Sussex were beaten 5-4 on the final day by Lancashire but won the 2026 Senior Men’s County Championship title on game points at Trentham Golf Club in Stoke-on-Trent.
In a tense final day, Warwickshire won 5-4 to end Cornwall’s hopes of winning the title, while Lancashire needed a big victory over Sussex.
Eight of the nine matches between Lancashire and Sussex went to the 17th hole or further, showing how competitve it was, and Sussex held their nerve to earn enough points for victory, following wins over Cornwall and Warwickshire on the first two days – securing their second Seniors title after winning at Grange Park in 2021.
Martin Galway, one of the older players in the event at 69, was one of their star performers yet again as he went unbeaten in four matches – winning all three of his singles games – and taking him to just one defeat in 27 matches played at Senior Men’s County Finals.
“It’s the highlight of my golfing life!”
He said: “It’s absolutely incredible. It’s the pinnacle of county golf and the only event we play in as a team where you can’t go any further – it’s a national final. It means everything – it’s what we all play for.
“It’s playing with your mates, but also playing with your mates who are part of the same team – and then representing the county, and representing at the finals – and then winning it – you can’t get any better! It’s personally the best moment of my golfing life.”
John Newsome was another unbeaten Sussex player winning all of his foursomes matches while Andrew Smith (4 points from 5), Dean Manning (3 from 4) and Arwel Roberts (3.5 from 5) starred in their victory.
Great team spirit
Sussex captain Colin Jones added: “An awful lot of hard work has gone into it – the players have worked very hard, we had two sessions last week and we had another get together to get us all singing from the same hymn sheet – which is exactly what the team did this week – there’s been great team spirit.
“We’re going for a meal and there might be a bit of ‘lemonade’ being consumed – we’ll enjoy ourselves, but I’m feeling relieved more than anything at the moment!”
For all the scores and a detailed account of all three days’ play, click here.