Castle Royle GC near Reading was the venue for the latest Boy’s U18 matches as they arrived hoping to kick on from the great start they had made with two wins from two back in May at Sandy Lodge. This time our opponents were the hosts BB&O and Essex. Like the England football fans all around the country, expectations were high when the matches got underway but with several players who had played at the recent England Golf Boys’ qualifier not available, ultimately it would end in disappointment with two defeats on the day.
Finlay Rennie of the Centurion Club led us off on this occasion and got himself into good positions in both games with 3 up leads through 13 holes but both opponents staged comebacks and the matches went to the 18th. After hitting his approach to around 12ft and having seen his opponents find difficult positions in the same greenside bunker things looked like they would end well for Finlay. However, what was to follow showed how nothing is ever over in this game we love. Eventually, Finlay would need to hole a 3ft putt on the last to gain half a point against his BB&O opponent who had just made a miraculous up and down from a greenside bunker, somehow managing to get the ball to check on a severe downslope and then trickle towards the hole. Finlay’s putt was even more impressive as moments earlier his opponent from Essex had holed an even more difficult bunker shot for birdie! Manager and lead coach who were watching from near by couldn’t believe their eyes at what they had just witnessed.
In matches 2, 3 and 5, Louie Bloxham, Eddie Wade and Patrick Donovan all found the going difficult losing both matches. Louie was another victim of the 18th green curse that seemed to be hanging over us throughout the day. With his match against BB&0 still alive, he too hit a superb approach shot to pin high and around 12ft away from the hole. His opponent subsequently found the front part of the green some 60ft away from the hole. With the aforementioned manager and coach again watching on from the side of the green as the home played holed his putt for an unlikely birdie, Louie was unable to match him with a birdie of his own, and the game was lost. More 18th hole disbelief!!
With only half a point on the scoreboard from 4 of the first five matches, Hertfordshire soon posted two wins against Essex thanks to wins from Harrison Preston of Hanbury Manor and West Herts’ Luca Ibekwem. Luca sporting some new shoes that were hastily purchased on arrival and 2 sizes too big, that’s dedication for you, was also able to grind out a 2&1 win against his BB&O opponent to help add a further point to that tally. Harrison’s game with his opponent from BB&O who was playing on his home course, turned into a battle when Harrison birdies the par 5 12th hole to start a comeback having been 4 down through 11. Walking to the 18th green still one down, he hit the centre of the green to give himself a good birdie opportunity. With his opponent in the opposite greenside bunker a par looked likely to be good enough to win the hole and gain a hard earned half point until the 18th green curse struck again and another match went the way of the host county.
In the final two matches, County captain Castor Morris of Sandy Lodge and Oscar Freeman provided another 1.5 points to the overall totals. Castor managed a win against his opponent of BB&O by a margin of 3&1 but lost to recent Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters winner Henry Styles of Essex. Oscar Freeman of West Herts found it difficult against his opponent from Essex losing 5&3 and managed a half point against BB&O when both players made a par on the closing hole.
Overall, a disappointing day but we still sit atop of the league table, and we’ll know more about our chances of qualifying for the regional final in September by the time we play our final games at Langdon Hills GC in Essex at the end of August as the three other counties will have played their next games by then.
Finally, thank you to BB&O manager, Malcolm, Castle Royale GC and BB&O for their hospitality on the day.
