Shanklin & Sandown Golf Club’s former Hampshire Colts manager, Nat Riddett, ran out of holes after finding himself up against a resurgent Tom Robson in the first round of the 119th Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Channel Islands Amateur Championship, at Blackmoor last Saturday (8th June). Having qualified in 8th place in Friday’s 36-hole qualifier, he found himself in trouble on the front 9 on what is generally regarded as the toughest test on the championship rota. A par was good enough to win the 1st hole for the greenkeeper at the Isle of Wight’s only course that stages the oldest county championship in the country. But Robson, who is one of the most aggressive matchplay exponents in Hampshire and the islands, won 4 holes between the 3rd and the 11th. The 2009 champion made birdies at the 7th and 9th – holing from the greenside trap – after they halved the par-5 8th in birdies. Pars had been good enough to win Robson the 3rd and 4th and Riddett was out of the next 2 holes as well as he went 5 down with 7 to play. But a birdie 2 from 15ft at the short 12th gave him some hope and a par from 15ft at the second-par 5 reduced the arrears to 3 holes. That became 2 when a par at the long par-3 15th was enough after Riddett’s tee shot hit the flag and Robson failed to get up-and-down after short-siding himself. Both players had birdie efforts from around 20ft on the 16th as Robson got to the penultimate hole with a lead of 2 still. Riddett could only watch as his 10-footer to take the match down the 18th, which agonisingly lipped out. The 34-year-old, who was crowned Isle of Wight Champion in 2020 and has now qualified for the matchplay 4 times since 2014, said:
“I played solid against Tom. “I just tried to stay in every hole and have a chance with a putt. I knew I would have to make birdies playing Robbo, but didn’t want to chase them on a tough track like Blackmoor. “I three-putted 10 and 11 to go five-down – to be honest those back-to-back birdies rocked me if I am honest.
Robson – who lost 3 finals between 2015 and 2018 – saw his dream of a second Sloane-Stanley Challenge Cup end in the semi-finals, beaten by a 20ft birdie from Blackmoor’s county player Sam Parsons, who then beat defending champion Ryan Henley, from Stoneham, 3&1 in Sunday’s final. 4-time Hampshire, IoW and CI champion Henley was bidding to become the first player in 130 years to win the county championship 3 times at the same venue, breaking his own record shared with former R&A captain David Harrison, who won a record 6 Sloane-Stanleys between 1965 and 1976. Riddett, who has represented the Isle of Wight twice in the Island Games, including last year in Guernsey, had the consolation of taking the runner-up spot in the handicap in qualifying. Off scratch, he carded nett rounds of 72 and 67 to finish one behind North Hants’ James Atkins, who is part of the management team at Wentworth. Nat said:
“I gave myself lots of chances in the afternoon, having been annoyed to finish on four-over. I was two-under starting from the 10th when I lost a ball on 18 and took six. “I then bogeyed the first, but bounced back with three birdies between the fourth and the eighth when my ball came out of the trees and stiffed a gap wedge after laying up to 120 yards.”
Riddett will be working hard between now and next summer on getting the Shanklin course in tip-top condition for next year’s championship, which will be the 120th played since 1894. Other scores: 153 – Joe Green 78, 75; 157 – Ben Guy 80, 77; Dan Mew 83, 79 (all Shanklin & Sandown).
