Warwickshire Golf
U16 Boys head into the season with a Win
Boys Under 16's v Leicestershire & Rutland
Team Lineup:
Ryan Gavin COVENTRY
Josh Gardner COVENTRY
Alfie Mitchell NUNEATON
Callum Lee MOOR HALL
Freddy Montgomery MOOR HALL
Joey Williams MOOR HALL
Miles Pegg STONEBRIDGE
Armaan Basra OLTON
Sam Price STRATFORD OAKS
Anthony Bridgeman HEARSALL
In our final friendly fixture before the league programme kicks off, we found ourselves without 4 of our regular team members due to GCSE revision commitments. Whilst any team would suffer as a result of that sort of availability problem, Team Warwickshire is blessed with a squad which is able to provide experienced and able competitors to jump into the fray.
And so it proved here, as we travelled away to a very enjoyable KIRBY MUXLOE course, which was eminently fair and in excellent condition.
In order to ease pressure on tee times, the morning session was reduced to 9 holes of FOURSOMES play, in which 4 of the 5 matches were decided on the final (9th) green. Alfie Mitchell and Callum Lee were able to secure a point, and Freddy Montgomery and Armaan Basra managed to secure a half in their match. Our other pairs slid to narrow defeats, and so we were left with a two-point deficit (3½ to 1½) going into the afternoon singles.
The afternoon singles (18-hole scratch matchplay) saw the team go out in handicap order, and with extremely well-matched opponents. 6½ points would be needed from this session for a match victory, which would be a tall order. Fortunately, at Team Warwickshire…we do tall orders.
Our team regulars managed to put blue on the board early, with victories for:
Ryan Gavin 5&4, Josh Gardner 4&3, Alfie Mitchell 6&5, Joey Williams 3&2, and Miles Pegg 4&3. Of our regular starters, only Callum Lee was unable to get his point. Having fallen behind early, Callum battled well but eventually went down 3&1 on the 17th green.
With 5 points secured, it was over to our 4 not-so-regular starters to get us over the line. With Freddy Montgomery bringing home a scarcely believable 10&8 win, we had 6 points on the board and needed half a point from the 3 remaining matches on the course. Unfortunately, we were behind in all 3 matches.
Armaan stuck at his task and was able to hold out until the 17th, before losing 3&2 to some excellent golf.
Sam Price was 3 down after 9 holes, before winning the next 3 to stand all square on the 13th tee. This see-saw match went away from Sam again, and by the 16th tee he was dormy 3 down. The 16th was won. Could he? The 17th was won. Surely not? On the 18th green Sam’s putt slid agonisingly by, and L&R secured a valuable point.
Well, what can we say about Anthony Bridgeman? Playing off scratch and so effectively giving away 5 shots to his opponent’s lower handicap, Anthony’s match was more nip and tuck than a Harley St. cosmetic surgery clinic. Anthony was ahead, and then behind. He would recover again, and then slip back.
On the 16th tee, Anthony was 2 down, with the desperately needed half point looking like it might elude us. But cometh the hour, Anthony sent his tee shot on this tricky par 3 soaring to 10 feet, then calmly knocked in the birdie putt to the deserved applause of the watching crowd. The par 5 17th was halved, leaving Anthony dormy 1 down.
A missed green left meant that Anthony needed to get up and down. The chip was on the high side by 8 feet, leaving a downhill left to right slider. But he rolled it in, and Team Warwickshire took a narrow away victory from the last man, with the last putt, on the last green.
“I’ve never felt so much pressure”
Anthony would later say to Sky TV interviewers, who interrupted their coverage of a rather boring Premier League final day. Commiserations to L&R, as this was a truly epic match.
Team Warwickshire is not always about the 10 regulars, it is about a squad. It is about those players who wait for their opportunity to do their best for their county. Well done to all who played in this match, but particularly to Armaan, to Sam, to Freddy, and most of all to Anthony. You stood up there, and did us all proud.
Final thanks to our hosts at Kirby Muxloe GC, to our ex-President Graham Barton for his unwavering support, and to all of the parents for allowing days like this to happen for their boys.
Simon Taylor
Warwickshire Under16 Team Manager
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