Henry Kissack Memorial Trophy
Report By Mark Kneen
John Kennish made it two men’s singles open wins in as many weeks and he picked up the Henry Kissack trophy at Marown on Saturday beating Jordan Cain 21-15 in the final. The green was a joy to behold, although it was still tricky to find your length consistently, Arnie Withers and his helpers have done a fine job over the winter.
If I am totally honest Kennish was not at his fine best but had just enough to grind out the victory on the day, and that is the sign of a great champion when they win despite struggling to find their form. Respective hard fought 21-17 victories over Gary Conwell & Michael Collister in the semi & quarter finals were enough to see him progress to the final and keep his 100% record in singles competitions this season alive.
Cain was slightly below par in the final and fell at the last hurdle after some breathtaking performances in the previous rounds. In the semi finals he put out Onchan team mate David Bradford 21-15 after an exceptional start whilst in the quarters he kept his nerve after surrendering a 20-9 lead against home greener Phil Kelly to see the game out 21-20. If Cain keeps knocking on the door it will not be long before it opens.
The other quarter finalists were Derek Clarke who put up a fine showing just losing out 21-20 to Bradford and Neil Withers who fell at the hands of Conwell. At the conclusion of the competition Phil Kelly from Marown presented the prizes.