CORNWALL'S men's team paid a fitting tribute to their former teammate Ben Enoch with a crushing 12-3 victory over reigning South West champions Wiltshire in an emotional Channel League match at Newquay on Sunday.

Dressed all in black, the Duchy players gathered around the flagpole at Newquay before the match to observe two minutes' silence in memory of their 19-year-old colleague who had so tragically lost his life just three days earlier in a car crash in Herefordshire (see page 10).

Captain Paul Clahane said: "After that I said to the boys that we have a choice – we can either just turn up and play or we can play for Ben. Every single one of them agreed to try to win the match in memory of Ben and they all came up with the goods. They were fantastic.

"The Wiltshire team were true gentlemen and arrived wearing black ribbons to mark the sad occasion, as well as sending their condolences to Ben's family and everyone connected with golf in Cornwall. It must have been a difficult day for them too."

The home team never looked back after winning the morning foursomes 4-1 and their inspired form continued in the afternoon as they took six of the eight singles to make it two league wins out of two this season and retain their position at the top of the table.

The spirit in the Cornwall team was epitomised by Truro's Alex Boyd who came from two down with four to play to win his singles on the last green, while Trevose's Richard Ackland was one down with two to play but took the last two holes to clinch a battling victory.

Cornwall results. Foursomes – Anthony Nash & Aaron Stephens lost 2&1; Mike Reynard & Alex Boyd won 2&1; Richard Ackland & Steve Chapman won 4&3; Robert & Alex MacGregor won 3&1; Josh Greenaway & Joe Cruse won 2 up. Singles – Nash won 1 up; Reynard won 2&1; Boyd won 1 up; Chapman won 2&1; Alex MacGregor won 4&2; Stephens won 1 up; Robert MacGregor lost 3&2; Ackland won 1 up; Cruse won 1 up; Greenaway lost 3&2.

● Welsh amateur champion Ben Westgate, of Trevose, lifted Cornish spirits in a very sad week for golf in the county when he finished in the runners-up spot in the prestigious Lytham Trophy on Sunday.

Still reeling from the shock of his friend and Wales teammate Ben Enoch's tragic death the day before the tournament - in which he should also have been playing - was due to start, Westgate shot what he described as "nondescript" back to back opening rounds of 73 to lie in a share of 20th place at the halfway mark.

But with the final 36 holes ahead of him on Sunday, Westgate somehow managed to gather all his considerable resources together to shoot a joint best third round of 72 in testing conditions.

This put him well and truly in contention and he did not disappoint over the closing 18 holes on the final afternoon as he fired another joint best round of 70 to lead the field in the clubhouse with a 72-hole total of 288. But he was overhauled late in the day by local player James Robinson who got up and down in two from off the green to clinch the title by one stroke. Westgate said afterwards: "In view of what happened to Ben it was probably the hardest four rounds I've ever had to play. I wasn't particularly interested in what happened in the first two rounds on Friday and Saturday, but managed to grind out two nondescript rounds.

"The wind was very strong on the last day, about 30mph, but I played really well in the final round and was tied for the lead after seven holes. But I bogeyed the ninth and was then always a shot behind.

"However, I birdied the 17th to lead in the clubhouse, but then had to watch the winner get up and down for a par at the last to win the trophy."

Westgate now has a week off before trying to keep his impressive run of results going in the Brabazon Trophy at Moortown from May 15-17.

● Killiow's Matthew Williams was crowned Cornwall U14 champion after shooting a gross 72 at Truro on Sunday to win the title by two shots from Carlyon Bay's Conor Warne.

The handicap section of the championships was won by Sam Church, of China Fleet, with a superb net 57.

Full results. Scratch – 1, Matthew Williams (Killiow) 72; 2, Conor Warne (Carlyon Bay) 74; 3, Matthew Curnoe (Tehidy Park) 75; 4, Stephen Waddell (Carlyon Bay) 75; 5, Jack Bray-Evans (Newquay) 80. Handicap – 1, Sam Church (China Fleet) net 57; 2, Jordan Phillips (Porthpean) 63; 3, Ben Cousins (Killiow) 64; 4, Adam Curtis (Bude & N Cornwall) 64; 5, Connor Jenkins (Bude & N Cornwall) 65.