The Southsea Ladies win at 5th extra hole...........after flag drama!
Southsea's Mandy Roberts and Cathy Youngman thought they were down and out at Hayling in the first round of The Daily Mail Foursomes only to sneak a victory at the fifth extra hole in testing conditions, writes Cara Sloman.
The pair were one down going to the last but had a lucky break when their opponents' ball struck the flag and flew off at a right angle, landing in a bunker. They went on to win the hole and force a play-off with Sandy Meyers and Linda Munday.
They were also battling the elements and fading light as the marathon play-off continued. 'It was dark, cold and windy. By the end we didn't care whose ball went down the hole, we just wanted one to go in,' said Roberts.
The Portsmouth club only have 12 women members and this unexpected victory in the world's largest tournament became the talk of the club. 'Even our men said, "My God that was a good result at Hayling",' said Roberts.
The Daily Mail Foursomes is one of the greatest amateur tournaments. More than 190,000 players are involved in their club qualifying competitions each year and more than 3000 teams were included in the first-round draw.
The last 16 pairings in both the men's and women's events will fight it out for the two prestigious trophies. This year's finals take place at Marriott St Pierre, which has hosted the Solheim Cup and British Masters, in Chepstow, South Wales.