes (Crosland Heath 17) v Mandy Lange (Woodhall Hills, 15), Robin Hanson (Woodhall Hills, 16) v David Scott (Marsden, 12); Eddie Doherty (Bradley Park, 12) v Paddy Carmody (Woodsome Hall, 17).
Noel Ward (Crosland Heath, 18) v Denis Walters (Blackley, 12); Nick Wilson (Huddersfield, 6) v Simon Whitham (Crosland Heath, 20); David Braithwaite (Marsden, 12) v Simon Mear (Cleckheaton, 11); Andrew Mear (Cleckheaton, 7) v Jack Thewlis (Meltham, 14); Joseph Conneely v (Crosland Heath, 20) v Gary Shuttleworth (Bradley Hall, 11); Keith Stones (Huddersfield 19) v Shaun Acaster (Woodhall Hills 16); John Quinn (Crosland Heath, 20) v Brian Verity (Woodhall Hills, 14).
Ties to be completed by Sunday, June 6.