Warwickshire Golf
Under 18's v Worcestershire
For the second match of the season we welcomed Worcestershire to an overcast but warm and humid Stonebridge Golf Club.
All of the team arrived promptly at 8.30am for breakfast but unusually no sign of our captain Alex until a text came through at 8.50am declaring he had just woken up! Unlike Rory in the Ryder cup there was no police escort so we decided to send him out third with his partner Ollie. He arrived at 9.10 looking suitably sheepish!
Chan and Charlie stepped into the number one slot and set off. As all the matches got underway and we joined them on the course the golf from the Warwickshire boys felt like we had all overslept. We were down early in almost every match.
Chan and Charlie did get on track and in a close match won 1up having been 1 down with two to play. Charlies 30-foot putt on 17 turned the tide.
Niall and Joe played match 2 and after a slow start being 1 down after the 6th they produced some good golf and ran out 4&3 winners.
Alex was now wide awake and he and Ollie eventually went out in match 3. Another game that we took control of on the back nine and another 4&3 victory.
Fin and Sam in match 4 just never got going and were faced with a barrage of birdies on the front nine going three down early and although they won the 11th they could not maintain the momentum and lost 4&3.
Tom and Lennon played match 5 and also fell behind early. They were 4 down after 7 holes when Tom announced they would not lose. A combination of solid golf from the home pair and some missed putts got them back to all square before Lennon's tee shot on the par 3 17th hole landed 6 foot from the flag, 1 up. A good half from the thick rough on the last secured a 1 up win leaving us 4-1 up after the foursomes and the team manager not quite sure how it had happened!
Chan led the way for the singles against the Worcestershire Captain Harrison. This was a close match throughout but Chan was on his game and an eagle on 15 helped him to a 2&1 victory.
Matches 2 and 3 saw Charlie and Niall take on two good opponents. Charlie was 2 under through 4 and still all square while Niall fell behind early. Both matches featured some excellent golf but neither player could find a way to win and both were defeated.
Joe played match 4 and went ahead early. He never looked back and his consistent play earned him a 4&3 win and yet another point for him in a county shirt.
Alex went out next and needed to be awake to see off his opponent Tom. This was a good match but Alex kept the pressure on and won 2&1.
Ollie and Fin played number 6 and 7 and both started their matches with some excellent play. They were both ahead early and both won convincingly 5&4 securing a win for the county overall.
At number 8, Sam ran into some excellent play from his big hitting opponent. He was 3 down after nine but battled through the back nine to stay in touch. He had some chances but could not take advantage and lost on the 17th 3&1.
Tom went out at number 9 and after a close front 9 was 1 up. He then produced a string of birdies on the back nine to take control and win 5&4 with an excellent performance.
Lennon finished the singles but went behind early and just could not hold on to his partner who was in control after 9 holes and despite Lennon's best efforts he could not avoid defeat.
The match finished with a 10-5 victory for Warwickshire and without doubt the turnaround in the morning foursomes proved decisive. Although the boys from Worcestershire fought hard they could not recover the 4-1 deficit.
My thanks to Stonebridge GC for their hospitality and to Graham Barton, Pete Clark and Jacob Parsons for their support during the day.
Simon Parsons
Under 18 Team Manager
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