Ross-on-Wye Golf Club’s annual knock-out finals day was blessed with fine weather, together with a 36 holes match-play final, to decide the Club’s 2016 Men’s Champion, which was entirely worthy of the occasion.

It featured James Morgan and Harvey Hancock who were well matched, both having handicaps of two, although 35-year-old James will have benefited from having been Ross’ Club Champion in 2010 and 2013. 22-year-old Harvey is in only his second year at the Ross Club, but he has already won several major honours board trophies.

In a match played in great spirit, spectators were privileged to witness a quite outstanding encounter. After the morning round, James was three up with a gross 67, to Harvey’s gross 70.

Although Harvey refused to give up, and played exceptionally well until the end, it was a 4/3 win by James. This meant that James deservedly claimed his hat-trick of Club Champion titles.

What will probably be most remembered though, were the remarkable twelve birdies and conceded eagle by James, almost matched by Harvey’s eight birdies, which would surely have been enough to make Harvey a winner on any other day.

The Bob Beavis Knock-out final to determine the Club’s 2016 Juniors Champion, featured the 2014 winner 16-year-old Brad Knapper and Cam Haines, also 16 years old who was losing finalist in 2015. On the day it was Cam who was the first to settle and his calm and measured play meant that he was 4 up after 5 holes, with Brad unable to recapture the match-play form that he had shown the previous day when, with Alistair Watkins, they were the only winning pair playing for the Club’s A Team at Cirencester Golf Club. Cam thoroughly deserved his comfortable victory which finished on the 12th hole when he was 3 under par to claim his second major trophy in recent weeks after his impressive gross 74 round won him the Bristol Juniors Open. Being part of the Gloucestershire County’s Jeff Hall competition enables Cam to compete to play in the qualifying stages of the prestigious Daily Telegraph BMW sponsored National Junior Golf Championship. The finals will take place in Portugal later this year. Cam and Brad are regular Junior County players selected in both Under 16s and Under 18s squads and which reflects so well on the Ross Club’s ’Investment in young people’ strategy emanating from the Club’s Head Professional Tim Hall and his School of Golf team and of the ’continuous improvement’ culture which is endemic throughout all sections of the Club.