Warwickshire Golf
MIDLANDS SOUTH COUNTY MATCH WEEK 2019
Frilford Heath Clubhouse
Team Photo: pictured (l to r) Charlotte PRIDDLE, Gemma BRADBURY, Emma MORTON, Rachel RUSTED, Anne PARRY (President), Julia BURTON (Captain), Zara HOUGHTON, Abi MORTIMER-LANE, Lauren BESFORD, Lisa BARTON, Liz HAYCOCK
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO GALLERY OF THE THREE DAYS:
CLICK HERE FOR FULL MATCH RESULTS of COUNTIES:
Monday 17th June 2019 saw the start of Midlands South County Match week, which this year is hosted by Oxfordshire Ladies Golf Association, with the venue being Frilford Heath Golf Course. Having been the forerunners of the shortened version of the 5 day event in 2018, Midlands South region decided to go with the 2 1/2 day Tournament this year also.
The Counties represented within Midlands South are: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Hereford & Worcestershire and over the 2 1/2 days each County plays a match against each other, 5 sessions in total. Day One saw the morning play for Warwickshire against Hereford & Worcester with Oxfordshire opponents for the afternoon session. Each County has a squad of 10 players and in each session each Team fields 7 members of their squad, playing 2 Foursomes and 3 Singles matches.
The Weather for the whole day was very warm but with lots of cloud cover but fortunately for the players and spectators, it was dry!! However the wind was swirling around, making shots quite difficult to judge. The matches were played on the Blue Course at Frilford (one of 3 at the venue) and how different the front and back nines were! The first few holes had water very strategically placed either in the form of ditches or ponds, making Tee shots particularly challenging, especially for these long hitters. Lots of whispy grasses were waiting to catch a ball if the fairways were missed and then on the back 9, lots of bunkers and gorse awaited an errant shot. The greens looked superb but were quite difficult to putt on due to the undulations. All in all straight hitting was the order of the day with the ability to sink putts - no problem really!!
Warwickshire matches were first out off the first Tee commencing at 08.30 and playing against our nearest rival Hereford & Worcester, many of the players knew each others game well.
Day 1 - Morning Play
Leading the Team out were Julia BURTON and Charlotte PRIDDLE, both from Moor Hall GC representing Warwickshire in the Foursomes format. At the turn, they were 1 up after a close contest on the front 9 and this remained until they were standing on the 17th Tee. Worcestershire won the hole with a chip in, having struggled off the fairway and having to take a drop, prior to this shot. This unsettled the Warwickshire pair and they lost this hole to go All Square. They then lost the 18th to Par and thus were 1 down at the close.
The second Foursomes match saw Rachel RUSTED (Nuneaton GC) paired with Abi MORTIMER-LANE (Rugby GC). Our pair had diffulty in winning holes as just when they thought they were in with a chance, their opponents either chipped in or sank a long putt. After being 3 down after 9 holes, they lost their match 6 and 5.
Now to the Singles matches, with Emma MORTON (Stratford-upon-Avon GC) being the first out. After a slowish start on the front 9, Emma found herself 2 down after 9 holes, pulling one back on the 10th. With the next 4 holes halved and 2 holes lost, this match was over on the 16th, Emma losing 3 and 2. Speaking to Emma after the match, she said she was pleased with her game generally, but hitting the occasional poor shot allowed her opponent to capitalise.
Gemma BRADBURY (Denham GC) started poorly and was quickly 3 down but with an excellent pull back attitude, by the 9th she managed to go All Square. She then went 1 down on 11 when she lost the hole to a very long putt being holed but after 15th they were All Square again. This was exciting. Holes 16 and 17 were halved in Pars, but sadly Gemma once again lost the hole when her opponent sank an excellent putt.
Experienced Warwickshire player and 2019 County Champion, Lisa BARTON (Coventry GC) brought up the rear in our morning matches and good news was that she was 2 up at the turn, eventually winning her match 1 up. A very close affair with Lisa being 1 up after 16th, the 2 players both Birdied the 17th, with a halved hole to finish. Thus Lisa was the only winner of the morning session, with Worcestershire winning the morning matches by 4 games to 1.
Day 1 - Afternoon Play
Some variations were made to the afternoon players against an Oxfordshire Team who were on a high from their morning win against Buckinghamshire.
Game 1 saw Charlotte PRIDDLE paired with Abi MORTIMER-LANE and they had an awful start, finding most ditches in their way on 1st and 2nd holes! They pulled back though and by the 9th had managed to be 1 up. This pairing proved to be an excellent choice as by the 16th, they had won their game. Good start for the afternoon session.
Julia BURTON and Emma MORTON were second out in the Foursomes but they did not fare as well, being 4 down after 7 holes, then 3 down after 9. Their final score was a 4 and 3 loss. In their words, they said that their opponents were extremely steady but even when they went off line, they scrambled well giving a very solid performance.
First out this afternoon in the Singles was Gemma BRADBURY and having lost the first hole, she was 2 down after 6. 1 hole was pulled back on 7th and then on 8th also, a hole she played in fine style. 9th was lost soshe was 1 down after 9. Things then seemed to fall apart, with the final score being a loss of 4 and 3.
Our winner of this morning's play, Lisa BARTON once again played a blinder winning on the 17th, which was an excellent result, 2 wins in 2 games. All Square after 9 holes, she then went ahead on the short, 128 yard 13th, when after her tee shot had landed in the front bunker, she managed an up and down par. She won the 16th also and on 17th Tee was 2 up. Lisa played the 17th very well and with a half, gave Warwickshire the 2nd win of the afternoon.
Third out in the Singles was Liz HAYCOCK (Ladbrook Park GC) having just arrived at lunchtime from working this morning. First 2 holes were halved and with a win on 3rd, she was 1 up which she kept going until the 10th Tee. By the 16th, which she won Liz was 2 up - this was a match we could not lose, however losing the 17th made a win a little more difficult! All she needed was a half on 18, which everyone surrounding the green (and Liz) thought would happen when her putt went in the hole, but to our horror it came out again, thus her game was halved.
Warwickshire and Oxfordshire shared the spoils 2 1/2 games each. At the end of Day 1, there was only one County who had won both sessions, yes it was Buckinghamshire!!
Day 2 - Morning Play
Tuesday 18th June and the opponents this morning are Northamptonshire. The weather was not too bad in the morning but worsened later in the afternoon with drizzly rain, making play quite difficult. Two changes to yesterday afternoons' players saw the pairing of Rachel RUSTED with young Zara HOUGHTON (Copt Heath GC), who were second out this morning.
The first pairing out was Abi MORTIMER-LANE with Charlotte PRIDDLE, who had played so well yesterday afternoon. They battled well throughout their game but on the 17th Tee found themselves 2 down, however in true fighting spirit they managed a half after two very well played final holes. Good start for this morning.
Rachel and Zara, who was making her debut in her very first County Match week, jelled together well and went all the way in a very tight game, eventually losing on the 18th hole. What a very good start to her County career!
In the Singles line up, Germma went out first followed by Lisa and then Liz. Both of the first two games saw the Warwickshire players getting ahead very early on, continuing on throughout their individual games. It looked as if they were in a real hurry this morning as Gemma won her match 7 and 5, closely followed by Lisa recording a 7 and 6 win. What a start for them both and Lisa looks on fire this year as this win makes it three in a row for her! Unfortunately Liz was unable to close down her match this morning and thus, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire shared the spoils, fininshing the match on 2 1/2 to 2 1/2.
Day 2 - Afternoon Play
This afternoon our opponents were Buckinghamshire, who had yet to lose a match and who were the trophy holders from 2018. This on paper looks like it will be a very good match to win, where others had failed.
This afternoon, Julia and Emma were paired together and they had a real battle on their hands, playing against an exceptionally strong Buckinghamshire pairing, who have both played Internationally. The game for our pair did not go as planned and by the 12th hole, they found themselves 4 down. With just 6 holes to go, Emma and Julia turned up the heat going all the way to the 18th having pulled back so well, but just missing out on the final hole.
Abi was paired with Zara this afternoon and after Zara's inaugral game this morning she was ready for more. They too jelled in this foursomes format and played a very close game with some excellent golf, however their game was lost on the 17th hole.
Again, Gemma was out first in the singles and she did not disappoint. With both players showcasing some excellent golf throughout, Gemma must have been surprised to find herself Dormy 4 and wondering what she had to do to get something out of this game. How well she did!! 3 Birdies later, one shot to the Par 3, 16th nearly aceing the hole, she stood on the 18th tee only 1 down. A Par on 18 was good enough for her to pull back to a halved game - what a comeback, she must have felt good.
Lisa, after such a good week thus far, must have been quite shocked to find herself 3 down after 10 holes played. In true spirit though, Lisa kept her head, gradually pulling back the odd hole and eventually halving her game on the 18th. Well done to her.
Liz, on the other hand came up against extraordinary opposition from an 11 year old child prodigy! Liz did very well throughout her game but must have been absolutely shocked when, on the Par 4,10th hole she watched as her opponent's 2nd shot went flying through the air, 189 yards straight into the hole for an eagle! You can't play against that!! Regrettably Liz went on to lose her game this afternoon.
Buckinghamshire have kept up their record of wins, beating the Warwickshire team 4 games to 1.
The team are quite upbeat and enjoying their time at Frilford and are looking forward to playing against Berkshire on Wednesday morning.
Day 3 - Morning Play
In this the final session on Wednesday 19th, Warwickshire were playing against Berkshire and how they would like to finish the Tournament with a well earned win, having halved two matches.
First up were the successful pairing of Charlotte and Abi and they halved their game having had a ding dong game, with neither side being more than 1 up at any time. At this level a half seems to be a good point to get.
Rachel was paired with Emma in the second game and they got off to a terrific start after Rachel holed a 20ft putt to win the hole. By the 6th they were 2 up and quickly followed this good start with a further win on 8th. Never down in their game, they secured the first win of the day on the 14th, when Emma put a 5 iron into the green really close. Great start to the day.
Now to the Singles with the order of play being Gemma, Liz and then Lisa. Gemma played to a high standard today and was 2 up after 9 holes, lost the 10th but then chipped in on the 14th for a win. With a Birdie to follow on the 15th, she won her game 4 and 3.
Liz, who seemed to not have had the rub of the green this week wanted to finish on a high and my goodness she did, by winning 4 and 3. Steady play on the Front 9 gave a lead of 3 up to Liz and then with 3 Birdies on the Back 9 gave her this impressive win.
Lisa, who had not lost in the 4 previous sessions, winning 3 and halving 1, was odds on to bring in another win. She did not disappoint! She played some really steady golf and even when her opponent Birdied the first two Par 3's, Lisa did not lose her nerve. In fact she made a couple of Birdies herself in her round finishing her game on the 17th, winning 2 and 1.
What a morning. Warwickshire were the overall winners against Berkshire, with a fantastic 4 1/2 to 1/2 win.
Once again, Buckinghamshire did not lose a match this week and are the overall winners of Midlands South and will go on to compete in the County Finals later in the year.
At the end of this extremely enjoyable but tiring 3 days, County Captain Julia BURTON commented "This County Week has been a mixture of highs and lows and "˜so near and yet not quite' results! The team spirit has been phenomenal and having our two young players, Zara and Lauren with us for the first time was a lovely bonus. The results did not reflect how well we did, the two halved matches were just a putt away from wins and would have put us in a fantastic 2nd place but it was not to be and we had to settle for 4th. Lisa BARTON and Zara HOUGHTON were jointly awarded the Player's Player award and this was highly deserved.
I am so proud of my team - their fighting spirit and their fabulous camaraderie - and I want to thank them all for their support, determination and the fun that was apparent at all times. 2020 is looking good ...."
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