Owston Hall, venue of 2009 renewal
North, as hosts here at Owston Hall, secured a narrow but deserved 8½-7½ victory to retain the Ryder Cup Challenge trophy. There were hearty congratulations all round for captain David “Jack” Horner and his team whilst some sympathy went to South for again coming close to pulling off an unlikely result.
Whilst some special mention must be given to the singles performance of Steve Callaghan – missing last time out in 2007 for reasons still somewhat shrouded in mystery – who won the 17th and 18th holes of his contest with South debutant Kevin Fernandez to halve that match and give North the half point they needed for victory on the day, the fact remains that an 8-8 result would have been enough for North to retain anyway, so Fernandez should not be too hard upon himself.
The real star of the show was Mark Wallis (the northern one!) who, playing in his first Ryder Cup, showed a game much improved from that familiar from recent Calco events and maintained that excellent form throughout the two days. Mark himself was quick to credit Peter “Foz” Forster with setting him on the right track as his partner through Friday’s fourballs and foursomes but nobody could argue with his selection as player of the tournament.
Captain “Jack” was typically taciturn in victory but evidently proud of the performance of his whole team. South captain Simon Hordern, a fiercely competitive individual, was clearly dissappointed to have been close but not close enough and hardly happy with his own form (although he did the first point to his tally since a half playing alongside Moyle way back in 2003) but was gracious as ever in defeat.
Despite the threat of the elements, particularly on Friday, it was generally agreed that an excellent course and venue had contributed to another memorable renewal of the Challenge. Over dinner we learned who will lead the two teams in 2011: the South balloting for Simon Cole and the North, apparently by fiat, anointing Darren Mountain. From dinner all roads led to the teeming and convivial nightspots of Doncaster city centre and at this point, leaving the players to their own devices, we look forward to next time …