Warwickshire Golf
English Mens County Finals
(For all photos please CLICK HERE)
Date: September 23rd – 25th 2016
Venue: Sandwell Park Golf Club
Team: Matthew Cryer (Coventry), Gareth Jenkins (The Warwickshire), Max Martin (Ladbrook Park), Tom Ibbertson (Coventry Hearsall), Liam Phipps (Olton), Patrick Ruff (Sutton Coldfield), Ian Winstanley (Handsworth)
Competing Counties: Warwickshire, Hampshire Isle of Wight & Channel Islands, Cornwall, Yorkshire
Sandwell Park was the venue for the English County Finals for 2016. Sandwell Park is a parkland course which provides a stern test, as not only do you need to be accurate from the tee, you need a good touch to negotiate the renowned borrows and speed of the greens.
With our preparation complete we were raring to go. Our first match was against Yorkshire and the foursome pairings were:
Matthew Cryer & Ian Winstanley v D Brown & S Robins
Patrick Ruff & Max Martin v W Whiteoak & B Hutchinson
Gareth Jenkins & Tom Ibbertson v K Lowe & B Gill
Yorkshire started strong and whilst we were matching them tee to green it was their fantastic short game that was the difference and with Matthew and Ian’s fight back from 5 down after 9 to lose 2 & 1 showed the determination we have throughout our team.
Yorkshire took all three points with a 2&1, 5&3, 3&1 wins respectively.
The singles team to face Yorkshire had one change, Liam Phipps replaced Gareth Jenkins.
First out was Patrick Ruff playing against the English Amateur Champion Dan Brown. A very respectable ½ was the outcome along with Matthew Cryer’s half against Will Whiteoak.
Max Martin, Ian Winstanley, Tom Ibbertson were unable to gain points, which left Liam to secure the only win in the afternoon with a great 3&1 score line against Ben Brewster.
Singles Result: Warwickshire 2 - 4 Yorkshire
Foursome Result: Warwickshire 0 – 3 Yorkshire
Final Result: Warwickshire 2 – 7 Yorkshire
Day 2:
Spirits were still high following Yorkshire defeat as the afternoon singles showed positive signs against a very strong Yorkshire team.
Next up was Hampshire who beat Cornwall 5-4 on day 1.
Foursome pairings were:
Matthew Cryer & Ian Winstanley v T Robins & M Burgess
Patrick Ruff & Liam Phipps v M Young & B Mckenzie
Gareth Jenkins & Tom Ibbertson v G Saunders & J Sundborg
We got off to a better start in the morning with Matthew and Ian leading the team with our first win 2&1. Gareth and Tom were in control of their match to run out 5&4 winners. Patrick and Liam were unable to continue the clean sweep win and lost 2down.
A great start to the day in tough windy conditions.
The singles line up saw Max Martin replace Ian Winstanley however it was Hampshire who controlled this session from start to finish. Having observed this match closely is was Hampshire who handled the very strong wind conditions better than us with only Gareth Jenkins able to get something out of this session with half a point.
Singles Result: Warwickshire 0.5 - 5.5 Hampshire
Foursome Result: Warwickshire 2 – 1 Hampshire
Final Result: Warwickshire 2.5 – 6.5 Hampshire
With Yorkshire beating Cornwall 5 – 4 this result meant that Yorkshire and Hampshire would compete on Day 3 to become champions and Warwickshire and Cornwall would battle it out for 3rd and 4th place but more importantly pride!
Day 3:
Having rallied the team together spirits were still high as players continued to embraced the situation and believed that we can win this game against Cornwall.
Foursome pairings:
Matthew Cryer & Ian Winstanley v J Cruise & M Richards
Gareth Jenkins & Tom Ibbertson v R MacGregor & C Wilson
Max Martin & Liam Phipps v J Greenaway & R Jasper
It was vital that we got off to a good start if we were to get something out of this game and we did just that. Matthew and Ian proved a strong partnership again to win 1up to secure the first point of the day. This was quickly followed by Gareth and Tom who grinded out half a point in a thrilling finish on the superb 18th green. Then the partnership of Liam and Max out powered their opponents to an impressive 5&4 win.
This meant we had a 2.5 – 0.5 point lead going into the singles.
The team was really up for it and we only needed a further 2.5 points from the possible 6 available in the afternoon singles.
Warwickshire haven’t won a game in the last 5 attempts in this event so we were really determined to push hard and win this game.
The determination and spirit was clearly there to see. Patrick Ruff replaced Matthew Cryer (stiff back) in the singles. Liam Phipps who had a great tournament lead the team out in the singles to try a stretch the lead and he did just that. A superb 5&4 win meant we needed only 1.5 points. Max was unable to stretch our lead with a 3&2 loss but it was the Warwickshire stalwart in Gareth Jenkins who also had a great tournament continue his success with a fantastic 3&2 win.
The support was great all weekend not just from the players but supporters alike as we all gathered round the 15th green. With only a half needed for the win and with three players left on the course we knew the importance of Tom Ibbertsons match who was four up as Ian and Patrick were both down in their games. The atmosphere was exciting as Tom needed an up and down from a tricky position on the 15th to win his match and for Warwickshire to secure a victory. He did just that and celebrations started….
Singles Result: Warwickshire 3 – 3 Cornwall
Foursomes Result: Warwickshire 2.5 – 0.5 Cornwall
Final Result: Warwickshire 5.5 – 3.5 Cornwall
It was a great way to finish as the team put everything they had over the three days and leaves a good platform to work one. It was a great team effort from all involved including all the players, caddies, vice captains.
With Yorkshire beating Hampshire they were the well-deserved winners of the English County Finals with Hampshire 2nd, Warwickshire 3rd and Cornwall 4th.
I would like to thank all the players for their commitment and hard work. All the caddies, including Louie Pett, Steve Ruff, Nicholas Jenkins, Chris Leonard. Vice-Captains Neville Gardner, Pete Clarke and Matt Nixon. I would also like to thank Bob Harrison President of Warwickshire Golf Union and all other County officials and supporters for all your support throughout the weekend. It was great to see you all.
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