Students past and present compete at Alumni Golf Day

The event, played on a shortened course at Dawlish Warren, saw a squad of current students from the University Student Golf Club (Kit Donneky, James Beck, Joe Scibilia, Laurie Potter, Tom Thornhill, Katie Bradbury and Danny Vallis) face their predecessors (John Gilbert, Mark Taylor, Roger Peek, Rod Alexander, Sean Mason, Chris Hater, Jon Mitchell and Craig Townsend) in a weekend of incredibly close golf.

Alumni captain Rod Alexander’s negotiating skills were a key weapon in securing some generous handicaps allowing the old guard to secure a 4-0 lead over the students in the Saturday fourball matches.

The fight back from the student team, however, was impressive and Sunday morning saw the tournament being decided on the 18^th of the final game. The Alumni held their nerve, seizing the coveted Northcote Trophy with a 7-5 win overall with the University students taking the Sunday singles 5-3.

University of Exeter High Performance Golf Manager and event organiser Craig Townsend was pleased with the spirit of the event. He said: “It’s been another enthralling match between the Alumni team and the University Golf squad. The handicap advantage on day one gave the alumni a huge lead but the university team came back at the end of day two and nearly grabbed a draw.

In all it’s been a great weekend and fantastic for old friends to have the opportunity to catch up. A huge thank you to everyone who made the journey to Exeter and played in a light-hearted but fiercely competitive match.”

The Student Golf Club is enjoying a successful season, currently positioned 1^st in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings. Earlier this year the first team won the BUCS Premier South League and have made it to the final of the BUCS Championship taking place this May.

For further information on the University of Exeter’s golf programme, please visit the Sports Office website.