CHELMSFORD Golf Club have become the first team in more than 40 years to win back-to-back Thornton Cups.
The last team to achieve the feat in 1966 were Romford Golf Club, who Chelmsford beat this year.
The morning foursomes started out spectacularly with Chelmsford being up in all five matches early on.
This was not to last, however, and the last two holes on the course saw a swing to the Romford side.
At lunch, honours were even at 2.5 points each and the momentum was firmly in the hands of the opposition.
In the afternoon singles Chelmsford were only three up after nine holes and were looking at best to claw a way to a play-off.
With another four of the matches going to the last hole it was proving to be a very tense and exciting climax to what had been a fantastic match.
However, Chelmsford won every one of the games on the 18th to seal what on paper looked a very easy win by eight games to two in the afternoon.
Special mention must go to Michael Gilbert, playing in only his second Thornton Cup match.
He beat Dan Garner, who plays off scratch, by a 4&3 margin, all at the tender age of 14.
In a momentous year with some outstanding performances by the team in every round of the tournament, very special mention must go to the standout performer who, leading mostly from the front, went through the whole tournament without dropping even half a point, Alex Bradley.
