Warwickshire Golf
WARWICKSHIRE 1st TEAM V SHROPSHIRE & HEREFORDSHIRE
(Click photo to enlarge Left Rhys Lawrence, Middle Finlay Mason, Right Rob Copperthwaite; more photos here)
Date: 3rd June 2018
Venue: Walmley Golf Club
Captain: Stuart Bloxham
Our second Midland League game of the season was against Shropshire & Herefordshire at Walmley Golf Club. With the sun shining and the course looking in great shape they were ready to host some great golf.
Team: Joe Macilwraith, Finlay Mason Liam Phipps, Rhys Lawrence, Rob Copperthwaite, Sam Foster, Sam Broadhurst, Tom Ibbertson, Ian Winstanley, Gary Greenway
Foursomes:
First out was the Liam Phipps and Rhys Lawrence. A pairing that have a 100% record and they continued on the same path. Taking an early lead and keeping themselves in front by producing plenty of birdies. They went on the win their match 3&2, in a round that took only 2 and ½ hours to play which was great to see.
Next out was Sam Broadhurst and Finlay Mason. Both making their season debut having come back from America - great to see them back in Warwickshire colours. Their match was a mixture of great golf from both sides and resulting in a fair share of the point.
The trusted pairing of Tom Ibbertson and Joe Macilwraith continued their success with some quality golf throughout the morning. Their match finished on the 17thwith a great 2&1 victory and increasing the morning lead for Team Warwickshire.
However, S&H had other ideas and a sting in their tail saw them win the last two matches of the morning. Ian Winstanley and Gary Greenway went down 4&3 and Rob Copperthwaite and Sam Foster lost to the smallest margin of 1down.
Foursomes Result: Warwickshire 2.5 – 2.5 Shropshire & Herefordshire
Time for a Captains word to get the players on the front foot in the afternoon.
Singles:
Liam Phipps (Olton) lead the team out and once again returned our first point of the afternoon. Liam played some unbelievable golf and a round well under par saw him win the close match 1 up.
Sam Broadhurst (Atherstone) displayed some great ball striking and reduced the yardage of the course with drives that some wouldn’t reach in two shots! Playing Craig Simmons this game was always going to be tough but Sam turned the screw on the back nine to win 3&2. Great performance.
Rhys Lawrence (Coventry) also produce some strong hitting and kept the momentum going with a tremendous display and winning 6&4. Well played Rhys!
With the first 3 points in the bag we needed to press on. Finlay Mason (Moor Hall) fresh from the states produced some strong ball striking. Finlay taking a 2up lead going down 17, was unable to close the game out thanks to a birdie on the tough par 3 18thfrom S&H was enough to halve the match.
Joe Macilwraith (Olton) the quiet assassin continued his great season with an impressive display of solid golf. Joe went on to win his match 3&2 to increase Warwickshire’s lead.
With only a point needed to win the game and 5 players still on the course, it was looking good.
Out of sorts Gary Greenway (Maxstoke Park) making his 1stteam debut this season had a tough day on the greens. His great ball striking wasn’t enough to beat the impressive Gary Turner to return a loss of 5&4.
Tom Ibbertson (Coventry Hearsall) found himself in a battle but produced some steely golf. This particular match proved that the closing holes at Walmley are great for match play with it finally resulting in a half. This gave us 7.5 points meaning we could not be beaten.
It was Sam Foster (Coventry Hearsall) who produced the biggest win of the day with a fine performance from tee to green and winning his match 7&6. This was the point we needed to cross the line. Well played Sam!
With the match won we wanted to stretch our lead and we did just that. Ian Winstanley (Handsworth) and soon to be a Dad, went on to win 2&1 with a typical great performance, well played Ian.
Rob Copperthwaite (Stratford-on-Avon) who was last out also came home with a point and another gritty performance that we have come to expect. Rob was dormy 2 up and closed out his game with a 3&1 win which finished a superb singles display from the lads.
Singles Result: Warwickshire 8 – 2 Shropshire & Herefordshire
Overall Result: Warwickshire 10.5 – 4.5 Shropshire & Herefordshire
A great performance which matched the condition of the golf course.
I would like to thank Graham Barton, President of Warwickshire for his support along with Pete Clarke, Matt Nixon, Mark Reynolds and members of Walmley GC for their help and encouragement throughout the day. I would also like to thank Walmley Golf Club for looking after us all day.
TO VIEW THE MATCH SCORES CLICK HERE
Stuart Bloxham
County Captain
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