Warwickshire Golf
UNDER 14's V SHROPSHIRE & HEREFORDSHIRE
Under 14 Boys Match: SHROPSHIRE & HEREFORDSHIRE vs WARWICKSHIRE
Horsehay Village Golf Centre, Telford – Sunday 2nd June 2019
Team Selected:
Sam Easterbrook Wishaw
Ryan Gavin Coventry
Joshua Gardner Coventry
Callum Lee Maxstoke Park
Sam Knowles Walmley
Ben Storer Walmley
Lennon O’Neill-Knibbs Hearsall
Thomas Neal The Warwickshire
Oliver Clark (Captain) The Warwickshire
Louis Taylor Ladbrook Park
(Photos: left - The Team raring to go, right - the return of Sam Easterbrook
At times during our trip to the land of The Wrekin on Sunday, our thoughts turned to bonfire night, fireworks, and even Christmas presents to come. Then we remembered that despite the biting wind and driving rain showers, it was actually the 2ndof June, and not the 2ndof November.
We welcomed back SAM EASTERBROOK (playing off 5) after his speedy recovery from a broken wrist, and his experience made our line-up even stronger than before. SAM PRICE gave up his place, but chose to travel with the team and provide his support throughout the day. Well done SAM, for showing a fantastic team ethic.
Horsehay Village has been off the S&H course rotation for a number of years. The ground was especially dry and compact for the time of year which extended to a bunker or two. This feature however actually helped on a couple of occasions with the ball bouncing to finish on grass when it deserved to be still in the sand. Add into the mix windy and cold conditions, the opposition having 3 players playing their home course, and our lads giving up plenty of shots, and this was certainly going to be a tough proposition.
SAM EASTERBROOK and RYAN GAVIN led us away, and quickly found their opponents forging ahead. Twice during the match our pair rallied to reduce the deficit, with SAM holing a 30-foot birdie putt on the 8thto get back to 1 down. Unfortunately, despite their good play SAM and RYAN again fell behind - losing the match 4&2.
JOSHUA GARDNER and CALLUM LEE were fresh from a 9&7 victory in their last match, but on this occasion their opponents were giving nothing away. A close start (A/S after 3) was followed by our boys going 3 down by the turn. They could not find a way back in, despite a near chip-in and then a gutsy 10-foot putt for a half on the 13thfrom JOSHUA. Again, this match was lost 4&2.
SAM KNOWLES and BEN STORER provided a bright spot in the day, leading pretty much the whole way round. They showed great character after being pegged back from 3 up to 1 up, losing the 11thand 12thholes. It would have been easy to let the momentum get away from them, but our lads pulled away once again to take the match 4&3.
LENNON O’NEILL-KNIBBS and TOM NEAL renewed their partnership from last time out, but this was proving to be a much more difficult day. 2 down through 3 holes had turned into 4 down after 9. LENNON and TOM battled well, but eventually fell to a 6&5 defeat. To add injury to insult, LENNON was then struck on the arm by a wayward ball, leaving him shaken but thankfully not badly hurt. We are sure there was a shout of FORE! in the distance, but this was lost on the strong wind.
Our final pairing was OLIVER CLARK (c) and LOUIS TAYLOR. This match followed a similar pattern to other matches on the day, as our pair found themselves behind early and battling to stay in touch. OLIVER was giving away 21 and 19 shots respectively to his opponents, who were also playing well under their handicaps. Only gross birdies gave OLIVER a chance to win holes, and LOUIS holed 3 consecutive clutch putts to stay in the game late on. Eventually, their best efforts could not hold back the tide and S&H took another 4&2 victory.
In a reversal from our last fixture, this was a 4-1 loss. So, it is time for us to re-group and go all out for victory in our next fixture vs Worcestershire on Sunday 16thJune 2019 with a 12 noon start at Copsewood Grange, Coventry. Thanks so much to parents and officials for supporting us in this away match. We all looked truly weather-beaten by the finish, but there were smiles and encouragement in the clubhouse afterwards, which was great to see. If you have the opportunity, please do come and support these impressive young golfers representing Team Warwickshire next time out.
“Whilst one may encounter many defeats, one must not be defeated.” ― Maya Angelou
Simon Taylor
Warwickshire u14 Boys’ Team Manager.
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