1st Team lose league opener to BB&O
HERTS 1ST TEAM, FROM L TO R, MITCHELL STEEL, JAMES EGERTON, ALEX MACARTHUR, JORDAN LAWRENCE, LAURIE OWEN, ALEX COLLMAN, LUKE COLGATE & BEN HARMAN
The County Men’s 1st Team got off to a disappointing start to their South East league season last Sunday (May 22), when they lost on home soil at Hadley Wood to Berks, Bucks and Oxon, 7.5 to 4.5.
On a perfect day for golf at the attractive North London golf course, the two teams seemed very evenly matched throughout the day with many of the matches going the distance, but the opposition just seemed to have enough to make it count down the closing stretch.
The course was presented beautifully and the greens in particular were smooth and true, and with most of the greens heavily contoured, accurate iron and wedge play was a must, as was a steady putting stroke.
In the morning foursomes, the Herts lead pair of Letchworth players, County Champion Laurie Owen and Ben Harman, were out of sorts and were soundly beaten by the solid pairing of David Langley and Ollie Huggins, shaking hands on the 14th green, losing by the margin of 6&4. The pairing of County Captain Alex Collman and Alex Macarthur proved more fruitful, winning their match 3 & 2. Elsewhere the final pairing of Mitchell Steel and James Egerton were also struggling a little and finding their opposition’s sharp short games difficult to overcome and eventually lost 5&4. The 3rd match was a very tight encounter which went the distance and came down to the last putt on the last green. The Herts pair of Luke Colgate and Jordan Lawerence had produced a gutsy performance to lead 1 up on the 18th tee but a wayward drive meant a bogey 5 to finish, which left Dean Newbold of BB&O with a 5 foot par putt on the last green for a halved match. The putt slid by the hole and meant the match was tied 2-2 at lunch with all to play for in the afternoon singles.
Herts led the singles with the 3 Letchworth players. Macarthur in the number 1 position, followed by Owen and Harman. In the top match Alex Macarthur played some sparkling golf to have a commanding lead into the closing stretch, only to be pegged back to just 1 up on the 18th tee. After both players missed the 18th green, David Langley produced a stunning up and down to claim a half point for his team, leaving Alex a little disappointed to not convert his good play into a full point. In the second game Laurie Owen continued to be out of sorts and struggled on the tricky greens, losing to Adam Batty 5&4, while Ben Harman produced a gutsy performance in a tight game against George Gardiner, with Ben holing a 10 footer on the last green for a well deserved half point. Alex Collman put in a real Captain’s performance, leading the team by example winning his singles over Ollie Huggins 2&1, closing the game out with stunning iron shot into the 17th green, nestling close to the pin.
Unfortunately and despite our best efforts we could only claim a further half point in the bottom half of the draw, when in the anchorman position Mitchell Steel halved his match with Alex Bithrey. The other three matches all went the way of BB&O, with all 3 going to the 17th green at least. Jordan Lawrence in particular was perhaps a shade unlucky to lose considering his play.
The match was played in extremely good spirit with BB&O being modest winners and the Herts team gracious in defeat.
The County Men’s 1st Team will look to bounce straight back with victory in their next game, away to Essex at Woolston Manor next month, in what would be a season defining match.
CLICK HERE FOR MATCH RESULTS
THE BB&O PAIRING OF NEWBOLD & BITHREY PUTTING ON THE TREACHEROUS 4TH GREEN WHILE HERTS PAIR COLGATE & LAWRENCE LOOK ON
