Wykeham Journal 2018 | Page 10

as the official format for the tournament. At the same time, the decision to call it The Halford Hewitt was finalised at the lunch. According to Longhurst, Mellin and Beck had decided on the tournament details and were wondering who they could inveigle into putting up a trophy when, quite by chance, Halford Hewitt walked into the room and was promptly pounced on. A Festival of Foursomes described the event as a series of little tournaments within a big one and, to a large extent, this one sentence encapsulates what the Hewitt is all about. Winchester has been one of only six schools (with Charterhouse, Eton, Harrow, Malvern and Rugby) to have played in every tournament since it started in 1924, and was a finalist in 1924, 1926, and 1930 before winning in 1948. Players of note over the years have been the Honourable Michael Scott (H, 1892-97), a leading player pre-WWII and winner of the Australian Open and Amateur Championships before WWI. He was also twice the leading amateur at The Open Championship and winner of the Amateur Championship in 1933. Gerald Micklem (G, 1923-30) was the leading player post-WWII and was the star player in the 1948 winning team having won the English Amateur in 1947. Like Scott, he was both an England international and a Walker Cup player. Willie Whitelaw (I, 1931-36) was a key player in the successful team that eventually won in 1948. The leading player in the modern era is Claudio Consul (C, 2000-02), winner of both the German and Italian Amateur Championships and ranked in recent years in the top 100 amateurs in the world. For some schools, such as Harrow, Charterhouse, Eton, Malvern, Tonbridge and George Watson’s, success is represented by nothing other than outright victory. For others, indeed for the vast majority of teams which descend on this part of Kent each April, a successful run constitutes getting through two rounds, thereby making the final stages at Deal. Winchester last won the Halford Hewitt in 1948, and last played in the semi-finals in 1961. We are delighted that the Winchester OW golf team is the proud winner of the 2018 Halford Hewitt Cup. The team of 10 outstanding Old Wykehamist golfers won this most prestigious tournament through talent, preparation and determination. The 2018 winning team were: Dino Varkey (D, 1994-99) & Claudio Consul (C, 2000-02); Nick Holt (F, 1993-98) & Jack Keating (C, 2009-14); Tom Hawkings (G, 1976-81) & Jay Varkey (D, 1998-2003); Tim Lewis (F, 1903-08) & Mark Coulman (K,1977-82); Richard Sanders (K, 1984-89) & James Cameron (K, 2003-08). HALFORD HEWITT WINNERS 2018