Warwickshire Golf
UNDER 16 BOYS WIN AT THE FOXES DEN
Match Report
Leicestershire & Rutland U16 v Warwickshire U16
26th May 2019
Beedles Lake Golf Club
Team
Alex Ford – Robin Hood
Seb Cave – The Belfry
Channon James - Kenilworth
Charlie Lamb – Hearsall
Lucas Laurie – Robin Hood
Joe McInnes – Robin Hood
Charlie Seddon – Coventry
Niall Collins – Robin Hood
Finlay Stokes - Atherstone
George Halstead – Kenilworth
The team travelled to Beedles Lake Golf Club for their opening fixture of the season. This is a relatively new course opened in 1995 and provided an interesting layout with good greens. The boys were in confident mood as the morning foursomes started just before 10am in good weather.
Team Captain, Alex Ford, and Seb Cave led the way and were involved in a close match with both teams playing some good golf. In a contest that never saw more than a two hole lead the boys came to the par 5 17thhole 1up. Although they had a chance to make the green in two, they decided the 2ndshot was too risky and laid up. This turned out to be a good move and they won the hole to close out the match 2&1.
In the second match Charlie and Channon found it tough going against a good pairing from Leicestershire and amid several birdies soon found themselves 5 down. Despite their best efforts they could not recover and lost 7&6.
Lucas and Niall played match 3, Niall, making his debut, were up against a confident opposition playing some solid golf who went on to win the match for Leicestershire 6&4.
Match four was a closer affair that saw Joe McInnes and Charlie Seddon play together in foursomes for the first time. Both boys played well and were always in control of their match winning 3&2.
The final foursomes match featured George Halstead and Fin Stokes, who was also making his debut. This pairing played some super golf which combined with struggling opposition lead to Fin and George winning their match by a huge 9&7! – a great performance.
Foursomes Warwickshire 3 Leicestershire & Rutland 2
The ten singles matches turned out to be a very close affair. Graham Barton and I watched all of the matches through the 6thhole and all of the games had no more than one hole in them. We then moved to the 14thgreen to find 8 of the matches were still hanging in the balance.
As some of the matches had finished early the order for the singles was re arranged and Charlie Lamb led the way. He was paired against one of the boys who had beaten him 7&6 in the morning and was determined to do well. Both boys played some quality golf with Charlie playing under his handicap but couldn’t quite manage a win and lost 2&1. His opponents Dad spoke to Graham and myself full of praise for Charlie’s attitude and golf. In particular he was impressed with the fact that Charlie did not react badly to his heavy defeat in the morning but chatted to his playing partners over lunch complimenting them on their play. Well done Charlie!
Channon went out second and was 1up on the 15thtee. He continued to play well and won his match 2&1, a great result having lost heavily in the foursomes.
George Halstead was next and was 1 down on the 14thfairway. He won the 16thto make it all square and then won the last to take the match 1up. A tremendous effort and 2 wins on the day.
Fin Stokes showed no signs of debut nerves and was always ahead in another close match. He played superbly to win 3&2 and also gained 2 points for the team.
That gave us 3½ points from the first four matches but all of the remaining matches were close so we were still unsure of the outcome.
Niall Collins was number 5 and after a nervous start in the morning he was keen to play well in the singles. He was all square after 14 but then showing his determination and great attitude he won 2 of the next 3 holes to close out his match 2&1. Niall’s first point for the county – and most certainly not the last.
Lucas Laurie in match 6 was 1 up after 14 and was involved in a close game but he also showed great character to hold on and win 2&1. This win confirmed a total of 8½ points and the match was secured. However there were still 4 matches to complete.
Joe McInnes played well all day and in his singles match drove two greens on 300 yard par 4s. His opponent was not as long but had a great short game to make up for it, so this was another tight match. The pair were still all square playing 18 and the match was halved.
Charlie Seddon also played well all day and his singles match never had more than a hole in it until he won the 18thto win 2up. Two points for Charlie and a great performance from a player who is improving fast.
Seb Cave was 1up playing the par 5 17thand decided to go for it in 2 (ignoring his own advice from the foursomes). Needless to say he missed, almost recovered and lipped out for his par from 25 feet but played the last all square. To his credit he did not let this affect him and won the 18thwith a par to win 1up.
Alex Ford was the last man out and stood on the 15thtee 3 down. However, he was determined not to lose his match and played the last 4 holes 1 under gross to get a fantastic half.
Final Result Warwickshire 11 Leicestershire & Rutland 4
This meant that the boys had secured 8 points from 10 close singles matches. Five of these matches went to the last hole where we won each one, which is a far cry from last year when the 18thhole cost us on numerous occasions.
This alone demonstrates how much the boys have improved and they are looking good for the rest of the season.
Many thanks to Graham Barton and Bob Harrison for supporting the boys during the day. I would also like to thank the team from Leicestershire for a match played in a great spirit and Beedles Lake Golf Club for their hospitality.
Simon Parsons
Under 16 Team Manager
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