Castle Eden team in paradise

The Durham County Golf Union’s Clark Cup produced another exciting final as Castle Eden Golf Club won the event for the first time with victory over Rockliffe Hall at Boldon Golf Club.

The five-man team knockout title, which was launched in 1953, is one of Durham’s most prestigious events. 

In this year’s semi-finals, Rockliffe beat defending champions Heworth – who were chasing a hat-trick of victories – as Castle Eden got the better of Blackwell Grange.

Castle Eden had come close before in the Clark Cup, losing the final to South Shields at Boldon in 1981 before finishing runners-up again in 1984 and 2006. This year Sean Huntington got the team off to a great start with a 7&5 win over Ian Newall. Stuart Brown then beat James Lagan 5&4 before Rockliffe got a point back with James Rogers beating Thomas Harbord 3&2.

The deciding moment came in the match between Castle Eden’s Darren Rayner and Rockliffe’s David Kelly. All square at the turn, the pair traded holes on the back nine before reaching the 18th tee tied once again. Both players then found the green in two before Darren produced the putt of the match, holing out for birdie from 10ft to pick up the decisive point.

In the final match on the course, Castle Eden’s Nathan Graham and Scott Pocklington agreed to half their game to give Castle Eden a
3.5-1.5 victory.