Tom Robson returned to the Hampshire first-team in time to claim his first South East League title at the third attempt, and maintain his stellar individual record against Essex, the newly-crowned English county champions.

Although the Rowlands Castle player has been on the losing side against Essex twice in the past 11 years, he picked up another two points in Hampshire’s 7.5-4.5 win at Northwood Golf Club, in north-west London.

It means in three finals, the former Jacksonville State University golfer has dropped just half a point in his six games of foursomes and singles, while Hampshire have now won the Daily Telegraph Salver 11 times since 1986.

Hampshire – the defending champions after their win against Berks, Bucks and Oxfordshire in Kent 12 months ago – were in the driving seat at lunchtime having won three of the four foursomes matches.

And it was nearly a clean sweep with North Hants’ Rob Wheeler and 2022 county champion James Freeman pegged back by some stellar putting by Essex’s Bailee Curran and Ross Dee – the latter being one of two players who featured in Hampshire’s last win over the North Division champions in the 2012 final, also held in Middlesex.

They holed a 40-footer on the last to match the Hampshire pair’s birdie to win by one and prevent a whitewash.

Liphook’s George Saunders – playing in his first final, having missed two while on golf scholarship while a member at Meon Valley G&CC – teamed up with Stoneham’s four-time county champion Ryan Henley – playing in his seventh final since 2000 – to beat Ben Humphrey and Will Dunn 3&2 to put Hampshire 3-0 up, having raced into a five-hole lead after just six.

Saunders was unable to make it maximum points playing in the second match out after lunch. He watched Charlie Croker roll in a birdie putt at the first but made a two at the short third – only to give the lead back with a bogey at the fourth.

Croker doubled his lead on the seventh and went three-up at the 12th. An excellent birdie at the 13th proved unlucky for the former West of England Amateur Champion, who played in the 2016 English County Finals, as four pars were enough to close out a 2&1 for the Essex man.

Essex had come out fighting after lunch, taking the top two singles with La Moye’s 2021 Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Channel Islands Amateur Champion Jo Hacker beaten by the same score as the North Division champions made it 3-3 briefly.

Hampshire held a slight advantage in the remaining six matches and three big points quickly fell county captain Toby Burden’s way.

Wheeler – who claimed the Hampshire Open and the county order of merit in the space of four days after finishing runner-up in the Courage Trophy last month – made a crucial six-footer on the 16th, to remain two-up on Andy May, Essex’s other survivor from the 2012 final.

Just as Wheeler teed off on the 17th, Robson – who played in the 10-2 win over Sussex in June – holed a 50-footer on the 16th to beat Essex’s Shay McQueen 3&2.

Moments earlier Henley, playing in his seventh final since 2000, had beaten Dunn by four on the 15th, in the penultimate match.

Those two points left Hampshire needing one more to avoid defeat and at least share the Telegraph trophy – as they did in 2009 – but Wheeler made a birdie at the 17th to win 3&1.

Ahead of him, Freeman was one-down playing the last, as Burden watched Essex’s Toby Peters make double bogey after three-putting from 50 feet, to go one-up on the 16th.

As soon as the former mini-tour pro had hit his approach into the 17th, news of Freeman’s par on the last – as Dee took five – flashed up on the live scoring app.

Wheeler and the other Hampshire players gathered by the green began the celebrations thanks to that crucial half.

Burden and former captain Martin Young shook hands on two halves in the remaining matches to give Hampshire a three-point win.

The final winning margin was the same score as in 2012.

By Andrew Griffin