U14s Junior Boys Friendly match v Leicestershire & Rutland

Daniel Rees (right) - putt for the match but just missed Riley Hammond on his left. 

Having only just beaten L & R U-14 Juniors in the Keith Tripp Trophy at Lingdale and then been narrowly edged out by them in the Midland U-14 where L&R finished 4th and Northants 5th out of ten counties, we expected a tough match away at Lutterworth on Sunday and were eventually well beaten by a strong L&R side.

Missing Captain Josh Bland, Harry Odell, Harry Bliss, and Ollie Golby for a variety of reasons meant we were able to select some new players for this friendly on a course that was relatively new to our boys and proved difficult to master. Our team often struggled with judging shots to the greens and chipping and putting was generally much better from our opponents.

Acting Captain Daniel Rees and Riley Hammond -both playing in their final U-14s game - produced our best golf and almost snatched the win at the death but for putts which agonisingly slipped past or lipped out on 17 and 18. 

In the final game debutants James Chambers and Niall Goodridge played some outstanding shots to level up their match before eventually losing 3 & 2. All the pairings showed great fighting spirit to hit back after falling behind early on but the L&R teams were far better in making putts and judging the slopes on the testing Lutterworth course.

Several of this Northants team are now over-14 and have been reliable and committed team members for many years. My thanks goes to all the parents and the players for their fantastic support over a long period of time, it really has been a pleasure to see these boys improve and always give 100% ! They have represented the County brilliantly, with great sportsmanship and showing great etiquette at all times. I have been extremely proud of them all.

Derek Mankelow

New players making their debuts - Niall Goodridge (left -aged 11) and James Chambers (aged 12 - right)