Warwickshire Golf
KINGS AT KINGTON
The defence of our Midland League title began at the stunning venue of Kington Golf Club against a determined Shropshire & Herefordshire team. Following a Saturday practice round to familiarise the team with the course we began with Rhys Lawrence and Tom Ibbertson in the morning foursomes.
All square after 5 was a steady start, progressing to 1up after 9 and following a birdie on 13 meant 3up with 5 to play. S&H fought back to win the next four holes to take a 1up lead to the last. The last at Kington is a driveable par four with ground sloping severely left to right leading onto a long and narrow green. We would see happiness and tears on this hole today!! Happiness for Warwickshire in the first match as a winning birdie to end the first match All Square.
Match two featured Mike Pell and Lewis Phillips. A birdie on the 2nd and another win on the 5th gave Warks a 2up lead. S&H fought back again to take a 1up lead after 10. The match was then level after 13 but S&H finished strongly to take the match on 18 with 1up win.
Stuart Bloxham and Ian Winstanley were Match 3. A birdie, birdie start plus errors from our opponents meant a strong 3up after 9 for the Warks duo. That lead reduced to 1 after 13 but a winning birdie 4 on the Par 5 14th and further wins on 15 and 16 gave Warwickshire their first winning point of the morning.
Maxstoke Park team mates Steve Creed and Paul Walker teamed up to take on the very strong S&H pairing of Craig Simmons & John Houlston. We took a 1up lead after 4 but felt the force of the S&H pairing as they played excellent golf progressing to 2up after 13. Steve & Paul made a good birdie on 14 and then won 15 to square the match. Halves all the way in would mean a great half point for Warwickshire.
Last out was club mates Chris Laird and Ben Bernamont from The Warwickshire. 1 down after the fourth but an excellent birdie on the par 3 5th levelled things. A mixture of mistakes and a birdie from S&H gave them a 3up half way lead. As we always do Warwickshire battled back with birdies to square the match after 15. Halves at 16 and 17 meant an 18th hole shoot out. S&H would birdie and we did not therefore giving S&H the point.
So, a 3 – 2 lead for the home county (S & H) after the morning foursomes.
Following lunch, the singles began with Rhys Lawrence striding to a commanding 3up lead after 7. Good golf from both No.1's kept Rhys ahead by two after 16 holes. The S&H man birdied 17 to take it down the risk & reward 18th. Both made birdie giving Rhys a fantastic and well needed opening Warwickshire point. Well done Rhys, unbeaten on the day!!
Ben Bernamont was out next and played solid golf to be all square after 7. One down after the tenth and then further losses early in the back nine meant a 4&3 loss for Ben. Hard luck against an in-form opponent. Tom Ibbertson has massive County experience and a 'never beaten' attitude. Quality golf from the S&H man put Tom 2 down after 6 and three down after 13. A 15ft eagle putt dropped on 14 to take a hole back and another win on the long Par 3 15th reduced the deficit to one. The 16th was shared in par but another Ibbertson birdie on 17 levelled the match. Tom finished the job in style with yet another birdie to be -4 for the last 5 and win a fantastic point for Warwickshire. Class play Tom, congratulations!
Lewis Phillips at No.4 was 2 down after the 4th but recovered well to be all square after 13. A winning birdie four from the S&H man on 14 and another birdie at 17 together with Lewis missing some putts down the stretch resulted in a win for the home county.
Mike Pell's match could have gone either way. All square after 9 but Mike lost the 10th. That scoreline remained following the tough par 3 15th, 1up to S&H. An error from S&H and a solid par from Warks on 16 levelled the match and a fantastic birdie on 17 gave Mike a lead for the first time. Pressure piled on with an S&H birdie on the last but Mike responded with his own birdie to take the match. Gutsy win after being down for most of his match, well done Mike !
Match score was 5 – 5 at this point with five matches left on the course.
Ian Winstanley controlled his match from the start being 2up after 6 and then a birdie on 7 to go 3up. However his S&H man played well around the turn and had reduced the deficit to 1up after the par 5 14th. Ian won 15 to go 2up, they halved 16 in pars but a birdie putt finally fell for Warwickshire on the 17th to claim a 3&1 victory. Well played Ian.
Steve Creed at No.7 had a very experienced man to try and overcome. An eagle on the 7th was the only way of separating them after most of the front nine, but Steve had a couple of errors early in the back nine and his opponent never gave an inch. A 3&2 loss but as usual Steve did not leave anything out there. Unlucky.
Things were getting very tense for myself, Pete Clarke and our President Graham Barton. This match looked like it was slipping away an hour or two from the end but key turn around matches had given Warwickshire a chance to nick a victory. Stu Bloxham was 2 up after seven but only 1up after 14, a winning par on 15 gave a slight cushion but a birdie 3 on 17 took another match down the infamous last at Kington. The S&H man hit a good tee shot pretty much on the green to pile the pressure on Stuart, he responded also finding the green and carefully two putting for a winning birdie 3. Another gritty winning performance, well done Stu.
Match score at this point was 7-6 to Warwickshire. Paul Walker at No.9 was his usual solid self and turned 1up after 9 and then won 13 and 14 to go 3up with 4 to play. Two halves on 15 & 16 gave Warwickshire the winning point we needed to get that magic 8 match points.
Anchor man Chris Laird was 1up after 6 and still that score after 16 in a very tight match. A win for S&H on 17 meant yet another shoot-out on 18. Chris produced an entertaining par but had to watch his opponent hole a short range birdie putt to seal a 1up victory. Great effort Chris.
So a big sigh of relief and a really important 8-7 away victory in our first league match of the year (and my first as Captain). As usual the team bonded well, battled hard and kept the fantastic winning run continuing for Team Warwickshire !!
My thanks to Pete Clarke for assisting in many ways and Graham Barton (Warks President) for your unwavering support, it is key for our team to see you guys around the course. Our S&H opponents gave a fantastic fight and it could have gone either way but the Kington 18th was kind to us. Kington Golf Club was a tremendous club and venue for this match giving incredible views and very friendly hospitality throughout the match day and our practice on the Saturday.
We travel to Staffordshire for our next match on Sunday 2nd June at Perton Park GC, any support is welcome.
TO SEE MATCH SCORESHEET CLICK HERE
Karl Smith
County Captain
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