Champions Kent make winning start to
England seniors' title defence

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH GOLF UNION
Kent made a successful start in defence of the title when they beat Devon 5½ - 3½ on a wild opening day of the English Seniors County Finals at Trentham.
A morning of continual rain and strong winds was followed by sunny intervals and squally showers, making it tough going for the over-55 golfers.
But Kent kept their heads above water, storming in front after sharing the foursomes, with Chris Reynolds, Chris Hurst and Roger Salmon claiming comfortable singles victories.
There was nothing to separate Reynolds and Grahame Sanford for the first five holes but Reynolds then took charge and was 3-up at the turn. He got to five-up through 12 and despite a Sanford fight back, the Kent man won 3 and 2.
Hurst was also three up at the turn against Jon Gynne but increased his advantage to win 6 and 4, rounding it off with a birdie 4 at the 14th.
Salmon, in the bottom match, had an even more emphatic victory over Jim Pettigrew, being six up at the turn on his way to a 7 and 6 win but it wasn’t all plain sailing. Devon hit back with Brian Winteridge beating Sam Smale 3 and 2 while Paul Vicary cashed in on a troublesome start by Chris Buckley, who lost a ball on each of the opening two holes.
Then Vicary hit him with successive birdies to lead by four holes. It was a lead Vicary never relinquished as he completed a 5 and 4 win which left Kent in an unbeatable position. But they needed a further win from Howard Moxon, who turned a two-hole deficit at the turn against Michael Wigley into a 3 and 1 victory.
In the other match, Shropshire & Herefordshire were poised to spring a major surprise against twice previous champions Cheshire, but they came up half a point short and had to settle for a tie.
Having trailed 1-2 after the morning foursomes, Shropshire & Herefordshire came out with all guns blazing in the singles and Garry Huggett was the inspiration in the top match against Roy Smethurst. Huggett ran in two birdies on the front nine to be one up, then added another with a 3 at the 11th to increase his advantage.
Smethurst, four times English Seniors Champion and experienced international, was playing his usual steady golf but Huggett wouldn’t let him back and eventually won 2 and 1.
Glyn Hughes then added to Shropshire’s tally by beating another England international, Gordon Broster 3 and 1, achieving an eagle and two birdies on the back nine in the process.
After, a third England cap Philip Slater, swamped Welsh international Michael Rooke 6 and 5; Stuart Lee put Shropshire within sight of victory by beating Scottish senior George Payne 4 and 3.
However, Alastair Brown birdied the 17th to swing his match with Anthony Smith which left the teams tied at 4-4. But Shropshire were in the driving seat with Steve Howell dormie-two against Philip Jones.
But Howell lost the 17th to a par 4 when his bunker shot flew the green and he failed to get up-and-down. Then, on the 18th green, saturated by a heavy downpour, Howell, needing only a half for victory, three-putted for a half.
Day Two will see Kent meet Cheshire and Devon will play Shropshire & Herefordshire.

Full details, scores and news for the English Seniors County Finals are available on the Championships section of EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org