THERE was a full field at Tiverton Golf Club for the ever-popular Palairet Mixed Greensomes, with players arriving from all corners of the county ready to battle it out for the magnificent Devon County Golf Union Challenge Cup.

The weather had definitely taken a turn and was mercifully cooler with a lively breeze getting up as the day progressed. And was that rain we could see lurking on the horizon? Thankfully, for most players, it remained firmly on the horizon – although a few may have wished for a shower when the scores started appearing. The Devon County Golf Union Challenge Cup was presented in 1933 by Lionel C.H. Palairet, originally for a Foursomes competition. Lionel Palairet was quite a sporting legend.

A celebrated first-class cricketer for Somerset and England, he later became one of the founding fathers of organised golf in Devon. He played a key role in developing regional golf and, in 1911, was elected as the first Chairman of the Devon County Golf Union (DCGU).

We suspect Lionel may have struggled to predict quite what the next 100-plus years would bring – particularly the eventual merger of the DCGU with the Devon County Ladies’ Golf Association (DCLGA) to create the DevonGolf we know today.

David and Rachael Stewart (Woodbury Park) were first out and wasted no time setting the standard coming home with an impressive 41 points.

Hilary Richards and Clive Spalding (Stover) and Jack and Beverley Turton (Churston) followed with 40, suggesting that a decent score was definitely out there. And so it proved.

Mark Harris and Pauline Chorley of Torquay, together with Tiverton pairing Mike Jewell and Lesley Crossley, both upped the ante with 42 points. Suddenly, 40 was looking less impressive.

But then came the big numbers… Andy Gay and Kaz Simpson from The Warren produced a superb 44 points to take the clubhouse lead. Could anyone catch them? Well, yes – as it turned out!

Nicholas and Stephanie Long (Saunton) also carded an excellent 44 points. The two pairs couldn’t be separated on points, leaving the countback to do its usual job of deciding who had the bragging rights. Andy and Kaz took the title with Nicholas and Stephanie finishing runners-up.

The beautiful Palairet Challenge Cup wasn’t the only silverware on offer with prizes going down to sixth place.

There were also two prizes for the best scratch Stableford score so there was plenty of opportunity for a second bite at the cherry. David and Rachael Stewart, already safely in fifth place in the main competition, were back in contention with a gross 76.

They were matched by Tiverton’s Jane Moulding and Alex Gibson, also with a gross 76. Another countback was required – and it was David and Rachael who came out on top to claim the scratch prize.

As always, Tiverton Golf Club proved to be excellent hosts and DevonGolf would like to thank everyone who helped make the day such a success.

A special thank you goes to members Mandy Hutchings, Les Hartley and Ross Kingdom who took on the starter duties, Bev in the office and the clubhouse and greens staff for all their hard work and support.

And, of course, congratulations to all our prize winners – particularly Andy and Kaz, who take home the Palairet Challenge Cup after a very impressive 44-point round.