The first round of the prestigious Devon knockout competition, the Palairet Memorial Trophy, was played on the first Sunday of June, writes Hugh Dorliac.

Sidmouth played Bovey Castle at the neutral venue of Woodbury and the Sidmouth team soon found they were giving between eight and 11 shots to their opposing teams!

Undaunted, Lewis White and Duncan Taylor led off and soon settled into a steady rhythm.

They closed out their match on the 16th, despite having given 10 shots to their opponents.

Neil Holland and John Jones played solidly and it was a tight match all the way round.

The Sidmouth pair were one up after 17 holes and managed a half on the last to take the game by one.

A similar result was achieved by Damian Gee and Matt Bavington whilst the fourth pairing of Mark Thomas and Lewis Perry had a more comfortable win of four-and-three.

The final pair of James Spiller and Simon Moore won their tie on the 17th hole when James fired an arrow straight drive straight down the middle and over the hill to within 60 yards of the green.

This may have unsettled their opponents as they put theirs in the woods thus ending their challenge.

Sidmouth won by an impressive score line of 5-0 and so go forward to the next round in July with renewed hope and confidence.