Warwickshire Golf
Men's 2nd Team Defeated by Leicestershire & Rutland
The 2023 season started with our traditional friendly against Leicestershire & Rutland on Sunday 26th March at Market Harborough G.C. After 3 late call ups to the 1st team, the selected team was:
Alex Smith Copt Heath
Bobby Campbell Ladbrook Park
Channon James Coventry Hearsall
Chris Laird The Warwickshire
Harry Ibbertson Coventry Hearsall
Karl Smith Handsworth
Lewis Watson Handsworth
Niall Collins Robin Hood
Richard Bush Coventry
Shaun Young Maxstoke Park
Unfortunately Chris Staite was unable to attend the match and he had asked me to take on the Captaincy duties on his behalf.
As I was getting into my car at 7.45am I received a call from one of our players (who shall remain nameless) as he had travelled to Market Drayton G.C. in Shropshire! Fortunately he just had sufficient time to make the 95 mile journey to the correct venue and arrived with 20 minutes to spare before his tee time.
After the standard coffee and bacon rolls, the morning foursomes began. Our order was:
Bobby & Chris
Karl & Shaun
Lewis & Niall
Alex & Richard
Channon & Harry
After 4 holes we were all square in 3 matches and down in the other 2. Niall was feeling very poorly and I thought he was going to have to walk off the course and forfeit both his foursomes and singles matches. Being made of stern stuff he vowed to carry on as best he could.
I then moved over to the 9th green where things were looking much healthier - up in 3, all square in 1 and down in 1. Niall was still feeling poorly but we managed to get some paracetamol for him - he still wanted to battle on. I was therefore looking forward to a healthy lead at lunchtime.
Sadly my hopes were dashed on the back 9 as L&R staged a fightback. The top match went from all square at the turn to a 2&1 loss - unlucky Bobby (making his debut) and stalwart Chris. Up against 2 regular L&R first teamers this was a good performance.
Better news in match 2 as our seniors pairing of Karl and Shaun had won 4&3 against England senior international “Samo†and his partner. Well done fellas and thanks both for standing in when called up.
Despite the paracetamol, Niall was still struggling and he and Lewis went on to lose 5&4.
The final 2 matches both went to the 18th and sadly we lost both 1 down. So the match score went from 3.5 - 1.5 up after 9 holes to 4 - 1 down at lunch.
The afternoon singles started whilst the last 2 foursomes were still on the course, meaning there was little scope to shuffle our order. After seeing the players off the first tee I moved to the back of the 9th green just as the first group was coming down the hole. Sadly, things on the front 9 were not going our way in the afternoon and the scores after 9 holes were:
Chris 4 down
Bobby all square
Karl 3 down
Shaun 2 down
Niall all square
Lewis all square
Alex all square
Channon 2 up
Harry 1 up
Richard all square
Our prospects for the overall match were looking bleak, but we still had a chance of winning the singles. On to the back 9 and the lads battled valiantly, but it was no to be. The final scores were:
1. Chris lost 4&3
2. Bobby lost 3&1
3. Karl lost 5&4
4. Shaun lost 5&4
5. Niall match conceded after 12 as he couldn't carry on
6. Lewis won 2 up
7. Alex won 3&1
8. Channon lost 2&1
9. Harry lost 1 down
10. Richard all square
We had suffered an unusual heavy defeat against a very strong L&R team by 11.5 to 3.5. Fortunately this was just a friendly game, so we still have high hopes for our prospects in the league.
And now, the usual thanks as follows:
- To Josh and his L&R team for playing the match in a fantastic spirit, I wish them well for the rest of the season.
- To Kevin and the other L&R supporters for not only the support of their side, but also appreciating good play from the Warwickshire lads too.
- To Market Harborough G.C. for their hospitality and letting us use their facilities. Despite the poor weather in the run up to the match, the course was in good condition.
- To the Warwickshire players for their great camaraderie and skill - especially to Lewis, Karl and Shaun for coming in at late notice.
Our next match is on Sunday 2nd April at Coventry Hearsall G.C. against the 1st team followed by our final friendly match against Northamptonshire on Sunday 23rd April at Ladbrook Park G.C. Here's hoping we can turn things around and register a victory in both matches.
Neville Gardner
Acting 2nd Team Captain
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