ST NEOTS Golf Club made a gallant effort to lift the Mail on Sunday National Club Championship at El Rompido

ST NEOTS Golf Club made a gallant effort to lift the Mail on Sunday National Club Championship trophy at El Rompido in Spain last week, but slipped to defeat in the final.

It was no disgrace for the five man team as they lost to one of the pre-tournament favourites, the Vale of Glamorgan Golf Club who were contesting their second final in three years.

Colin Mynott, who captained St Neots Golf Club’s Mail on Sunday team, could not have expected what was in store for the players when he led them out in the first round of the competition back in February.

Their first opponents were Pavenham Park from Bedfordshire and Mynott’s team won a close match 3-2.

What was to follow was a season that has re-written the club’s history books as victory followed victory. A quarter final win in Manchester took the team to Spain last week for the semi-final and final.

On Tuesday (November 23) the team had a thunderous 4-1 win in the semi-final against The Ridge Golf Club from Kent.

That put them through to the final on Wednesday to face Glamorgan for the title.

Mynott, who has seen his team win twice during the season on the extra 19th hole after matches had finished all-square, was understandably disappointed with the final outcome a 4.5-0.5 defeat.

Mynott told The Hunts Post: “We played very well against Ridge on Tuesday. Together with Michael Round, James Bradford and Nick Gowling we took our matches and only Steve Searle lost narrowly in the 4-1 win.

“The following day was a different story. They had lost two years before in the semi-final and had no wish to miss out this year. We were up for the final but things didn’t go our way.”

Overall the St Neots team won 10 rounds to reach the 2010 final. Matches against Bourne Golf Club in the fourth round and the quarter final tie both needed on an extra hole.

“It has been a great experience, the support we had from those that travelled to Spain and those who sent us messages of encouragement was unbelievable,” Mynott added. “The club intends to give the 2011 competition a run for its money and replace the runners-up trophy with the winners in 12 months’ time.”