ERUGC Men’s Matchplay Final
Ganton Golf Club
Sunday 20th September, 2026
The 2026 East Riding Union of Golf Clubs’ Matchplay Championship final was played at Ganton on Sunday 20th September.
The finalists were Jon Samuel (below right) of Hull Golf Club, a three-time winner of the Matchplay Championship, and Tom Sanghera of Filey Golf Club, the reigning ERUGC Amateur Champion.
As in the previous year, the early-morning conditions were challenging, with a stiff north-westerly wind persisting throughout the match.
Both players drove well at Ganton’s 370-yard first hole. Jon finished about 100 yards short of the pin and pitched to 20 feet, while Tom’s drive travelled 50 yards farther and his approach stopped eight feet short. Jon narrowly missed his putt, but Tom holed for an opening birdie and a 1-up lead.
At the second, played into the strong breeze, both finished just off the green and misjudged their first putts. Jon then holed an eight-footer for par to square the match.
Jon drove well left into deep bushes at the third and, after taking a penalty drop, needed four shots to reach the green. Tom had driven to the edge of the green and chipped close, so Jon conceded the hole and Tom went 1 up.
The fourth, fifth and sixth (below) were halved in par. Tom moved 2 up at the seventh when Jon three-putted. At the par-five ninth, Tom drove into trouble on the right, allowing Jon to win the hole with a birdie.
Jon then found the back bunker at the 169-yard par-three 10th, and Tom’s par restored his 2-up lead. After both parred the 11th, Tom holed a 12-foot birdie putt at the 12th to go 3 up. At the long par-five 13th, another wayward drive into deep rough on the left cost Tom the hole, reducing Jon’s deficit to two.
Tom responded with a birdie at the short par-four 14th to regain a three-hole advantage. At the 461-yard par-four 15th, Tom struck a tremendous 340-yard drive, leaving a short iron to the green, and made par with two putts. Jon missed the green in two and could manage only a five, putting Tom 4 up.
Jon recovered a hole with par at the 16th after Tom found trouble in the left greenside bunker (pictured below). At the 232-yard par-three 17th, Jon finished just beyond the green, while Tom’s six-iron nearly went in and stopped within a foot; his resulting two restored the four-hole lead. Further greenside bunker trouble for Tom at the 18th allowed Jon to win the hole and go to lunch three down.
The afternoon round began with Jon driving into the left rough, about 90 yards short of the green. His first chip failed to reach the putting surface, and his next left him about 20 feet from the pin. Tom’s immense drive finished only a yard short of the green; despite taking three putts for par, he won the hole to extend his lead.
Both made par fours at the second and third, leaving Tom 4 up. At the fourth, Tom’s wayward drive to the right could not be found within the permitted three minutes, so he conceded the hole to Jon. Jon then found the right greenside bunker at the short par-three fifth, but a magnificent recovery to two feet earned a halved hole in threes.
Two fine shots by Jon at the 448-yard par-four sixth set up a par that reduced his deficit to two holes. Tom’s par at the seventh restored his three-hole lead. The straightforward par-four eighth caused problems for both players, but Tom’s bogey five was enough to win and put him 4 up again. Tom then drove 360 yards at the par-five ninth, leaving only a wedge to the green, and made birdie four to move 5 up. When he chipped in for birdie three at the 11th, Jon faced a formidable task. Pars at the 12th and 13th then secured Tom a 6-and-5 victory.
At the post-match dinner in the Ganton clubhouse, Alan Hutchinson, President of the East Riding Union of Golf Clubs, presented Tom with the Matchplay winner’s salver.
Geoff Drewery
ERUGC Matchplay Secretary
