Eaton are in seventh heaven

Eaton won the Norfolk Men's Scratch League for a record seventh time when they beat Royal Norwich 4-1 in the final at Weston Park.

Captain Joe Burroughes commented: 'It was brilliant and for me it was my best-ever day on a golf course – and I didn't even have to pick up a club! It was fantastic.'

The final brought together the two clubs who have dominated the Scratch League since its inception in 1985. Both had six wins, before this year, and victory now gives Eaton the edge in the record book.

Eaton were in the position of having two equally talented, teams among the six who qualified for the morning semi-finals and, with both on separate sides of the draw, had entertained the dream of an all-Eaton final. Royal Norwich put an end to that aspiration when they emerged from their triangular semi-final with 7�, points, beating Eaton A who had four points and Sprowston Manor, who had 3�.

In the other semi-final Eaton B amassed the biggest points score of the morning, with eight, and defeated Royal Cromer, six points, and Middleton Hall, one.

The final was closely contested, with four of the five matches going to the 17th or 18th. In the other, Eaton's Matt Alden pulled off a notable win over Norfolk Open champion Tom Clements.

The winning team also included club champion George Morris, who put up a great fight against Dan Henderson, only to lose on the last; the stalwarts Iain Reid and Joe Conway; and the banker – Mark Skipper, who has lost only one scratch league match in the past three years. Other members of Eaton B during the season have been Bill Preedy, James Ong, Colin Campbell, Joe Burroughes, Andrew Watchorn and Stuart Corfield.