CHAMPIONS Royal Jersey are out of the Hampshire 7-a-side KO golf competition.

In a cliff-hanger of a match at Grouville on Sunday, the hosts were beaten 4-3 by La Moye with the match finally decided on the second extra hole with victory for La Moye’s Richard Ramskill against Paul Le Chevalier.

La Moye team captain Kevin O’Toole, a veteran of these matches having played in them since the early 1970s, described it as one of the most exciting matches he has been involved with.

La Moye player Andy Clarke said: ‘It was a good win, I thought we had lost it because I could not see Paul Le Chevalier missing from a couple of feet at the first extra hole.

‘But he missed and Richard took full advantage at the next hole.

‘Personally I had a tough draw against James Birch and I’m delighted to have won.

I knew I had to play well because he is a good player.

‘It was nip-and-tuck throughout and I managed to go two up after winning the eleventh and twelfth.

I always do well at the short 16th and I managed a birdie there to win my match.’ La Moye were put on the road to victory with Clarke’s success while colleague Craig Nielson defeated Matthew Parkman 2 and 1.

The Royal rallied with wins from Mick Le Feuvre and Matthew Vincent; both one-up over Andy Boxall and Brett Allen respectively before Alex Guelpa put the hosts ahead with a 2 and 1 success over Bob Wickings.

George Kean levelled the scores overall with a fine 6 and 4 against Robbie Messervy, leaving the match to be decided by the final pairing.

Le Chevalier was one-up playing the 18th but he was pegged back by Ramskill’s 15-foot birdie to take the match to the 19th.

After a magnificent drive 50 yards past Le Chevalier, whose great iron shot to the green was pin high and 20 feet to the left, Ramskill pulled his 8-iron left of the green but with a delicate chip he got to four feet and Le Chevalier to two feet.

Incredibly both players missed their putts meaning a second extra hole, a par three.

Ramskill fired his shot onto the green and very close to the pin.

Chevalier cut his shot short and right of the green and in a difficult lie.

The Royal player’s first chip failed to find the putting surface so he had to play again.

This time he was on the green only to concede the game and with it the match.

La Moye now play Les Mielles in the semi-final, the match to be played before the end of April.