Barnard Castle’s John Matthews and Ray Pipe successfully defend the Northern Golfer Match Play Pairs trophy
Follow-up albums, movie sequels and title defences are never easy to pull off, but Barnard Castle’s John Matthews and Ray Pipe did just that this season – winning the Northern Golfer Match Play Pairs trophy for a second consecutive year.
Our first back-to-back champions since 2007/8, John and Ray maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament with victory over Allendale’s Neil Forsyth and Peter Robson in this year’s final at Tyneside Golf Club.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the final and get our hands back on the trophy after last season’s success,” said John.
“There’s a bit of pressure on you as defending champions,” added Ray. “We’ve had some incredibly close games all the way through the season, and the final was the same. I think those experiences, and having been to the final last season, was key to getting our hands back on the trophy.
“All our matches came down to such fine margins, and we couldn’t be happier to make it all the way through,” added John. “We take the matches seriously of course, but they’re also great fun and we can’t wait to come back and try to make it a hat-trick in 2025!”
A closely fought final saw the pairs compete over the Harry Colt-designed layout at Tyneside Golf Club in the Tyne Valley. While the momentum swung throughout the match, John and Ray’s experience was vital as the Barnard Castle pair were never down. Despite their nerves, Neil and Peter never let the defending champions out of their sights though, and never trailed by more than two holes.
As he did in the 2023 final, retired police officer John showed his skills as the lowest handicapped player in the foursome. However, his long-time playing partner Ray (16.8 handicap), a retired catering business owner, got the first point on the board with a nett par at the opening hole.
The next two difficult par fours were halved as John (7.8 handicap) made a superb up and down for par at the long second, which was matched by 16.1-handicapper Peter’s steady nett four. At the third, John and Neil (11.1 handicap) halved the hole with pars – Neil getting up and down having hit his drive behind a tree.
The deficit was then erased at the fourth as Neil made an excellent birdie – hitting his approach close enough for it to be conceded after John’s long birdie putt narrowly missed.
The Barnard Castle pair were soon back on top as John’s par four couldn’t be matched by the Allendale duo at the fifth. Peter then made his shot count as the par three sixth, making the only nett par in the foursome to get the match back to all-square as Ray three-putted.
John and Ray then pressed their advantage, winning the par five seventh and par four eighth in quick succession – John birdieing the seventh while Ray made a tidy par at the eighth.
With the ninth hole halved in bogeys, only Peter could make a par five at the 10th – halving the Allendale pair’s deficit. John quickly recovered on the tricky 11th, making a solid par as Peter’s nett par held the score at 1up. A pair of par threes from Ray and Peter – the latter from the greenside bunker – saw the downhill par three 12th halved.
Tyneside’s toughest hole, the demanding 400-yard 13th, followed and while three players struggled here, Peter shone with a tidy pitch and putt for a nett birdie which saw the match return to all-square for the first time since the fourth hole.
With the game in the balance, it was time for one pair to show their mettle and – as they did in 2023 – John and Ray did just that. At the short par four 14th, Ray calmly holed his mid-range putt for birdie before John drove the front edge of the green at the 15th and lagged his eagle putt to gimme range.
With victory in his sights, John looked to press his team’s advantage with a fantastic, aggressive tee shot at the short 16th. However, he couldn’t make the putt for a birdie two and Neil’s fighting par took the game to the final two holes.
At the long par four 17th, Neil hit one of the shots of the match to find the green in two but couldn’t make the 10ft birdie putt as Ray’s tidy par (nett birdie) sealed a 2&1 victory for the Barnard Castle duo.
“It was another great final, and Neil and Peter pushed us right to the last putt,” said Ray. “All credit to Neil and Peter, they never stopped fighting and hit some awesome shots right as we thought we had them on the ropes. Neil’s shot on 17 was incredible, and I was sure we’d be going back down the first. At almost 73 years old, I wasn’t sure how much more I had in the tank!”
“The final was super with so many high-quality shots,” added John. “The spirit the match was played in was great and we enjoyed every minute of it. The way the pressure built was great, and I’m so happy we managed to get over the line again.”
John and Ray’s route to the title was not easy, playing three of their five matches away from home – and reaching at least the 17th in every round apart from the semis. Following an away win at Romanby in the opening round, they won back-to-back matches at home to reach the quarter-finals. A narrow 1up victory at The Northumberland was followed by an impressive 5&4 win at Bedlingtonshire in the semi-finals – beating Luke Newton and Daniel Halliday to book their place in the final.
Runners-up Neil and Peter certainly achieved their number one target this season – to put their nine-hole Northumberland golf club in the headlines. Club secretary and head greenkeeper Neil partnered with engineer Peter and came through a series of close matches this season – reaching the final with a 2&1 win over Michael Clough and Dale Young from Crook.
“It was a great, close final and we enjoyed it from start of finish,” said Peter. “The match was played in the right spirit throughout, and John and Ray are very worthy winners.”
“We were always just slightly behind,” added Neil. “We had our chances when we got back to all-square on the back nine, but John and Ray hit super shots on 14, 15 and 16 which got them over the line in great style. We gave it a go on 17, but unfortunately it was just a little too late.
“We’ve loved being part of the event, and hope everyone we’ve played has enjoyed our company and coming up to Allendale when we’ve hosted them. We had bits of good luck and close calls, and that’s what it’s all about.”
The winning pair received a place in an Albatross Golf Holidays & Events tournament in 2025 thanks to Northern Golfer’s partnership with the North East-based travel operator – which is run by PGA professionals Andrew Scrimshaw and Martyn Jobling.
“Congratulations to John and Ray on their superb performance this season,” said Andrew. “We’re looking forward to welcoming them to one of our events next season – which will give them an opportunity to play a spectacular venue in tournament conditions, and we’ll see if they can keep their success going.”
As well as their place in an Albatross event, John and Ray received £600 in prize vouchers from our long-term partners at Custom Fit Golf, which is run by PGA professional Shaun Cowell and operates pro shops at Hobson and Consett golf clubs. Runners-up Neil and Peter received £100 worth of vouchers for reaching the final.
A huge thank you to all the players who have been part of this year’s tournament, which once again saw six rounds of matches completed between May and October with no delays. Northern Golfer’s thanks also go to all the clubs across the region which have given courtesy to visiting players – your support is very much appreciated. A special thank you also goes to the committee, management, greenstaff, and clubhouse team at Tyneside Golf Club for hosting the final.
For full results click here.
The Northern Golfer Match Play Pairs tournament will return in 2025 for its 24th year.
