The South East, England Golf Boys’ Qualifier, affectionately known as ‘The 6 Man’ is considered one of the strongest and most prestigious events in boys’ county golf.
This year it was hosted by Clandon Regis GC in Surrey.
Although there is an individual prize for the lowest 36 holes gross score, the main prize is the team event, with the winners going on to represent the SE Group in the National Finals against the winners of the other three regions in the North, Midlands and South West.
Expectations were high among the Hertfordshire squad after the practice around the firm and bouncy course near Guildford.
The team retired to their nearby hotel for dinner and to finalise the plan of attack for the following day’s event.
Hertfordshire last tasted success back in 2016, but consensus was that this group of players had every chance for replicating that success.
With alarms going off early, breakfast was followed by a short journey back to the course and by 7.00am the temperature was already in the high teens, but the real hot stuff was just about to happen on the course.
At 8.00am, Harry Cox, fresh off his recent trip to Japan where he had been representing the England Boys team, had the honour of hitting the opening tee shot off the first tee.
As Harry made his way around the opening 18 holes, he had put together an opening round of 70 on the testing par 72 course.
A few groups behind, Welwyn Garden City CG clubmate, Louie Bloxham, made the turn in level par thanks to an eagle and 2 bogeys, before recording 6 birdies on the back 9 to set the early clubhouse lead on -4.
Starting on the other side of the course, Antoni Hawkins, recently selected to represent the Polish Men’s team at next weeks European Team Championship in Ireland, was putting together a solid +2 round of 74 and Finlay Rennie of the Centurion Club went one better with a round of 73.
With 5 of the 6 scores to count, we waited for the final two Herts players to complete their first 18 holes.
When Bishop Stortford’s Ben Sessions added another 2 under par round of 70, which included 2 eagles in a 3 hole stretch, this gave us a team total of 5 under par, 355 which was enough to take the clubhouse lead by 3 shots over nearest rivals, Essex. Or so we thought!
With the 2nd rounds getting underway, that lead was soon increased to a staggering 10 shots when we got word that one of the Essex players had signed for an incorrect score in the morning and his -1 score would be replace by a +6 score.
The players soon put this news aside and went about their own business, and what was to follow was nothing short of sensational.
Harry posted a course recording equalling round of 7 under par 65. The course record had only been set earlier in the day by one of the Surrey players.
Harry’s round included no less than 3 twos. No mean feat, but when you looked closer at his card, he had a birdie two, an eagle two and the biggest bird of all, an albatross two! Achieved on the par 5 15th hole, word of which soon started filtering around the course!
This gave him a clubhouse lead on -9.
But Harry’s clubhouse lead would be short lived when Toby Peters of Essex posted his 2nd round of 67 to go to -10 under.
Harry would eventually finish 3rd in the individual competition.
Back on course, Louie kept his fine morning form going by backing up his first round 68 with an even better round of 6 under par 66 to take the Individual lead, which would eventually claim the David Neech Trophy for the lowest individual 36 holes score and automatic entry into the Carris Trophy.Â
Antoni finished with a fine round of 75, but this would turn out to be the discarded score as teammates Finlay (73), Ben (72) and Will Lyons from Hanbury Manor, who at one stage was 5 under for his first 8 holes, recording a round of 73, giving Hertfordshire a 2nd round total of 10 under par, 350 and an amazing 36 hole aggregate score of 705 for 15 under par and an overall victory by an amazing 12 shots over 2nd placed Essex and 27 shots clear of home favourite Surrey.
When the formalities of the presentations and speeches had concluded, there was time for reflection. Everyone agreed that it was the most amazing day for this group of players, many of whom have been part of the Hertfordshire junior pathway for several years now.
Many played in the u14 final of 2021, losing by the narrowest of margins to Surrey by half a point. 4 played in the victorious 2023 U16 team who won at Felixstowe Ferry, but with many turning 18 before the end of the year and thus not being eligible for junior golf anymore, this really was the icing and indeed the cherry on the cake and set up a National Final to look forward to later in the year and a chance to write their names in the Hertfordshire golf history books.
Every member of the squad contributed over the course of the two days. Whether it was the players on the course who contributed 52 birdies, 4 eagles and the aforementioned albatross and who all contributed at least one counting score, or the two reserve players, George Lancaster of Sandy Lodge and Bishop’s Stortford’s Eddie Cook, who didn’t play but were on the course throughout the day supporting, encouraging and caddying for their teammates.
It was a whole squad effort ably supported by Lead Coach Laurence Allen, U16 coach Matt Spencer and the ever present U16 manager Graham Oram.
Report by Boy’s U!8 Manager, Gerald Duddy
