Warwickshire Golf
Men's 1st Team League Opener Away to Last Years Champions Derbyshire - Match Report
Match report - Warwickshire v Derbyshire at Keddleston Park Golf Club on 5th May.
Warwickshire Team.
Rob Bardsley (Capt) - Moor Hall
Dan Bardsley - Moor Hall
Warren Bladon - Kenilworth
Richard Bush - Coventry
Seb Cave - Bramcote Waters
Steve Creed - Stratford on Avon
Darryl Gwilliam - Coventry
Gary Skipp - Robin Hood
Finlay Stokes - Maxstoke Park
Rob Tovey - Olton
We arrived at Keddleston for the season opener, a tough match against last years' league winners, Derbyshire. The course was in great condition, and finally the sun was shining, so a great day was in store.
The Bardsley brothers led the team off out in the morning foursomes, captain Rob had his first child just 6 days prior, and a rusty (and tired) performance from him meant they succumbed to a 3&2 loss against a strong Derbyshire pair.
In match 2, Darryl Gwilliam and Fin Stokes quickly levelled the match, with a great performance, leading to a 2&1 victory. The next match to finish, was the ever-reliable Steve Creed & Gary Skipp. Gary was not at his best and the game drifted away from them early doors, leading to a 5&3 Derbyshire win. Score was 2-1 Derbyshire with two very tight matches left on course.
Both matches headed down the 18th. First up was Seb Cave & Warren Bladon, 1 down heading up the last, Seb played a great recovery shot to leave Warren just short of the green. However, Derbyshire found the green in 2, so it was looking unlikely the comeback would happen. Warren hit great chip and Seb duly tapped in for par. The Derbyshire duo had cosied it up to 2/3 feet, but the winning putt horseshoed in front of the watching players - a huge half which gave Warwickshire hope for the rest of the day.
A similar story in the last match on course, with Rich Bush & Rob Tovey playing very well all day, still found themselves 1 down on the last green, where both teams had long efforts for birdie. Warwickshire two-putted, whilst Derbyshire had left themselves a difficult 4/5 foot putt for the match win. A solid putt from Derbyshire meant they won the match 1up.
Morning Foursomes score - Warwickshire 1.5 v 3.5 Derbyshire. Not the start we were after but there was still hope, with a fantastic singles line-up, the match was far from over.
Warwickshire needed a fast start to the afternoon, so Seb led the way, playing the gritty Nick Newbold from Keddleston. A fast start from Seb meant he turned in 2up, a lead he clung on to until the 17th. After losing the 17th, he managed to half the last, for a massive win to get us 1 point closer to Derbyshire.
As this match was finishing, both matches 2 & 3 were also finishing on the 16th green. An extremely rare loss for Darryl meant Derbyshire regained their 2-point cushion. However, Rob Bardsley quickly got us back on track with a 3&2 win. Fin Stokes then finished an impressive day with another win on the 16th green. Score was now tied at 4.5 - 4.5.
The two middle games both went down the last hole. Unfortunately, both matches went Derbyshire's way, with a 2down loss for Rob Tovey, and a 1down loss for Daniel Bardsley.
This was quickly neutralised by matches 9 & 10, both winning in comfortable fashion. Gary Skipp with a 5&4 win and Steve Creed with a 4&2 win.
This left the match on a knife-edge at 6.5 - 6.5 with just 2 matches left on course. Rich Bush went down the last hole 1 down, whilst Warren Bladon was looking likely to go 1up on the 17th green. Two great approaches into the 18th green by both Rich Bush and his opponent meant they both had 15 foot for birdie. Derbyshire narrowly missed and Rich Bush took his opportunity with both hands, rolling the putt straight in the middle, to secure a vital half.
As this was happening, Warren won the 17th, meaning Warwickshire had secured at least a half. However, Warren played the perfect hole - fairway, green and a simple 2-putt meant Warwickshire had secured a huge comeback victory!
Warwickshire win 8 -7.
Next match is against Worcestershire at Robin Hood GC.
Created by intelligentgolf version 10.1.2.
