Shanklin and Sandown pairing of Dave Woodhouse and Bryce Wilson played a text book four ball round to claim the Hovertravel sponsored IWGU 2011 Fourball Matchplay tournament on a blustery Freshwater course against past winners Matt Leek and Paul Venables from Cowes.
Wilson stated his intentions on the first hole rolling in a 15 ft birdie putt to win the hole after Leek's birdie putt had lipped out. They retained their one hole advantage until Venables birdied the par 4 fourth. A solitary par three from Woodhouse on the difficult, into the wind, 5th returned the Shanklin pair to one up until Venables holed out for birdie at the par 5 eighth (a nett eagle) to level the match.
Woodhouse not to be out done played the shot of the day at the short par 4 ninth putting his second to within eighteen inches for a gimme birdie returning the pair to one up where they stayed till the difficult par 3, 14th. All missed the putting surface and both the Cowes players unable to make par meant that Woodhouse being the first of the Shanklin pair to make his putt for 3 took them for the first time to two up.
The par 3 fifteenth was playing long with two of the players reaching for timber and only Leek making the green, however a costly three putt allowed Wilson to chip and putt for a par to take the match to dormie. Despite an outstanding drive from Leek on the sixteenth no one could better a par and the hole was halved in 4s making Woodhouse and Wilson the winners having kept a tight rein on the match all the way, an excellent final played in the true spirit of the game.
