Kent Golf Limited
Amateur & Senior & Junior Foursomes / Eric Green Trophy / Captain's Cup / Top Club Knockout Finals Day report
Date published: 1 Oct 2025
It might not have been particularly sunny, but it did at least stay dry for our finals day at Upchurch River Valley, where six Kent Golf knockouts were brought to their conclusion.
In the Kent Foursomes, Sundridge Park took on Langley Park, and it was pretty much one-way traffic. In the top match, John Bromley and Billy Walton (Sundridge Park) took an early lead and found themselves 3 up at the turn against George Mullins and Nathan Brown. Although they were pegged back to only 1 up after 12, a good spell thereafter saw them run out as 4 up winners after the 18 holes were concluded. In the second match, Alfie Hickman and Stuart Williams (Langley Park) took a brief lead of 1 up after 3, but the Sundridge pairing of Dan Smith and Dan Dring fought back to take a 2 up lead of their own after 9. They extended their lead on the back nine and finished with a commanding score of 7 up at the end of the round, giving Sundridge an overall aggregate of 11 holes to the good.
In the inaugural Senior Foursomes knockout, Langley Park were represented once again, this time taking on Wrotham Heath. In the top match, Phil McBrown and Alan Pestell (Langley Park) were 1 up after 3, but after a turnaround by Matt Alfree and Paul Martin, found themselves 1 down after 12. It was nip-and-tuck all the way, eventually finishing all square after 18. In match two, James Jones and Darren Ottaway (Wrotham Heath) were 1 up after 3, when the tide turned and Mark Haffenden and Frank Adam moved into a 2 up lead after 12 holes. Despite James and Darren getting it back to only 1 down after 15, Mark and Frank held firm and finished the 18 holes at 3 up, thus giving victory to Langley Park.
In the Junior Foursomes, between Wildernesse and Sundridge Park, Esme Medd and Luke Antoun (Wildernesse) took a slender lead after 3 holes, held on to it for most of the round, and increased it to 3 up after 16. But Kit Hill and Charlie Martin fought back for Sundridge and won the last two holes, meaning Wildernesse took the match by a score of only 1 up. In match two, however, it was a little more one-sided, and the Sundridge pair of Freddie Corke and Freddie Siddons had their foot on the gas from the word go. The 2 up lead they held after 3 holes would only be extended as the round went on, and nothing Sam Valentine or Seb Bullock could do could rein them in. The Freddies ran out as 6 up winners, meaning Sundridge Park won by an overall score of 5 holes.
The men’s individual knockout, which is played for the Eric Green Trophy, was a very exciting affair between David Walters (Eltham Warren) and Rob Frost (Weald of Kent). There was nothing between them after 6 holes, but then David took charge and found himself 2 up after 10 and then 3 up a couple of holes later. But Rob showed great resolve and had squared the match after 17. The final hole of regulation play was not enough to separate them, so down the 19th they went for a sudden-death play-off. Alas, it was not to be for David as Rob held his nerve and prevailed on the first extra hole. Congratulations to both players for an excellent final, played in the proper spirit of the game, and thank you to Eric Green’s son, Mark, for coming along to present his father’s trophy.
In the Captain’s Cup, between Upchurch and Knole Park, both games were tight affairs. In match one, between Alan and Catherine Bell (Upchurch) and Andy and Sue Billings (Knole Park), it was honours even after six holes when Andy and Sue then had a purple patch and won three of the next four holes. Alan and Catherine hit back and reduced the deficit to only 1 up to Knole Park after the full complement of 18 holes had been played. In the second match, Mick Marsh and Julia Jarvis (Upchurch) took an early lead over the Knole pairing of Simon Judd and Sian Todd, finding themselves 3 up after 6. They managed to hold on to most of that advantage for the rest of the round, eventually winning by a score of 2 up, thus giving the title to Upchurch by an aggregate score of 1 hole. Our thanks go to Chris and Elaine Tappin for attending the day and for presenting their trophy to the victors.
Our final knockout of the day was the fourball betterball Top Club, where Upchurch were once again represented, this time taking on Bexleyheath. In the first match, Paul Matthews and Andy Appleby (Bexleyheath) held a slender lead of only 1 up at the turn over Joe Hopkins and Scott Burns, but then pulled away on the back nine to be 5 up at the finish. Match two followed a similar pattern, but this time it was the Upchurch pairing of Steve Noble and Gary Lamb who, after being all square at the halfway point with Chris Slattery and Gordon Veitch, upped the ante on the way home to run out 4 up winners. Despite their valiant effort, it was not quite enough to bridge the deficit, and Bexleyheath sneaked home on aggregate by one hole.
Our thanks go to Greg and his team at Upchurch for making us so welcome and also to our invaluable Kent Golf volunteers – Ingrid, Ian, Allan, and Kathie – without whom we would not be able to put on such special days.
Next year, these finals will be held at Langley Park, so if your club hasn’t entered one of these knockouts before, have a go in 2026 and we might see you there!
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