Undefeated! Unbeatable?

The defending champions of the Northern Matchplay Golf Championship will take their place in the grand final of the 2011 competition after a mammoth contest at Pannal Golf Club in the pairs section of the Yorkshire regional final.

Ibbotson & Ryland - a win from the jaws of defeat... again!

Ryland & Ibbotson proved that they are top dogs in Yorkshire for the second season running and have now gone an amazing 14 games undefeated since the conception of the event two years ago.

The Wheatley pair have pulled more rabbits out of hats than Paul Daniels during their 2011 campaign to win the 'Yorkshire' event for the second successive season.

However in 2011, if they are once again to get their name on the trophy, they will need to win three more matches in the extended version of the competition. Seven other pairs from across the North of England will be vying for the title when the grand final takes place at Alwoodley in a couple of weeks time. Knowledge of the course from 2010 may prove critical.

It looked as though they had met their match at Pannal during the afternoon final when they took on Andrew Greetham & Trevor Hewson. The Hessle pair won 6&4 in the morning against Matthew Grantham & Ben Musgrove whilst Ryland & Ibbotson battled hard for a 3&2 win over Andrew Goldstein & James Skirrow.

Greetham & Hewson got off to the perfect start winning the first two holes and whilst they got pegged back were never behind. And at three-up through twelve it looked as though the long unbeaten run would eventually come to an end. Ryland and Ibbotson pulled one back at the 13th to reduce the deficit to two holes before a fascinating and thrilling climax to the match.

Valiant effort from Andrew Greetham

Hewson, who has reduced his handicap from nine to six during the season and won his clubs President's Day at the weekend, found a fairway trap down the 14th and could only advance his ball to 20 yards short of the green from where he pitched up to 15-feet. Meanwhile Ibbotson had found the woods down the right but somehow managed to thread his ball through the tree trunks, although his shot ran well through the green before a weak chip left him over 30-feet from the pin, however, he rolled it in for what would have been a momentum boosting win only for Hewson to match his effort for a half. Two exceptional pars when bogeys at least looked a certainty.

At the next it was Greetham who secured the par for the Hessle pair with an exquisite chip from left of the green to a matter of inches. Ibbotson left with a ten-footer to prevent the match from going to dormie calmly rolled it in to keep the buffer at two holes with three to play. Up the next it was Hewson's turn to hole another clutch putt when he scrambled well for par and take the East Yorkshire pair to two-up with two to play.

Solid golf from Hewson but denied at the death

It looked as though the game was up on the 17th when Hewson had two putts for the win but was unable to convert sending the game down the 18th. 

Ryland came to the party on the last when after a wayward drive he played a terrific approach, which ran just through the back of the green, but into an awkward spot. He chipped to 15-feet before slamming his putt into the back of the hole for a fist pumping four, a par that nobody else could match, sending the contest into extra time.

Last years winners have come from dormie two down before and have often found themselves down and out only to come through at the death.

The first two play-off holes were shared. Hewson had a makeable putt at the first whilst Ibbotson missed a chance to claim the spoils at the second.The game ended on the third extra hole, the 21st of an epic contest, when Ibbotson rifled a nine-iron to within a foot for a birdie two and another sublime chip from Greetham failed to drop.

The play-off for third place went the way of Andrew Goldstein & James Skirrow (Crosland Heath / Scarcroft).

The final two regional finals take place this week at West Lancs (Lancashire) and Wallasey (Cheshire).

The photo gallery from Pannal can be seen here whilst a small gallery of the course can be found here.