Consett & District Golf Club’s Mark Bonser and John Kennedy lifted the Northumberland & Durham Inter-County Foursomes trophy at Whitburn.
Mark and John beat the Bedlington duo of Ben Brown and Jack Baird in the inter-county final after both pairs came through their respective county finals.
Mark and John beat Boldon’s Gavin Nesbitt and Michael Calvert on the 20th hole of the Durham final, while Ben and Jack won their place in the afternoon match with an impressive 7&6 win over Goswick’s Joe Atkinson and Alan Potts in the Northumberland final.
The afternoon inter-county final was a close affair, with no more than a 2up advantage at any point – Consett getting to 2up through three holes before the Bedlington duo birdied the fourth and fifth holes. Level at the turn, Mark and John won the 10th, lost the 14th, then struck the final blow with a par at the tricky 16th – holding on to half the final two holes and secure a 1up victory.
John lifted the Inter-County Foursomes trophy having fist won the event in 2001 and successfully defended it in 2002 – with the Consett duo’s combined age of 107 was far greater than the 51 years of their opponents. The 24-year gap between John’s wins in the event is just short of the 25-year gap between his wins in Durham County Matchplay Championship – which he won in 1996 and 2021.
