Warwickshire Golf
Men's 1st Team v Nottinghamshire Report
Rob Bardsley
Gary Skipp
Harrison Long
Will Bailey
Nick Brooker
Mike Pell
Dan Lane
Rich Bush
Stu Bloxham
Tom Ibbertson
We arrived at Coventry Hearsall Golf Club for the last match of the season. The league, in theory was still up for grabs with 4 teams still having a chance to win the league. Team Warwickshire needed to win this game heavily, and have a couple of results go their way, so a big ask. However, our opponents, Nottinghamshire, had it all in their own hands. A win here almost certainly secured them a league win, so naturally they were ready to take it to us.
Opening the day was Rob Bardsley & Gary Skipp in the foursomes session. Neither felt particularly confident up against one of Notts premium pairs. However, an extremely solid performance meant they were shaking hands early, having secured a cosy 5&3 win. The next match on course was the Moor Hall duo, Harrison Long and Will Bailey. A tight match all the way, came down to the last hole, where Harrison rolled in a nice putt to secure a 1up win. Warwickshire 2-0 up.
A rare occurence in recent years, was a morning foursomes session win for team Warwickshire. It looked good after the first 2 matches. However, it quickly turned around, with the experienced Hearsall pair Stu Bloxham & Tom Ibbertson losing their match, which was quickly followed by the Olton duo Nick Brooker & Mike Pell also losing. It was a quality match, but they just fell short when they lost on the 17th. Match was tied at 2-2.
The final match on course was Rich Bush & Dane Lane, two of our more consistent players gave it their best shot, in a tightly contested match. Unfortunately, they came up short and lost their first outing together 3&2.
Morning score Warwickshire 2 – 3 Nottinghamshire.
Rob Bardsley lead the way in the afternoon. He found himself down early in the match – he fought back to tie the match through 11 holes but was then met with a birdie barrage by his opponent, who closed the match on 16 for a 3&2 Notts win.
The next 3 matches all went down the 18th hole. Match 2 was Nick Brooker who played one of Notts most consistent players. It was a good match and neither played deserve to lose. Nick found himself over a tricky 6-footer on 18 to avoid this outcome. He confidently knocked the putt in for a tied match. Harrison played out his match against the long hitting Mark Porter from Notts. Harrison found himself 2up with 7 to play but Mark fought back and found himself on 18 with a 1up lead. Harrison couldn’t find the birdie required to tie the match ad ended up losing 1 down. The 3rd match of this trio involved Will Bailey who trailed for the majority of the match. He won the 16th hole to tie the match up then found himself with a 15-footer on 18 to win the match. Warwickshire needed this to stay within touching distance, and Will gave us exactly what we needed with a great putt. A well-deserved 1up win. Notts lead 5.5 – 3.5
As all these matches were ending down the 18th, last years’ 1st Team captain Mike Pell, found himself being frustrated by a solid performance by his opponent. Mike continued to battle back but couldn’t find a way back and ultimately lost 4&3. With Notts now 3 points ahead, Warwickshire needed a big fight back. All 5 of the remaining games only had 1 hole in them, so the match was still up for grabs.
Dan Lane could not manufacture a lead in his match, constantly playing the match from either AS or 1 down. He stayed strong and found himself down the last hole with a chance to finally take the lead he needed at the perfect time. He jumped at the chance and won the game 1up. Next up was Rich Bush, who had a similar story to Dan, in that he couldn’t quite get himself into a lead. He managed to take the match down 18 but unfortunately couldn’t find the magic which he had produced earlier in the season against Derbyshire. He ended up losing the match 1 down. Notts lead 7.5 – 4.5.
3 matches left on course; 3 Warwickshire wins required to tie the match. On course were Tom Ibbertson, Gary Skipp and Warwickshire President Stu Bloxham. All were still engaged in tight matches. Unfortunately, both Gary and Stu played out most of the match from either 1 or 2 down, which continued until late in the match. In typical fashion, both players fought hard but both narrowly losing. Stu down the 18th and Gary on the 17th. The match was over, but Tom Ibberston had worked hard all day to get himself down 18, so when faced with a 10 footer on 18 to win the match he was still hungry to get a point on the board. He knocked the putt in for a 1up win.
Final score Warwickshire 5.5 – Nottinghamshire 9.5.
Nottinghamshire earned themselves a match win, which lead to them also winning the league title – Well done Notts.
A season of very near misses for team Warwickshire. The first 4 matches of the year were extremely tight and could have gone either way. Thank you for all the players, officials and golf courses who have supported us all year. A season we will learn from and hopefully get back to winning ways, with a league win in 2025.
Created by intelligentgolf version 10.1.2.
