Warwickshire Golf
1st Team are Out-Foxed
On the day that the clock's changed and the heralding of long awaited British summertime the 1st team had their annual non-league fixture against Leicestershire & Rutland (L&R) at Sutton Coldfield.
The team assembled for this fixture was:-
Will Bailey (Moor Hall)
Stuart Bloxham (Hearsall)
Cameron Bridger (Maxstoke Park)
Nick Brooker (Olton)
Seb Cave (Bramcote Waters)
Alex Ford (Robin Hood)
Harrison Long (Moor Hall)
Jacob Parsons (Finham)
Gary Skipp (Robin Hood)
Ian Smith (The Warwickshire)
First out in the foursomes was Seb Cave & Alex Ford and by the time they had settled down and found their rhythm they were 4 down, this became 5 down through the turn with the L&R pairing eventually running out 6&5 winners.
Second out were Stu Bloxham & Nick Brooker and although shot for shot they matched their opposition when it came to putting Oli Lewis for L&R was on fire and would prove the difference in a 4&3 loss.
Making their 1st team debut's at 3 were Cam Bridger & Jacob Parsons, they certainly didn't look out of place and a nip and tuck match saw them narrowly lose out 1 down.
Harrison Long another debutant partnered his Moor Hall colleague Will Bailey, Will was returning to 1st team duties after a gap of 12 years. A little early season competitive rustiness allowed their L&R opponents to just pip the 4th match 2&1.
Last pair onto the course were Gary Skipp & Ian Smith, this was a high quality match right from the start with the 1st being halved in birdie. More birdies were swapped through-out the round but unfortunately it was the L&R pair that managed to record a 1 up victory.
The excellent warm soup and sandwiches at lunch were a little harder to swallow for the Warwickshire team as they found themselves on the wrong end of a 5 v 0 scoreline and needing to salvage some pride in the singles.
Seb Cave led the team out in the singles and would himself losing 6&5 for the 2nd time in a day !
Alex Ford found some form and was 2 up thru 7 holes, unfortunately his opponent then found his and Alex would eventually shake hands on the 17th green with a 2&1 loss.
We needed to stop the rot and avoid the ignominy of a whitewash, but where would that first Bear win come from ?
The answer was Nick Brooker and 2 up thru 7 holes was extended to a much needed 4&3 victory and finally we were on the board.
This was quickly followed by Jacob Parsons who despite being 2 down thru 7 holes dug in and produced some terrific golf to beat his L&R opponent 2&1.
Just like London buses along came a 3rd win, this time from the evergreen Stu Bloxham who despite being 1 down on the 12th tee would fight back for a deserved 2&1 victory.
Not to be left out, Cam Bridger joined the winners circle by getting over the line at 3&2.
With the match score now Warwickshire 4 v 7 L&R could the unlikeliest of comeback's happen ?
The answer unfortunately was no !
Harrison Long fought hard from dormie 4 down to eventually run out of holes on the 17th with a 2&1 loss.
Will Bailey never managed to get his nose in front of his L&R opponent and despite a valiant effort would go down 3&2.
Gary Skipp continued his fine morning performance by going toe-to-toe with one L&R's top players and despite throwing a number of birdies at him would come up short at 3&2.
Last man on the golf course was Ian Smith who from 2 down through 10 holes would arrive onto the 16th tee 1 up, from there the pendulum swung on each remaining hole. His opponent levelled at 16, Ian then won 17 only for his opponent to snatch 18 for an honourable half.
The overall match score therefore was Warwickshire 4.5 v 10.5 L&R
Congratulations to Captain John Fairbrother and his L&R team for their excellent golf and the spirit in which the match was played through-out the day.
I wish all of the the players both individually and collectively good golf for the coming season and look forward to renewing golfing hostilities with L&R at the England Golf Midlands County Qualifying event at Belton Park in July.
My thanks to Sutton Coldfield Golf Club for the use of their golf course which was in remarkable condition considering the rain we have had and to their catering team for keeping us all excellently fed and watered.
As always the presence and support of our President Mark Reynolds, his wife Debs, L&R President Frank Lock and several parents of players from both teams is much appreciated.
We now move on to the annual 1st v 2nd match on Sunday 2nd April at Hearsall Golf Club and then our final non-league match against Northamptonshire at Cold Ashby Golf Club on Sunday 26th April before the real business of the county league starts in May.
Pete Clarke
Acting 1st Team Captain
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