After ten years of trying, Nick Scott finally figured on the winning side in the Sussex PGU Hilary Crowe Pairs Matchplay championship.

Partnered by Neil Darnell, Scott had six single-putt greens at Piltdown in a torrent of 12 birdies by the four finalists, a total of seven coming in the last seven holes.

When hands were shaken on the 16th green, Scott and Darnell were 3&2 winners over Jason Partridge and Steve Fenn. Scott's inspired putting was the difference and he expressed deep satisfaction at lifting his first major Sussex title.

He said: "I've been trying to win this for ten years and I'm really chuffed."

It was only the second time he and Darnell had teamed up. Last year in the preliminary round they were blown away by the Murray brothers, Gordon and Stuart, who finished with ten straight threes at Ifield.

This time Scott brought his A game to Piltdown where home pro Partridge is an acknowledged master of the greens. But it was Scott's Odyssey Tri Hot putter that proved the magic wand in a memorable final.

"We've had some good finals but this one was exceptional," said SPGU secretary Cliff Pluck. "Nick's putting was nothing short of amazing."

Until the 14th, Darnell had occupied a back seat. But when he slotted a six-yarder for birdie it was to go one up after the lead had constantly changed hands. One spectator, not realising the occasion, was heard to remark: "They're playing just like professionals."

From the cut-and-thrust of the first nine, when the teams were all square, there was brief hope for the Partridge-Fenn alliance when Fenn's birdie putt from five yards went down. However, the turning point came on the 13th when Fenn's birdie attempt from 15 yards shivered on the lip but, from the same distance, Scott's dropped and it was level again.

Once Darnell made his appearance centre stage at 14 and got his birdie, the 158-yd 15th saw all the tee shots within a five-yard radius of the pin. Partridge, first to putt, saw his lip out. Then Fenn's broomhandle left him short and Darnell followed suit. Scott, the nearest, made birdie from two yards to be two up with three to play.

All four were there or thereabouts at the 16th where Scott's birdie was worth £600 to him and Darnell in conditions quite different to the morning semi-final win by the same margin over Neil Georges and Mark Root.

"The wind and rain made it tough," said Scott. "Pars were good enough to win holes on the front nine but on the back nine it was a case of birdies only when the clouds lifted. We managed four on the way in and fortunately the weather stayed good for the rest of the day."

The other semi-final saw Partridge and Fenn beat Calum Callan and Giles Velvick by two holes. Callan and Velvick started brightly, Velvick picking up a birdie at the second and Callan holing a 40 footer at the sixth to go two up. But by the 14th the match was all square and long-driving Partridge birdied 15 and 16 to seize the initiative. After halving 17 a Partridge birdie on the last green took the favourites into a final that won't easily be forgotten.

Fenn was blunt in his verdict. He said: "Not good enough." For Partridge comes an opportunity of giving golf a rest for a couple of weeks with a holiday in Australia.

RESULTS - Semi-finals: Nick Scott (Effingham Park) and Neil Darnell (Mannings Heath) beat Neil Georges (ESN) and Mark Root (Effingham Park) 3 & 2; Jason Partridge (Piltdown) and Steve Fenn (East Brighton) beat Calum Callan (Cottesmore) and Giles Velvick (Horam Park), two up.

Final: Scott and Darnell beat Partridge and Fenn 3 & 2.

l Stewart Crooks (Hassocks) just shaded the Piltdown pro-am with a level par 68 from Steve Fenn and Kevin Hinton.