Mark Smith and Håkan Erixon were crowned Winter Foursomes champions on Sunday, defeating Neil Sharpe and Pasi Siitonen in a final that went to sudden death extra holes, played across The Garden & The Church in glorious sunshine.

The Final

It was the culmination of a long journey. As Mark reflected, “I think we played our first round against Shekhar and Mary back in October,” with three of their matches across the competition, including the final itself, requiring extra holes to settle.

Mark took the odd holes and Håkan the evens across The Garden & The Church, and by their own admission neither team was at their best. That said, there were highlights throughout. Neil and Pasi made an excellent par on Church 5 to keep themselves in contention, before Håkan responded with what Mark described as “probably his best shot of the day” on the par three Church 7, slotting what he believes was a seven iron, though Håkan himself suspects it may have been an eight, to around ten feet. Mark and Håkan walked off that hole two up with two to play.

Church 8 brought drama of a different kind. Finding a bunker short of the green, Mark hit his bunker shot into the pin, stopping the ball dead beside the hole for a gimme par. Meanwhile, Neil had played a superb chip onto the green, leaving Pasi needing to hole a slippery twelve-foot downhill putt to keep their side in the match. He duly slotted it.

Church 9, the 18th, then turned against Mark and Håkan. After some difficulty among the trees, they conceded the hole and the match headed to sudden death.

Extra Holes

Garden 1 saw both teams play well, each finding the short side of the pond in two. Pasi played the better approach, leaving Mark and Håkan to putt for birdie first. Håkan narrowly missed and they made five. Neil slightly misread his birdie putt, and with both teams making par the match moved to Garden 2.

There, Neil produced one of his best drives of the day, a shot Mark described as “an absolute rocket, maybe only 50 or 60 yards from the green.” However, Mark and Håkan had a shot on the hole, and in the end it proved decisive.

Håkan reflected on what made the match so gripping: “Even though it wasn’t our best golf, both teams kept the same ball in play and it came down to short game and nerves. Pressure was pretty intense at times.” He added that having three matches go to sudden death across their run might be a record, noting it “says something about the level of competitiveness of the Wisley winter golfers.”

Both Mark and Håkan were warm in their praise of their opponents. As Mark put it, “Neil and Pasi, as you will expect, were wonderful competitors and the game was played in great spirit.” A thoroughly entertaining final and a well-deserved victory for the champions.