January/April 2025 report

Flushed with the success of the over-50s team in the 2024 Cyril Gray, Whitgift (photo) started the 2025 Halford Hewitt in fine fettle, with a 3 1/2 – 1  1/2  win over Radley in the first round of this year’s competition, played at Royal St George’s, Sandwich in early April. There were wins for Richard Gibson and Neill Williams, and for Laurie Evans and Jack Raison, both by 3&2, offset by defeat for Toby Kemp and Nic Gates, and as the match neared its conclusion, Whitgift needed one point from either Stuart Hollins and Tom Bloxsome or Matt Webster and Max Stanley, to secure the three points needed for an overall victory. Hollins/Bloxsome had a real battle on their hands, with their opponents’ birdie 2 on the 12^th cutting their lead to one hole. Radley continued to secure pars over the next few holes, matched by Whitgift with some good putting, and the match reached the 18^th still with Whitgift’s nose in front. Both sides reached the green in regulation, although Whitgift had the tricker position, having just rolled off the back into the rough. A fine chip by Hollins, followed by Radley missing their birdie putt, left Bloxsome needing to hole from six feet to secure a par, which he duly did, to earn the win. Webster/Stanley were level after 17 holes and, with the overall match decided, agreed a half.

The second round, the following day, was against Bradfield, a good side who had narrowly prevailed when the two sides met in the 2024 Plate competition. Bradfield’s side boasts some famous golfing names; the sons or nephews of Messrs Gallacher, Torrance and Rafferty play for them. And the early signs were a little ominous, exemplified by Whitgift’s struggles at the third hole, a par 3 with the flag positioned at the rear of the green, on the top tier. Bradfield reached the top tier with their tee shot in each of the five matches; Whitgift did not reach it once, and lost the hole in four of the five matches. There were errors on both sides, but Whitgift recovered as the tie progressed. Gibson/Williams showed their enduring class and moved comfortably ahead, eventually winning on the 15^th, but Kemp/Spriegel (Matt Spriegel had replaced Nic Gates in the line-up) and Hollins/Bloxsome struggled to keep pace with their opponents, both pairs losing at a similar stage. So, it became apparent that Whitgift would need to win both matches at the rear of the field if they were to progress. With Evans driving the green on the 361-yard 12^th hole, Whitgift nudged ahead in that match, and Webster/Stanley, despite some surprising lapses (the dreaded shank appeared), were hanging on to their match with Torrance/Rafferty (how many people can boast that?). At the 16^th, already one down, Stanley played a great recovery from just behind ‘Bjorn’s bunker’ (where Thomas Bjorn infamously took three to get out in the 2003 Open) and Webster holed from 15 feet to rescue a half. At the 17^th, Stanley repeated the heroics, chipping from 30 feet beyond the green to a pin on a severe downhill slope, leaving the ball only three feet away, a tap-in for Webster. Bradfield three-putted and Whitgift, somehow, had levelled the match. Evans/Raison were in the process of closing out a 2&1 win, so the deciding match moved to an 18^th hole finale.

Unfortunately, it was Bradfield who rose to the occasion this time, scoring a wonderful birdie 3 whilst Whitgift took four just to reach the green.  Somewhat of an anti-climax, at least from a Whitgift perspective, and yet another narrow defeat (the recent record is littered with 3-2 defeats!) brought the campaign to a premature end.

And on a weekend when Rory McIlroy won his first Masters, Bradfield went on to win their first Halford Hewitt, defeating Wellington, Cranleigh and Harrow en route to the final, where they beat Winchester. Their 3-2 win over Whitgift was their closest tie of the entire tournament. And to emphasise how near Whitgift might be to building a winning side, Radley, vanquished in the first round, won the Plate competition!

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Later in the same month did not provide any comfort for Whitgift’s scratch golfers.

Playing in the Grafton Morrish qualifying round at Royal Wimbledon were Carl Hills/Nick Baxter-Brand, Matt Webster/Max Stanley, and Toby Kemp (captain)/Oscar Bailey, and they were playing scratch foursomes in a stableford format, with the leading five scores out of 12 schools making it through to the October finals. It was a fine day, with the fairways firm and the greens fast. Tricky for some. So it proved, and none of Whitgift’s pairings really got the feel of the conditions, and few significant putts were holed. Hills/Baxter-Brand (pictured) were the best performers, scoring 28 points, which turned out to be the necessary score to qualify, if replicated by the other pairs.

However, Whitgift’s total score fell six shots short of the 84 required, and 7th place saw them eliminated. The qualifying schools were Epsom (89 points), Charterhouse (88), St. Paul’s (87), Eton (86), and St George’s Weybridge (84). Harrow finished sixth with 83. Whitgift’s 78 points would have qualified in five of the previous nine competitions, but scoring has been higher over the past couple of years, reflecting the better conditions and maybe a generally higher standard of golf.

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