Warwickshire Golf
Men's 1st Team Finish the League season in style
The 2021 Midland League season was still up for grabs with two matches remaining for all Counties.
Firstly Warwickshire took on Shropshire & Herefordshire at Handsworth Golf Club on Sunday 5th September with the team of:
Luke Allen - Olton GC
John Paul Banbury - Moor Hall GC
Cam Bridger - Maxstoke Park GC
Stuart Bloxham - Coventry Hearsall GC
Steve Creed - Stratford-on-Avon GC
Tom Ibbertson - Coventry Hearsall GC
Chris Laird - The Warwickshire GC
Mike Pell - Olton GC
Paul Walker - Maxstoke Park GC
Rhys Wallace - Handsworth GC
The five morning foursomes were shared with wins for Warwickshire by Tom Ibbertson & Stuart Bloxham (3&2) & Steve Creed & John Paul Banbury (2&1). A very hard fought half from Mike Pell & Luke Allen after being three down after 9 holes and two losses from Cam Bridger & Rhys Wallace (2&1) and Chris Laird & Paul Walker (4&2). This left all to play for in the 10 afternoon singles.
Tom Ibbertson lead the Warwickshire order and although 1 down after 9, rallied and produced an excellent 2&1 victory. Stuart Bloxham played very tidy golf to never be behind and ran out a 2 up winner. John Banbury and Luke Allen added a further 1.5 points to the Warks total with a 2&1 victory for John and a battling half from Luke. Shropshire & Herefordshire kept their hopes alive with wins in matches 3 & 6 against Mike Pell (2&1) and Cam Bridger trying to live with a very in-form Dan Haycocks who was -4 after 7 holes and won by 4&3.
Match score at that time : Warwickshire 6 Shropshire & Herefordshire 5
Four matches left on the course and all went Warwickshire's way with Paul Walker returning to the 1st team with a convincing 4&2 win, Chris Laird doing the same with a comfortable 3&2 victory and Rhys Wallace using his home course advantage and lots of early birdies to win by a 3&2 margin.
With the match won, it left the usual No.10 'Postman' Steve Creed to add another point with a last hole win against Sean McArthy.
Final Match Score
Warwickshire 10 Shropshire & Herefordshire 5
My thanks to Handsworth GC for hosting this fixture. Personal appreciation to Warwickshire President Mark Reynolds for starting duties and John Stubbings for their attendance and support during the day.
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The final League match took place at Moor Hall GC on October 3rd against Staffordshire. A victory could mean a League win but other results would need to go our way.
The team selected was:
John Paul Banbury - Moor Hall GC
Dan Bardsley - Moor Hall GC
Warren Bladon - Kenilworth GC
Alex Ford - Copt Heath GC
Tom Ibbertson - Coventry Hearsall GC
Chris Laird - The Warwickshire GC
Mike Pell - Olton GC
Gary Skipp - Robin Hood GC
Karl Smith - Handsworth GC
Rhys Wallace - Handsworth GC
Morning foursomes began with Tom Ibbertson & Mike Pell starting well going 2up after 11 but a hot spell from their opponents meant 1 down playing the last. A horse-shoed 40ft putt denied Tom and Mike a half and the point went to Staffs. Warwickshire then dominated the other morning matches with convincing victories from John Banbury & Warren Bladon (6&5) and Dan Bardsley & Alex Ford (6&4).
The remaining two matches both went to Warwickshire with the Handsworth pairing of Karl Smith & Rhys Wallace winning 3&2 and Chris Laird & Gary Skipp always in control for a 2&1 win.
Score at lunchtime was Warwickshire 4 Staffordshire 1 with 10 singles to play.
Tom Ibbertson once again lead the Warwickshire order to great effect with a solid one up victory. Tom's County league results this year have been excellent and has lead from the front brilliantly, well done !! John Banbury came up against the talented and experienced Kurt Bridgen and came second on this occasion but is now a permanent 1st team player with many victories ahead of him l am sure. Alex Ford (Warwickshire Open Champion) completed the perfect 1st team Men's debut with a very dominant 5&3 win over Ollie Read.
Mike Pell (2&1), Warren Bladon (4&3), Dan Bardsley (4&3) and Gary Skipp (5&4) (again a 1st Team debut) performed very impressivley to gain the match win for Warwickshire with three matches left. Rhys Wallace and Karl Smith could not increase the Warks total losing 2&1 and 3&2 respectively. Chris Laird completed an 11 - 4 victory with a comfortable 4&3 win as the anchor man.
Thank you to Moor Hall for providing a course in great condition considering some challenging weather on the day. Pete Clarke for being Team Captain on the day, Mark Reynolds (Warks President) for the usual starting duties and wife Deb for her fantastic team support on the day and throughout the year, l have loved having you around. John Stubbings for being there again !! Thanks everyone, it is a real boost for me and the players to see you there supporting and cheering for them.
Despite winning our last two matches convincingly 10-5 and 11-4 results in other matches did not go as we wanted and Worcestershire won the Midland League by a point from Derbyshire, with Warwickshire finishing in third position. See the attached link for detailed analysis of the 2021 League.
Midland League Results :: Warwickshire Golf - managing golf in Warwickshire
Karl Smith
County Captain
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