Halford Hewitt 2026

Halford Hewitt 2026

Oundle’s preparations for this year’s campaign in the premier alumni scratch competition began in February with a two-day trial for 12 hopefuls at Prince’s Golf Club.

Three youngsters made their way down to Kent from Universities in the far North, a great effort: Tom Kemp (L ’24), Rory Potter (Sa ’24) and Charles Todd (Sa ’25). Also in the young member category was James Simpson-Dent (Sc ’20), winner of the Scratch Cup in the Autumn and who would later make his debut in the Hewitt team in April after a good performance in the trial.

The top two scores after 36 holes of scratch stableford were guaranteed a spot in the team: Will Kendall (S ’02) came out top, with a brilliant 35 points on the Sunday; next was Tom Goodley (G ’99). Andy Lightowler (L ’97) was third and would also be selected.

Next came the annual match against our friends at Denham GC on March 7th, which again featured some of our younger players. A narrow loss overall meant the wine bill had to be settled by the OOs.

Following the match, Captain Richard Harris (F ’91) was able to select his squad to travel back to Kent in April.

First Round v Mill Hill, Friday April 10th, 2026, at Royal St George’s GC
After three practice days in superb weather, conditions had changed on the Friday, with a cool breeze now affecting shot-making. As is the case in most of these matches, things were close for a while, until three Oundle pairs pulled away decisively, to achieve the required three wins to proceed into Round 2.

Tris Tusa (S ’16) & Will Kendall Won 5&4
Angus Lang (F ’09) & Andy Lightowler Lost 2&1
Patrick Foster (St A ’05) & Tom Goodley Lost 3&2
James Simpson-Dent & Mark Eddy (St A ’84) Won 3&2
George Crawley (L ’20) & Jack Ireson (L ’15) Won 4&3

Second Round v Uppingham, Friday April 10th, 2026, at Royal St George’s GC
The nature of the draw meant we were out again in the afternoon, this time against Uppingham. Luckily there was enough time for the supporters to enjoy the fabled George’s lunch! Andy was not feeling well and Richard Pentecost (St A ’05) unfortunately had an elbow strain which was to keep him out of the team, so Henry Fray (G ’08), was brought in by the skipper along, with a slight reshuffle of partners and team order.

Although our ratings over the years are broadly similar, Uppingham have a better recent record, so we knew that this would be a difficult match. Again, the overall state of affairs was very close right up to the end, with three matches eventually concluding on the 18th.

The skipper’s reorganised order put George and Jack into trap one and having been ahead most of the time, it looked like they could win on 15 but their second ended up in the cross bunkers. However, Jack’s great 7 iron shot into the par 3 16th and George’s deft putt, ensured victory there.

Will and Tristan, in trap 2, were one down after 15; a par on 16 got them back to level and a strong four on 17, Will holing from 10 ft, got their noses in front. Another clutch putt from him on 18 secured a great win.

Two points now in the bag as Tom and Henry bravely halved 17 to take their match down the 18th, albeit one down, but unfortunately, they could not better their opponents; so 2-1.

Next came Angus and Patrick who had fought their way back from one down on 15 to one up playing the last. Nerveless golf from them both made sure of the overall victory. Under the rules, James and Mark took a half.

A famous win against our old friends and rivals, which had supporters reaching for their ‘phones to try and find accommodation for another night!

Crawley & Ireson Won 3&2
Kendall & Tusa Won 1 hole
Goodley & Fray Lost 1 hole
Lang & Foster Won 1 hole
Eddy & Simpson-Dent Halved

Third Round v Winchester, Saturday April 11th, 2026, at Royal Cinque Ports GC
From Saturday, all matches are played at Deal, and this was the third time in four years we had made it into the third round. Winchester were winners in 2018 and finalists in 2025, so another tough game was in the offing.

Skipper Harris brought back Andy, now feeling better, to give ‘veteran’ Mark a rest and made another reshuffle of partners and order.

Will and Tristan, back in trap one, got off to a nice start with a birdie at the 2nd and then won the 3rd to go two up. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, they were all square after 12. Indeed, the whole team position at that point, looked promising with two matches up and the rest all square.

The closing stretch at Deal is notoriously fierce and anything can happen, particularly in foursomes. A good example was seen in trap 2 where Angus’ long second to the par 5 16th was just one yard short of being brilliant and could have given an eagle opportunity. As it happened, the ball agonisingly ran back down the slope and left Andy with a devilishly tricky approach – a two-hole swing unfortunately followed. They had played so well and deserved better.

In trap three, James, now partnered with the ever-reliable Patrick, played near flawless golf and their win at the 15th gave Oundle the first point of the morning and ensured James’ fabulous unbeaten debut.

Meanwhile, trap 1 was in an epic struggle with the Winchester pair of Varkey & Consul (3 times President’s Putter winner, past Italian and German amateur champion) who took the lead at 16. On the 18th, Will and Tristan desperately needed a win to take the match down extra holes: both approaches finished short of the green but neither pair was able to get down in two, giving Winchester the point. 2-1 to the Wykehamists.

George and Jack, pair five, were standing two up with three to play, so all eyes turned to trap 4 but although it had been a close match, Winchester took a decisive lead on 15, then won the game on 17.

Winchester eventually reached the final for the second year running and looking back, we gave them a really good run – they were just a couple of important shots better in the final few holes and that made all the difference. We are knocking on the door and getting some good experience of what it takes to win close games in this exacting format. The team is also getting younger (!) and there are more young players on the fringe. Exciting times surely lie ahead.

Kendall & Tusa Lost 1 hole
Lang & Lightowler Lost 2&1
Foster & Simpson-Dent Won 4&3
Goodley & Fray Lost 2&1
Crawley & Ireson Halved