Exeter Golf and Country Club Open: Wins For Thomson and Walsh

Top seeds Alison Thomson and Tom Walsh were victorious at the Exeter Golf and Country Club Open, with the latter securing his first win on the Tour, while the Scot made it back-to-back titles.

Thomson came into the Challenger 3 tournament off the back of winning her first event as a professional at the Gibraltar Open in October, and she was the top seed at Exeter Golf and Country Club this week.

The World No.79 began her campaign with a comfortable win over Tessa Harris, before then getting the better of No.6 seed Kiera Marshall in straight games.

Her toughest contest came in the semi-finals, as she had to come from two games down to make it to the final. She fell 2-0 behind to Egypt’s No.3 seed Rana Ismail, but after winning a third game tie-break, the Scot went on to win it 3-2 in 58 minutes.

Thomson then took on England’s Katie Malliff, the No.5 seed, in the final in Exeter, and she took the victory in straight games, with a 15-13 tie-break win in the first crucial to the momentum of the match. The Scot went on to secure her second title in as many months, after a 46-minute contest in the final.

The men’s event saw England’s Tom Walsh as the top seed, as he began his week with a straight games victory over Scotland’s Martin Ross, before then beating No.7 seed Mike Harris, also in three.

In the semis, the Englishman got the better of compatriot and No.4 seed James Peach in four games, to set up a clash with No.3 seed Simon Herbert in the final.

Walsh, the World No.127, fell behind after the first game, but then bounced back to hold the advantage at 2-1. Herbert took the fourth to send it into a decider, but Walsh was able to recover, and claim his first victory on Tour.

Results: Exeter Golf and Country Club Open
Men’s Final
[1] Tom Walsh (ENG) bt [3] Simon Herbert (ENG) 3-2: 4-11, 11-2, 11-7, 8-11, 11-6 (70m)

Women’s Final
[1] Alison Thomson (SCO) bt [5] Katie Malliff (ENG) 3-0: 15-13, 11-7, 11-6 (46m)

Men’s Semi-Finals
[1] Tom Walsh (ENG) bt [4] James Peach (ENG) 3-1: 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 11-3 (50m)
[3] Simon Herbert (ENG) bt Sam Buckley (IRL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 12-10 (38m)

Women’s Semi-Finals
[1] Alison Thomson (SCO) bt [3] Rana Ismail (EGY) 3-2: 8-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-4 (58m)
[5] Katie Malliff (ENG) bt [2] Kace Bartley (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 (35m)

Men’s Quarter Finals
[1] Tom Walsh (ENG) bt [7] Mike Harris (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-4 (35m)
[4] James Peach (ENG) bt Robert Dadds (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-2, 11-5 (35m)
[3] Simon Herbert (ENG) bt Theis Houlberg (DEN) 3-1: 11-3, 11-4, 6-11, 11-3 (35m)
Sam Buckley (IRL) bt [2] Filip Jarota (POL) 3-2: 11-9, 5-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6 (53m)

Women’s Quarter Finals
[1] Alison Thomson (SCO) bt [6] Kiera Marshall (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 (32m)
[3] Rana Ismail (EGY) bt [7] Polly Clark (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 (30m)
[5] Katie Mallif (ENG) bt [4] Katriona Allen (SCO) 3-0: 11-2, 12-10, 11-7 (25m)
[2] Kace Bartley (ENG) bt [8] Emma Bartley (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-4 (39m)

Men’s Round One
[1] Tom Walsh (ENG) bt Martin Ross (SCO) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-3 (39m)
[7] Mike Harris (ENG) bt Rohan Mandil (FRA) 3-1: 11-9, 11-1, 3-11, 11-4 (40m)
Robert Dadds (ENG) bt [5] Tobias Weggen (GER) 3-1: 8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 8-3 rtd (42m)
[4] James Peach (ENG) bt Josh Attwell (ENG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 (28m)
[3] Simon Herbert (ENG) bt Jack Turney (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-3 (35m)
Theis Houlberg (DEN) bt [6] Quint Mandil (FRA) 3-0: 11-9, 13-11, 11-6 (40m)
Sam Buckley (IRL) bt [8] Jordan Warne (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 (25m)
[2] Filip Jarota (POL) bt Hasnaat Farooqi (ENG) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6 (50m)

Women’s Round One
[1] Alison Thomson (SCO) bt Tessa Harris (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-5 (27m)
[6] Kiera Marshall (ENG) bt Rosie Kirsch (ENG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 (25m)
[7] Polly Clark (ENG) bt Olivia Besant (RUS) 3-1: 11-7, 8-11, 11-4, 11-3 (33m)
[3] Rana Ismail (EGY) bt Katie Cox (ENG) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-4 (24m)
[4] Katriona Allen (SCO) bt Jem Morris (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 (20m)
[5] Katie Malliff (ENG) bt Tashy Baker (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-1 (30m)
[8] Emma Bartley (ENG) bt Catherine Holland (SCO) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (19m)
[2] Kace Bartley (ENG) bt Phoebe Colman (ENG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-4 (25m)