A DEPLETED Cornwall men's team overcame all the odds to kick off their Channel League campaign with a remarkable 8½-6½ victory over old rivals Devon in their own back yard on Sunday.

The Duchy were up against it before a ball had been hit at Royal North Devon with the late withdrawal of John Piner with a back injury and the unavailability of Mike Reynard due to a family commitment, as well as the absence of the two Bens – Enoch and Westgate – on international duty for Wales.

But despite trailing 3-2 after the morning foursomes, Cornwall staged a storming comeback in the afternoon to take five of the 10 singles which, along with three halved matches, saw them to a memorable victory.

"What the boys did against a star-studded Devon side was truly phenomenal," enthused county captain Paul Clahane. "The winning attitude was there right from the start and if they can do that against Devon, they can do it against anyone.

"We know we're capable of it and it was a great relief to see the players do it in the opening match of the season. I know one swallow doesn't make a summer, but it was the ideal start which we can now build on."

Despite a foursomes win for Billy Downing and Alex Boyd and halves for Steve Chapman and Richard Ackland and Aaron Stephens and Anthony Nash, Cornwall ended the morning a point adrift.

But the turning point came in the top singles matches in the afternoon, with Nash recording a brilliant 3&2 win over England international Billy Hemstock, Ackland birdying the last to halve with current South West champion John White and Downing also having a birdie at the 18th to defeat Simon McCarthy by one hole.

Despite a rare defeat for Chapman, Boyd defeated current Devon champion Damian Gee 3&2 before Alex and Robert MacGregor romped to big victories that sealed a sensational afternoon for Cornish golf.

Cornwall results. Foursomes – Steve Chapman & Richard Ackland halved; Aaron Stephens & Anthony Nash halved; Billy Downing & Alex Boyd won 3&2; Joe Cruse & Josh Greenaway lost 1 down; Alex and Robert MacGregor lost 1 down. Singles – Nash won 3&2; Ackland halved; Downing won 1 up; Chapman lost 5&4; Boyd won 3&2; Alex MacGregor won 6&5; Greenaway halved; Cruse halved; Robert MacGregor won 7&6; Stephens lost 5&4.

Mike Marshall was elected as the first ever county seniors' captain at the CGU annual meeting at Lanhydrock last week.

A seniors vice-captain was not nominated, but will be put forward at next year's AGM.

● Trevose's Ben Westgate and Truro's Ben Enoch helped Wales into a share of fifth place in the team event at the European Nations Cup held at Sotogrande last week. Westgate started slowly with opening rounds of 76 and 75 before shooting up the individual leaderboard with a sparkling 68 before closing with a fine 73 in windy conditions for a share of 23rd place in the 75-strong field. Enoch was just two shots behind his county colleague after rounds of 72, 77, 71 and 74 for a 294 total which saw him tied for 27th place alongside teammate Nigel Edwards. The fourth member of the Welsh team was James Frazer who finished in joint 13th place with a 72-hole total of 286.

England were overall winners of the team event by four shots from France and completed a memorable double when Sam Hutsby won the individual title after a play-off with Spain's Carlos Pigem Xammar after both players finished on 274.

● The ladies' County Championships will be held at St Enodoc next week, starting with the 36-hole strokeplay qualifying event on Tuesday (April 7) in which 64 players will be competing.

Among the entrants are previous champions Rachael Phillips, Liz Bird, Sarah-Jane Boyd, Jan Teague and Judy Ryder, who was beaten in last year's final by former Curtis Cup player Linda Simpson, who will not be defending her title.

The top 32 medal scores will advance to the knockout stages, the best 16 going into the main Championship and the lower 16 into the Plate. Both competitions start on Wednesday, with the 36-hole finals being played on Friday.

● Tehidy Park ladies suffered a 6-1 defeat on home soil to Exeter ladies in the inaugural match for the Tamar Trophy on Sunday.

It is hoped that the match between the winners of Cornwall's Gammon Trophy and the winners of Devon's Still Cup will be held in September in future following the finals of the two counties' respective club knockout competitions.

Tehidy Park team: Rachael Phillips, Nikki Hodge, Chris Williams, Lyn Brookes, Shirley Clark, Pat MacMichael, Clare Solomon.

● St Austell pair Elaine and Simon Harper were runaway winners with 61 Stableford points of the CLCGA Mixed Foursomes Cup played over 27 holes at Killiow on Sunday.

In second place on 53 were West Cornwall's Gill Prodger and Peter Verran, with Chantelle and Craig Lopez (Killiow) third on 51.

● Tehidy Park's first team won the Adult Team of the Year category at Kerrier District Council's Sports Awards evening, which was held at Cornwall College last month.

The club's first team won Cornwall Team Championship and the Maxam Cup last year, while Tehidy also lifted the Frank Wills Salver and CAW Cornwall Bowl. Quadruple-winning captain David O'Mahony was on hand to receive the accolade on behalf of the club.

As winners of the category, the club/team will automatically be put forward for the same category at the 2009 Cornwall Sports Awards to be held later in the year.

Compere for the evening was former international athlete and Pirate FM presenter Neil Caddy and special guests included Olympian Heather Fell and world freediver Hannah Stacey.

● Thirty-six of Cornwall's best amateur golfers, including Welsh internationals Ben Westgate and Ben Enoch and England junior international Billy Downing, will be competing for the Foster Mitchell Cups – a 36-hole foursomes and greensomes event played in pairs at West Cornwall this Sunday.

Enoch and Downing are bound to be a formidable partnership and will be playing alongside the pairing of Westgate and Chris Llewelyn. This foursome will be first out at 8.30am and 12.45pm.

● Falmouth captain Des Britton took the amateur honours when his club hosted the latest meeting of the Cornwall Professional Golfers' Alliance in strong winds last week.

And Falmouth pro Nick Rogers, playing with the club captain, made it a double for the host club as he took both the team and individual professional prizes. Britton posted a superb Stableford score of 38 points, while Rogers carded a creditable 31 in the tricky conditions.

Results: Amateurs: 1, Des Britton (Falmouth), playing with his club pro Nick Rogers, 38 pts; 2, Tom Crocker & Stan Stanbridge (Carlyon Bay) 37; 3, Spike Drew (Truro) & Roger Nicholas (Cape Cornwall) 36; 4, Dave Lawton (Bowood Park), playing with his club pro Rob Page, 36; 5, Stuart Kirkbride & Martin Biddle (St Enodoc) 36. Team Professionals: 1, Nick Rogers 38 pts; 2, Rob Page 36; 3, Tony Pitts (St Austell) 35. Individual professionals: 1, Nick Rogers 31; 2, Paul Martin (Carlyon Bay) 30; 3, Jamie O'Hara (St Mellion) 29.

The next meeting will be the Alliance Championships at St Austell on Wednesday. The season ends with the mixed meeting at Carlyon Bay on April 16.