Boys U16’s pull it out of the bag to qualify for finals weekend
LEFT TO RIGHT: JAMIE JACKSON, MATTHEW JONES, RONNIE GIBBS, BEN SESSIONS, HARRISON PRESTON, LOUIE BLOXHAM,
FINLAY RENNIE & HARRY COX
Report from Boys U16 Manager Gerald Duddy;
At the end of the previous match report, I said that there was still a chance for us to qualify for the finals weekend if we won both our matches and the other result went our way. Although we arrived at Harleyford for the final league games with a quiet confidence we were well aware of the size of the task that faced us but what transpired was a fantastic display of golf from each and every one of the 8 Hertfordshire players who all contributed to two resounding wins over BB&O (6-2) and a very strong Essex (6.5-1.5) team who were aiming to join their U18 and U14 counterparts in the Regional finals.
Once again, the top order set the pace from the front with only 1 match out of the opening 10 matches in the triangular match play format going against Hertfordshire. Number one match saw Ben Sessions beat an opponent from Essex but lost to local boy with lots of course knowledge from BB&O. Matches 2-5 saw double wins for Finlay Rennie, Harry Cox, Louie Bloxham and Ronnie Gibbs, who was making his first appearance of the season. Next match saw Harrison Preston battle back from deficits of 2 down and 3 down after 8 holes with 4 birdies and an eagle spurt from the 8th to the 12th turned both matches on their head and he would eventually see off his opponent from Essex and half the match with BB&O. Matches seven and eight saw a win each from Matthew Jones and Jamie Jackson meaning everyone had recorded a win on the day and we had done our job.
But what of the other match? Well as the final results were coming in it seemed that we had just missed out as initially it seemed that Essex had recorded a narrow win over BB&O but over dinner and the ongoing collection of results it transpired that those counties had actually drawn, and we had tied Essex with 9 match points each in the league table. Our superior number of games won 30.5 to 27.5 meant that we topped the league table and had qualified for the finals weekend in late September at Felixstowe Ferry Golf Club in Suffolk. So, Luke Donald will need to look elsewhere when it comes to his Ryder Cup picks.
Click here for the match results vs BB&O
Click here for the match results vs Essex
