Warwickshire Golf
COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 - KNOCKOUT ROUNDS
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To view Prize Presentation page CLICK HERE:
DAY 2 - Semi Finals & Final
The Semi Finals commenced on Friday morning, 4th May and once again the weather was fine albeit quite gloomy for the start of play. The first match off was between Abigail MORTIMER-LANE and defending champion and local player, Liz HAYCOCK followed closely by match two between Charlotte PRIDDLE and Yen PHAM. We should be in for some close games.
Semi Final 1
The first two holes were played steadily being halved and then Abigail went one ahead on 3rd, lost 4, won 5, lost 6 and won 7 with a Birdie, making her 1 up after 7 holes. She then won the 8th and with a series of 3 halved holes, she was 2 up after 11 holes. Liz came back again with a win on 12th followed closely by losing the 13th and with the 14th halved the match stood at 2 up to Abigail. Then Liz came back with a flourish winning the 15th and 16th, so on the 17th Tee they stood All Square and this match was going to the wire. Abi then went on to win the 17th with a Birdie, having hit a fabulous shot to 3 ft from the pin and halving the 18th, she was thus the winner of this semi final. With only just one Birdie apiece in eighteen holes, this was not a sparkling match, but my did it keep the nerves jangling as there was little between them on the day.
Abigail v Liz 
Semi Final 2
Yen came out of the traps fastest with a win on the 1st hole, but then Charlotte won four out of the next 8 holes, including a chip-in on the 7th, to stand at 3 up after 9. Holes 10 and 11 were halved and then Yen pulled 2 holes back to stand at 1 down after 16 holes. Charlotte won the 17th as Yen's Tee shot had gone into the trees and thus won the match 2 and 1. There were no birdies registered by either player this morning, showing that conditions and lack of competitive golf over the previous weeks due to the weather, made it quite difficult for the players. Thgis was a tight game between two tough competitors.
Charlotte v Yen 
The FINAL
By the time the final commenced, the sun was shining and it looked on paper at least, that this was going to be a closely contested match, which it then proved to be. All square after 2 holes to Par, Abi then forged ahead with a Bogey on the 3rd followed quickly by a Birdie on 4th and then a Par on 5th - 3 up. Charlotte having none of this, then won the next 2 holes but then Abi quickly came back with a win on 8th to go back to 2 up. Back and forth they went with Charlotte winning 10th, halving 11th and then Abi coming back with a Par on 12th to return to 2 up. Not to be outdone, Charlotte then pulled one back on 13th with a Birdie from the edge of the green, on this Par 5, but then lost the 14 with a loose Tee shot into the trees, to go 2 down again. Charlotte also won the 16th when she sank a 10 footer for Par and they stood on 17th Tee with Abi being 1 up, quickly levelled on 18th when Charlotte won that hole. All Square after 18 holes, off down the 19th they went (they must be tired by now!) which they halved. Abi managed a Par at the 20th to a Bogey from Charlotte and thus the match was won by Abi.
What a contest with 20 holes needed! Abi was never down all throughout but my did Charlotte put in some fight. A very good match to be a spectator but the nerves must have been jangling for both players. Well done Abi for winning her first Championship.
Finalists: Charlotte PRIDDLE and Abigail MORTIMER-LANE
DAY 1 - Thursday 3rd May 2018
Thursday 3rd May saw the postponed County Championship commence the matchplay series which are to be played over today and Friday at Ladbrook Park Golf Club. Due to the terrific amount of rain there has been on the already wet course, the decision was made to postpone the event from Monday 30 April to Wednesday 2 May. Usually, the Championship has qualifying rounds played over 36 holes on day 1, with the players having the top 16 scores qualifying for the knockout rounds to be played in the following 2 days
With no qualifying rounds taking place, the County rules state that the knockout rounds can commence, but with the 16 lowest handicapped players out of those who had entered elidgible to play in a seeded draw. The new dates were set as Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th May, also at Ladbrook Park, but in the end only 13 of the original players were able to play. This meant that 3 players went straight through to the 2nd round whilst 10 others played the first round of 18 holes.
On a bright sunny day (shock horror) the course was declared suitable for play and although the greens were very slick but true, the fairways and especially the rough were extremely wet, making is quite hard going for all.
9.30 a.m. was the start time with the first match between Kelly TOMLINSON (Nuneaton GC) and Julia BURTON (Moor Hall GC & County Captain). Julia went quickly 2 up after 3 holes but was soon pulled back to All square. After the 10th hole the match was still All Square, but then Julia forged ahead when she birdied the Par 3, 12th and again on the Par 5 13th, to go 1 up. Winning one further hole, Julia eventually won the match 2 and 1. Julia commented that she had played the Par 3's very well whilst Kelly had sunk many good putts.
Kelly TOMLINSON v Julia BURTON
In match two, Abigail MORTIMER-LANE (Rugby GC) was drawn against Jenny ARNOLD (Coventry GC). This was the first time that Jenny had played Ladbrook but was looking forward to the challenge. She hadn't reckoned with such high standard golf from her opponent all the way round and by the 11th hole, Abi had played complete level Par golf and won the match 9 and 8. An excellent start to her Championship quest.
Abigail MORTIMER-LANE v Jenny ARNOLD
The very experienced Claire HOWELLS (Moor Hall GC) was then drawn against young Jessica McGHEE (Rugby Golf Club) who again had not played at Ladbrook previously. In speaking to Claire post match she said that Jessica had struggled off the Tee which put her at a disadvantage as Claire was very steady. Jessica did sink a very long putt on the 2nd hole to win the hole but Claire carried on winning holes and was 6 up after 10, eventually winning the match 7 and 6.
Jessica McGHEE v Claire HOWELLS
Match 4 saw Emma GRIFFIN (The Warwickshire GC) and Lauren BEAMAN (Moor Hall GC) paired against each other. By the 10th hole Lauren was 2 up but between 11th and 15th Emma had pulled back to All Square. A disaster struck as Emma's Tee shot was never to be found again and with 3 off the Tee, she lost that hole. Halving the 17th, Lauren only had to keep her nerve and she could win this match. However, Emma played the 18th well and it should have ended with a halved hole, had Lauren not missed a short putt for a half. The look on Emma's face was pure shock as when we spoke later, she said that the best part of Lauren's game all morning had been her putting! Off they went down the 19th, only for Emma to win that match, having never been up throughout the whole game.
Emma GRIFFIN v Lauren BEAMAN
The final match of the morning saw Rachel RUSTED (Nuneaton GC) playiong against Sarah BODEN (Coventry GC). Rachel won this match 3 and 2 having been 2 up after 10 holes. Highlights of this match were them both making birdies on the 12th. On the 5th hole, a 142 yards, Par 3, Sarah had a very unique experience. On this hole she hit a poor Tee shot into the rough not far from the Teeing ground, with her 2nd shot landing at the back of the green, just off the surface, whereupon she chipped in for a Par halving the hole!! Rachel hit her 3rd shot into the Par 5, 7th hole landing less than one foot from the hole. Thus the morning matches were complete.
Sarah BODEN v Rachel RUSTED
QUARTER FINALS
The first match this afternoon had the 2017 Champion, Liz HAYCOCK (Ladbrook Park GC) pitched against County Captain, Julia BURTON. Fresh from having a bye in the morning round, Liz flew ahead after the 2nd hole and by the 9th was 5 up. Julia must have realised that this task was becoming very difficult, especially when her putt on 10th hole just hung on the edge of the hole, which she then also lost. Liz finished off the match 7 and 6. Whilst Julia stated that she was quite exhausted having played twice that day, she realised that Liz did have the benefit of being fresh and of course this is her home course. Liz commented that after the 1st hole, she stayed on the fairway for the majority of her shots and this certainly helped.
Liz HAYCOCK v Julia BURTON 
Match 2 was between Abigail MORTIMER-LANE and Claire HOWELLS. This match went all the way to the 18th after they were never more than one hole either way, but with Abi just edging it. On the 10th Abi was 1 up which she retained through 13 and on to 17th. All square on the 18th Tee, Abi just managed to keep up the pressure and won the hole, thus winning 1 up.
Abi MORTIMER-LANE v Claire HOWELLS 
Yen PHAM (Shirley Golf Club) was another player to be given a bye this morning and she was now up against Emma GRIFFIN. Winning the 1st, then 4th and 5th and then losing 6th and 9th, she was 1 up at the turn. In fact she was up all the way round with further wins on 10th,12th and 14th and when they halved the 15th, Par 3 Yen won her match 4 and 3. A good start for her 2018 challenge for the championship.
Yen PHAM v EmmaGRIFFIN 
In the final match of the afternoon another player having a bye, Charlotte PRIDDLE (Moor Hall GC) played against Rachel RUSTED. Rachel, by the 10th was 2 up and going well especially as she was 3 up after 13. Charlotte, however had other ideas and had drawn level on the 17th and then winning the 18th hole, she thus won her match. Again it showed that the player with a bye had just that bit more stamina to win through and in Rachels words, she just got too tired in the difficult conditions.
Charlotte PRIDDLE v Rachel RUSTED 
First day over, the matches due to be played on Friday morning are: Liz HAYCOCK against Abigail MORTIMER-LANE and Yen PHAM against Charlotte PRIDDLE. Why not come and watch?
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