LES Hartley and Ron Stonebridge booked a Winter Foursomes final showdown with Neal Gibson and Ricky Cruse at Tiverton after seeing off Jeremy Millett and Colin Baker in the semis last week.
Hartley and Stonebridge were the first pair to secure their spot in the last four but had to sit back and wait for the rest of the bottom half of the draw to pan out.
Millett and Baker knocked out Martin Selby and Neil Carthew in the last quarter-final on Easter Monday before their 4 and 2 midweek loss to Hartley and Stonebridge.
Gibson and Cruse had earlier secured their place in the final, which will be played next Sunday afternoon, with a 4 and 3 victory over Ray Pratt and Ian Gunn in the semis.
Tiverton's mixed team dodged the bad weather to enjoy a 5½-4½ victory in beautiful sunshine at East Devon on Sunday.
The stars of the day were match captain Derek Reed and his wife Joan, who won 7 and 6.
The return fixture has been moved to Sunday, April 20 to avoid a clash with Tiverton's opening Palairet Trophy match on May 4.

The Texas scramble to raise funds for Tiverton's juniors was cancelled at lunchtime on Saturday after persistent rain rendered the course unplayable.

Phil 'Victor Meldrew' Moulding carded 35 stableford points in high winds to win the Pink Bag Golf Society's annual away day at The Players Club, near Bristol, on Friday.
Lloyd 'Monty Manboobs' Sampson finished second on 34, one ahead of Lee 'Arf Daley' Scott, while Gary 'The Nuisance' Holley's score of 12, which included an out of bounds blunder on the 3^rd, meant he finished last and had to wear the pink bag for the evening.

Allsopps maintain winning form

 TONY and Karen Allsopp continued their 2008 winning streak at Tiverton as they stormed to victory in the mixed Cockman Cup on Easter Monday.
The Allsopps, who had already won the New Year's Day cross-country competition and the Mixed Goblets earlier this year, made it a hat-trick after scoring 39 stableford points in very windy conditions.
Ian and Julie Sampson came second with 35, beating James Lambden and Jane Walton on a countback on the homeward nine, while Derek and Joan Reed were fourth on 33.
The foursomes competition attracted 22 pairs – two of whom recorded twos into a strong headwind on the 14^th. Brian Stairs and Ivy Radford won 13 golf balls for doing so, as did Alan and Charlotte Snow. 

The ladies played the last of their fun winter competitions on Wednesday, a medalford, and once again they were lucky with the weather as the rain stopped just before the first tee time of 10am.
The players marked a stableford card for the front nine and a medal on the back.
The stableford score was deducted from the medal at the end, with the winner achieving the lowest aggregate.
That honour fell to Marian Stevens, who posted a score of 14 after an impressive nett 69 overall.
Results: Silver Division – 1 Judy Phripp (20); 2 Sue Persey (22); 3 Sheila Ball (24). Bronze Division One – 1 Marian Stevens (14); 2 Liz Hall (21). Bronze Division Two – 1 Anne Franklin (24); 2 Margot Seamer (25); 3 Enid Harding (25).

NEAL Gibson and Ricky Cruse may have left it late to qualify for the last 32 of the men's Winter Foursomes at Tiverton, but it was worth the wait.
The left-handers, who reached the knock-out stages at the fourth and last time of asking in the qualifying competitions, surged through to the final after two convincing wins at the weekend.
After edging past David Grieve and Tim Packer 2 up in the first round, they won their next three games with something to spare, all by 4 and 3.
Colin Taylor and Tony Lavery fell in the last 16 before Andy Brice and Andy Lovell went out in the quarter-finals on Saturday and Ray Pratt and Ian Gunn perished in the semis on Sunday.
Gibson and Cruse went three up early on against Brice and Lovell, who got it back to two before finding tree trouble on the 15^th.
Also on Saturday, Pratt and Gunn overcame David Ashworth and Steve Cox 2 and 1.
Gibson and Cruse lost the 1^st to Pratt and Gunn in Sunday's showdown but were three ahead at the turn. Despite a wobble on the 11^th and 12^th, they parred the next three holes to clinch their place in the final.
Gibson will be hoping for a more positive result than the 7 and 6 drubbing he and Lee Scott suffered in the final a couple of years ago.
Gibson and Cruse's opponents are not yet known, as the bottom half of the draw is still to be completed.
Les Hartley and Ron Stonebridge were the first pair to earn their spot in the last four but they only discovered their opponents this week.
They will take on Jeremy Millett and Colin Baker, who knocked out Martin Selby and Neil Carthew on Easter Monday.

Andy Frankum and Heath Ellis scored 38 points to win the men's foursomes stableford competition on Saturday.
They could even afford to go out of bounds on the par-3 14^th on their way to a countback victory over Simon Budden and Lee Scott, who made a fine return following a troublesome back injury.
Budden was left to rue a missed short putt on the 18^th, which would have earned him and Scott a one-point win.
Results: 1 Andy Frankum and Heath Ellis (38); 2 Simon Budden and Lee Scott (38); 3 Bill Tobin and Graham Dyson (36); 4= John Sargeant and John Court (35); 4= Nick Lear and Colin Taylor (35).

Sheila marches on

SHEILA Ball notched 37 points to top the Silver Division and win the ladies' March Stableford on a fine, sunny day at Tiverton on Wednesday.
Ball qualified for the Goodwin Trophy and had her handicap reduced from 18 to 17 as she finished one clear of Rosemary Perry, who was cut from 20 to 19.
Winter League winner Anne Franklin came second in Bronze Division Two after scoring 30 points.
Results: Silver Division – 1 Sheila Ball (37); 2 Rosemary Perry (36); 3 Teresa Birchmore (31). Bronze Division One – 1 Alison Kelland (32); 2 Shirley Ward (30); 3 Linda Knowles (30). Bronze Division Two – 1 Jean Adshead (31); 2 Anne Franklin (30); 3 Sue Thompson (29).

THE heavy rain hit the quarter-finals of the men's Winter Foursomes at Tiverton at the weekend – and only one match has been played so far.
Les Hartley and Ron Stonebridge are the only pair through to the last four after they overcame Rob Gubby and Steve Hosford on Thursday, before the heavens opened.
Hartley and Stonebridge will face Martin Selby and Neil Carthew or Jeremy Millett and Colin Baker in the semi-finals.
In the top half of the draw, Ray Pratt and Ian Gunn have yet to do battle with David Ashworth and Steve Cox in the quarters while Neal Gibson and Ricky Cruse come up against Andy Brice and Andy Lovell on Friday.
They had been due to play on Sunday afternoon but the course was closed.
Semi-final draw: Ray Pratt and Ian Gunn or David Ashworth and Steve Cox v Neal Gibson and Ricky Cruse or Andy Brice and Andy Lovell; Les Hartley and Ron Stonebridge v Martin Selby and Neil Carthew or Jeremy Millett and Colin Baker.

The ladies held two competitions on Wednesday – an 11-hole Goldies event and a stableford over the full course off ¾ handicap.
The Goldies competition gives players aged over 65 an extra stroke on their handicap for each year they exceed that mark.
As it turned out, none of the prizewinners were over 65. Trish Bending led the way with 16 stableford points, with Rosemary Venner, Teresa Birchmore, Jackie Leonard and Jo Lloyd-Davies joint second on 15.
On a day when strong winds made scoring difficult, Hannah Grant came in with 29 points to finish three clear of Venner in the 18-hole competition.
Sheila Ball came third with 24 while Phyllida Dunn and Rachel Bray were joint fourth on 23.

IT proved to be a weekend of family fortunes at Tiverton as father and son Neville and Ollie Taylor won the men's pairs better-ball competition on Saturday and Tony Allsopp and his wife Karen stormed to victory in the Mixed Goblets on Sunday.
The Taylors, from Cullompton, racked up 45 stableford points in tough conditions to finish one ahead of Mark Sangster and Phil Moulding.
The winners both got on the card nine times, with Neville's 20-footer for a nett three on the 10^th and Ollie's close-range birdie on the 18^th helping them collect 24 points on the back nine and take the honours.
Ollie missed out on both the nearest-the-pin prizes by a matter of inches.
Dominic Bristow finished closest on the 9^th while Andy Frankum took the prize on the 18^th despite owning up to thinning his approach shot.
Neil Carthew and young Harry Callahan scored 43 points to claim third place overall on a countback from Keith Williams and Charles Durnan.
Meanwhile, the Allsopps had to get through two matches on a blustery day on Sunday to lift the Goblets titles.
The Plymtree couple were three up on club captain Peter Boax and Gail Stuckey in their 11-hole semi-final in the morning but were pegged back before winning on the last.
The 18-hole final in the afternoon proved to be a bit more comfortable as they took out David Simpson and June Carver 5 and 3, to add to their victory in the New Year's Day cross-country competition.
In the mixed stableford played alongside the Goblets, Eric and Julia Cole showed their own family flair to win with 25 points over 11 holes.
Paul Steele and Rosemary Perry were second while Boax and Stuckey bounced back from their earlier defeat to come third with 21.

Andy Brice and Andy Lovell moved through to the quarter-finals of the men's Winter Foursomes after beating Roger Stevens and Richard Colman on the 17^th in the second round on Sunday.
Club caterer Lovell and former captain Brice are likely to play their next match this Sunday against Neal Gibson and Ricky Cruse, who hope they will not be nursing too much of a hangover after a stag night in Torquay on Saturday.
Also in the top half of the draw, Ray Pratt and Ian Gunn will go head to head with David Ashworth and Steve Cox.
In the bottom half Les Hartley and Ron Stonebridge will take on Steve Hosford and Rob Gubby – aka Bucks Fizz lead singer Bobby G – after the latter overcame Roger Millett and Dave Horn on Sunday.
The remaining tie will see Martin Selby and Neil Carthew do battle with Jeremy Millett and Colin Baker, who knocked out Terry Barwell and Norman Ford.
Quarter-final draw (matches to be played by March 16): Ray Pratt and Ian Gunn v David Ashworth and Steve Cox; Neal Gibson and Ricky Cruse v Andy Brice and Andy Lovell; Rob Gubby and Steve Hosford v Les Hartley and Ron Stonebridge; Martin Selby and Neil Carthew v Jeremy Millett and Colin Baker.

Tiverton's ladies had another excellent victory in the Mail on Sunday competition as they won 4-1 away against Lyme Regis in the second round on Saturday.
It was a very windy day on the Dorset coast with a few squally showers, which made conditions difficult.
Five-handicapper Jess Bradley, who has recently been called into the England girls' team, led the way again with a 3 and 2 win despite having to give four shots.
Jo Lloyd-Davies (14) cruised home 4 and 2, Teresa Birchmore (12) won 2 up playing the course for the first time while Sue Norris (16) came into the team and triumphed 3 and 2.
The only defeat came for Val Walker (13), on her first visit to Lyme Regis, who pulled a muscle in her back while playing and went down 2 and 1.

Silver Division player Helen Scriven produced an excellent two-under nett 72 to win the ladies' March LGU Medal on Wednesday, which reduced her handicap from 12 to 11.
Ann Pearcey's handicap also came down, from 27 to 26, after she won Bronze Division One with a nett 75.
Results: Silver Division – 1 Helen Scriven (84-12=72); 2 Jo Lloyd-Davies (89-14=75); 3 Hannah Grant (77-1=76); 4 Sheila Stark (96-19=77). Bronze Division One – 1 Ann Pearcey (102-27=75); 2 Gail Stuckey (99-22=77); 3 Alison Kelland (98-21=77). Bronze Division Two – 1 Kay Leach (116-36=80); 2 Ros Williams (116-36=80).

Tiverton helps Kenya riot victims

MONEY raised by Tiverton Golf Club has helped Kenyan people caught up in the recent riots that hit the country.
Chris Williams, the 2007 ladies' captain at the club, nominated ShelterBox as her charity for the year and raised £1,400.
The Cornwall-based charity, which delivers aid to disaster areas, used the donation to pay for two full boxes and one partly full box, which were sent to the Nakuru district of Kenya to relieve some of the suffering.
About 1,500 people died and 600,000 were forced out of their homes during the wave of violence that followed Kenya's disputed presidential election.
The majority of the golf club's funds came from its Lady Captain's Day, a coffee morning, open meetings and various raffles held throughout last year.

Chris Williams (right), the 2007 ladies' captain at Tiverton Golf Club, hands over a cheque for £1,400 to David Guy, the Devon representative of disaster aid charity ShelterBox.

Tiverton's ladies played the rescheduled January Stableford on a fine, sunny day on Wednesday and Carol Scott was the winner with 38 points, which earned her a handicap reduction from 21 to 20.
The competition had a CSS of 76 and the scores counted towards the Exe Valley Cup.
Results: Silver Division – 1 Val Walker (35); 2 Rosemary Perry (33); 3 Judy Phripp (32). Bronze Division One – 1 Carol Scott (38); 2 Trish Bending (35); 3 Chris Bacon (33). Bronze Division Two – 1 Anne Franklin (31); 2 June Carver (31); 3 Ros Williams (30).

Tiverton pair Sue Persey and Jackie Leonard moved through to the second round of the national Daily Mail Foursomes tournament thanks to a 4 and 3 victory at home to Okehampton duo Mary Keir and Jane Warren on Thursday.