 | The topic of this articlemay not meet Wikipedia'snotability guideline for sports and athletics. Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citingreliable secondary sources that areindependent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to bemerged,redirected, ordeleted. Find sources: "University Golf Match" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
TheUniversity Golf Match (commonly known as the Varsity Match) is the annualgolf match contested between theFull Blue golf teams fromOxford andCambridge universities. Dating back to 1878, it is the oldest amateur event in golf, as the firstAmateur Championship was played in 1885. It is also the oldest team event in English golf. Scottish team matches were common after 1849, and included St Andrews University matches against Fife artisan clubs.[1]
The first University Golf Match was played on 6 March 1878 atWimbledon Common, courtesy ofLondon Scottish Golf Club, which hosted the fixture for 19 years until it moved toRoyal St George's Golf Club in 1897.[2] The match was contested by four singles matches, and used theholes up method of scoring. Oxford, led byHorace Hutchinson, won by a margin of 24 holes.[2]
In 1898 the Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society (OCGS) was founded; members qualify by virtue of their participation in the University Golf Match. Since 1920, the OCGS has hosted thePresident's Putter, an annual match-play competition for its members held at Rye Golf Club, inRye,East Sussex.[3]
Until the 1890s there were very few golf courses in England, and none of appropriate quality in the Oxford and Cambridge areas. The University Match was initially played on Wimbledon Common, which, along withRoyal Blackheath, was one of just a handful of courses in the London area at the time.[citation needed] Since then, the University Golf Match has been played at courses all over the United Kingdom, includingRoyal St George's,Royal Cinque Ports,Royal Liverpool,Muirfield,Ganton,Walton Heath,Hunstanton,Aldeburgh,Royal Porthcawl, andSunningdale.[citation needed] The choice of venue alternates between the teams, and the match is traditionally played every five years at Rye.[citation needed]
Men - Each team comprises ten players plus two reserves. The reserves traditionally play the "Dinner Match" on the Thursday of the Varsity Match week: an 18-hole alternate shotfoursomes match, followed by an 18-hole singles match. The losing team is responsible for paying the bill for the Varsity Match dinner on the Saturday evening.[citation needed]
The University Match itself is contested over the course of two days. Five 36-hole foursomes matches are played on the Friday, and ten 36-hole singles matches are played on the Saturday.[citation needed]
Ladies – 36-hole foursomes followed by 36 holes singles the next day contested between 6 ladies from each team, with one reserve. The Ladies' match is held on the Tuesday and Wednesday of Varsity week as the beginning of the matches.[citation needed]
Stymies and Divots - The Stymies (Cambridge) v. Divots (Oxford) match occurs on the Wednesday before the Blues Varsity Match, featuring five 18-hole foursomes matches in the morning, followed by 10 18-hole singles matches in the afternoon.[citation needed]
| People |  | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colleges | |||||||||||||||
| Schools, faculties and departments |
| ||||||||||||||
| Student life |
| ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Affiliates | |||||||||||||||
| Museums | |||||||||||||||
| Related | |||||||||||||||
