Warwickshire Golf
Boys Under 18s - First League Match of 2023 Away to Derbyshire
DERBYSHIRE v WARWICKSHIRE : BOYS' Under 18's
Team :
Oliver Clark (c) (LADBROOK PARK)
Lennon O'Neill-Knibbs (HEARSALL)
Ryan Gavin (COVENTRY)
Spencer Tanner (COVENTRY)
Josh Gardner (COVENTRY)
Louis Taylor (LADBROOK PARK)
Freddy Montgomery (MOOR HALL)
Callum Lee (MOOR HALL)
Team Warwickshire's Boys Under 18s got their league season underway with a trip to Morley Hayes GC, to face their Derbyshire counterparts in this away fixture.
Pleasant conditions were in evidence as we started the morning foursomes session, and so began one of the closest county fixtures I have seen many years. Whilst Captain Ollie and his partner Lennon (5&3); and the Moor Hall pairing of Freddy and Callum (4&3) slipped to defeats, honours were even at lunchtime. The all-Coventry pairing of Ryan and Spencer (5&4) and Josh and Louis (3&2) were able to secure victories, leaving the session score at 2-2 going into the afternoon singles.
The singles session saw rain in the air, but a course which was very playable. All of the matches were contested evenly, with the exception of Freddy, who is getting something of a reputation for heavy singles wins, closing this one out 5&4.
The entire tie hung in the balance until the closing holes. At one point, Louis' opponent chipping in for birdie from just off the green, only for Louis to do exactly the same from the other side of the green to halve the hole in birdie 3's …unbelievable Jeff!
Most of the players were either up, then down, or vice-versa, and this was too tight to call until the last shots of the last group on the last green. Sadly, this one did not go the way of Team Warwickshire, and with the singles results going 5-3 in favour of the hosts, we fell to a 7-5 defeat.
Looking back, there were plenty of “could have, should have†moments. There were also some clear signs of early season rust, with loose short game shots often deciding holes and (ultimately) matches. That aside, the lads should be proud of how they battled in this away fixture on a completely unfamiliar track. Congrats to Derbyshire, who had suffered a heavy defeat in their last game, which was hard to understand as they played so well here.
Our thanks go to Morley Hayes for hosting, and as always to all county officials and parents for their support, encouragement and assistance throughout the day.
The next fixture for the Boys' team is a home match against Worcestershire, to be played at Walmley GC on Sunday 14th May.
Simon Taylor
Warwickshire Boys Team Manager
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