Historic victory in Spanish rain for Royal North Devon Golf Club

The ladies of Royal North Devon have achieved an historic first, quite some achievement for a golf club seeping with the history of the game.

After battling past hundreds of teams from across the UK, Royal North Devon joined three others in the semi-finals of the Kyocera Cup, staged on the Costa del Sol in Spain.

Famed for its winter sunshine, this time was a very different experience, as brutal conditions meant no practise rounds for any of the teams, just straight into a match-play knockout…and the ladies of RND did the knocking out, achieving a brilliant victory, as described by captain Paula Gibbs:

“What a journey! The Kyocera match play team competition began in April 2025,” said Paula. “We had a bye in the first round, proceeded by six qualifying rounds to reach the finals in Spain. Never in our wildest dreams did we expect to get that far!

“So, in February 2026, we travelled to Cadiz where the semi’s and finals took place at the Montecastillo Golf Resort. Only four ladies and four men’s teams qualified from over 600 teams who started from England, Scotland and Wales.

“Unfortunately, the weather in Spain was horrendous, red weather warnings, floods, thunder and lightning and the course absolutely saturated. Practise rounds were non-existent and we went into the semi-finals having not even played the course. Buggies were compulsory and only on the paths, so there was a lot of walking on to the fairways with a multitude of clubs and extremely slippery conditions!

“Our semi-final opponents were Brocket Hall and a 5 1/2 hr round produced a terrific 4 - 1 win. We were in the final!  Saturday provided unreal weather and no golf at all. Thankfully Sunday, for the finals, it stayed dry.

“We were up against Dundas Park, a very competitive team from Scotland and we knew it was going to be tough. A nailbiting finish resulted in a magnificent 3 - 2 win for RND. We’d won the most prestigious team competition and to my knowledge a first for RND. Tears of relief and joy followed, not only from the players but the wonderful caddies and supporters that had made the journey too.

“I could not, as Captain, be more proud of the squad, Liz Bird, Liz McKay, Ruth Horn (who celebrated her 70th birthday on semi-final day), Lorna Pearse and Alison Cox.

“Their commitment, dedication and desire to win has been second to none. Our team camaraderie has been amazing and the support we have received from the Ladies section, the members, Ross our professional and the club has been phenomenal, thank you everyone.

“Here’s to later in 2026, when it all starts again.”