The 2018 Maulesbank Trophy winner was crowned on Saturday as Pat Smith of The Shire beat Steve Connors of Finchley Golf Club 2&1 on the Championship Course.
Both men were in fine form throughout the tournament – Smith missed out on the cut for the Craw’s Nest Tassie by just two shots.
Smith got his matchplay campaign off to a flyer with a 6&5 win against Anders Dahl of Haninge Strand in the opening round while Connos managed to better that results in his 1st Round match as he beat Javaid Sabrine of Deane GC 7&6. In the 2nd Round, Smith continued where he left off as he defeated top seed Dominic Thorp 4&3 and it was a similar story for Connors who beat Colin Ralph 5&3.
In the 3rd Round, Connors had his closest match yet as he narrowly won against Jeff Roberts 1UP while Smith maintained his form with a 4&2 victory over Breightmet GC’s Paul Aldred. Connors only required 13 holes to overcome David Dalby 6&5 in the quarter-finals, meanwhile Smith was made to work for his place in the semi-finals, grinding out a 2&1 victory over Greg Fee.
In the semi-finals Smith overcame Chris McCormack of Blackley Golf Club 6&5 while Connors won 2&1 against Robbie Yule of Irvine Golf Club.
Given the impressive performances of both players over the course of the week, it was fitting that the final was a tightly contested affair with Smith edging Connors 2&1.