Wiltshire Golf
Tractor Boys Fight back!
After a tough defeat to Hertfordshire on the first day of the event, the Tractor Boys took on a very strong Cheshire team on Wednesday. Due to the expected afternoon storms the sessions were swapped meaning 6 singles in the morning followed by 3 foursomes matches after lunch.
Wiltshire were led off by Tidworth Garrison’s very own Ayden Knight who very quickly took a one shot lead against Spencer Davies, and it remained that way until the turn. At that point Ayden turned up the heat and won the next 5 holes to run out a 6 & 4 winner.
Jack Mawer (Broome Manor) ran into the impressive Cole Self who reeled off a succession of birdies to take a 5 up lead. However, Jack fought back to win 3 holes in a row, only to fall to a 3 & 2 defeat when the Cheshire player holed another birdie putt on 16.
Riley Banks (Wrag Barn) started slowly, but soon upped the pace with a number of birdies, the only problem being that Cheshire’s Matty Griffith was matching him all the way! A 6 & 5 defeat definitely didn’t reflect the match or how Riley played.
Ted Hodgkinson (Bowood) put together a fantastic front 9 and was 3 up at the turn. It soon became 4 up, but Maxi Moore never gave up and won 4 holes in a row meaning they were all square on the 18th tee. A wayward tee shot saw Ted completely blocked out with no option but to chip sideways. However, a career wedge to 12 inches and a kick in par gave him the victory 1 up.
George Mathias (Marlborough) played James Clark in a close match that could have gone either way, with the Wiltshire player twice coming back from 3 down, but a halved hole on 16 saw him defeated 3 & 2.
So, it was all down to the last Legg (James Legg from Chippenham to be exact) who was playing Ellis Courtnell. Steady play and a succession of good putts saw Tractor Boy James build a 4 up lead with 4 to play, but matchplay being matchplay, the advantage was only 1 by the 18th tee! However, a laser-like tee shot and a fine wedge set up a birdie chance that he converted to triumph 2 up.
A great morning that all the boys can be extremely proud of … now on to the foursomes …
Ayden Knight, leading the Tractor Boys morning and afternoon
An amazing afternoon full of tension, excitement, but finally disappointment despite a Herculean effort by all the boys (and a fair few spectators as well).
Wiltshire were led off by Aydon and Riley, who despite being down early, managed to drag the game back and were one down through twelve. Ted and Charlie had the same experience, being 4 down at one point, but again were only one down through twelve, despite some unusual distractions. Last out were Ted and jack, whose match was never more than one hole in either side’s favour. They were 1 up through 12 so the tie was delicately poised …
Unfortunately that was as close as it got, with both the first two matches being lost on the 16th, and the final foursome going to 18 before succumbing.
it was an amazing day with all our young players excelling against mostly older and more experienced opposition. They also deserve a lot of credit for keeping their concentration and cool despite the pressure cooker atmosphere provided by the national finals.
Tomorrow we play Cambridgeshire for 3rd place, starting at 08:00, and live scoring can be found HERE
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