2nd team v Norfolk

Northamptonshire was hosted by Royal Norwich for 3rd match of the season; the facilities were superb with smooth greens and a challenging course ahead of us.

The positive tone of the weekend was set early with all 8 players committing to the practice round on Saturday which helped build team spirit and momentum, which proved to be crucial for the Sunday matches. 

In the absence of our Team Manager, Ian Townsend, the players have pulled together once again to help produce the match report. 

Morning Foursomes

Match 1 – Following an impressive practice round Kai Raymond and Ryan Statham were set to lead out Northamptonshire, playing against Theo Pudney and James Tipling. Kai and Ryan started off with some solid golf going 1 up after the first few holes after being 1 under as a pair. However, they struggled to keep up the good golf around the mid point of their round, causing the match to be level going down the final stretch - only to lose the last couple of holes to some good golf by our opponents. Match 1 lost 2&1

Match 2 – Brand new pairing Andy Saunders and Adam Scott were next up against Ryan Clarke and Peter Murphy. With the Northamptonshire duo meeting officially for the first time on Saturday, they wasted no time in gelling as a pair and managing the torrential downpour (where’s your waterproof Adam?) to come out as the convincing winners with 2 holes to go, the pair managed to go round bogey free one under. Match 2 won 4&2

Match 3 – Experienced duo James Barker and Richard Dalton were feeling good heading into the morning match following a solid practice round, they were taking on Darren Abbs ad Josh Weeds. The good golf continued to flow by the Northamptonshire pair, however, good golf will only get you so far against a putting clinic by the Norfolk pair with putts dropping from rude distances. Match 3 lost 5&3

Match 4 – Captain Ben Hawkins and Sam Bird took on Luke Johnson and Tom Matthews who were hoping their home course advantage would pay dividends. The Norfolk pair came out the blocks quickly taking an early lead, they weren’t putting a foot wrong and remained in the driving seat. The pair at the back had an uphill battle, being 3dn 5 to play, it all came down to playing the 18th whilst 1dn. 2 great shots on the par 5 finishing hole saw the chance to eagle the last to grab an all important half. Sadly it wasn’t meant to be, with the eagle attempt just brushing the lip to half in birdies. Match 4 lost 1dn.

Morning Result: Norfolk 3 – 1 Northamptonshire

Work to be done in the afternoon singles, but no heads were down. Some heavy blows taken but the Northamptonshire ranks were ready to fight back. To spoil the drama, every single match teed off on 17, a testament to the character of the team. The afternoon singles were played in 4 balls due to a congested course.

Match 1 – Adam Scott was out top to set the example for everyone else. Having gone 2dn early on, a string of 3 birdies corrected that to get him to 2up at the turn. From then his class showed as he commanded the game to a 3&1 victory.

Match 2 – Ryan Statham looking keen to correct the morning loss was up against a firing Theo Pudney who birdied 4 of the first 6 to leave Ryan 4dn. A fight was on his hands as he looked determined to get back into the game, birdies late on from Ryan took him to the 17th whilst dormie down, a half in pars saw the game end in a 2&1 loss.

Match 3 – Fresh off his Nett County Champs win Kai Raymond needed no help with shots, he knows his level is at county golf. Kai managed to establish an early lead despite the short game clinic his opponent was putting on. After being 3 under at the turn the match was in Kai’s favour. He was able to hold on for a 2 and one win, finishing with a par on 17 to seal the match.

Match 4 – Andy Saunders was set up with the battle of the long hitters against Pete Murphy, Andy started with a consistent display of golf with 13 pars in a row, putting pressure on his opponent. After a last minute surge of fighting back from his opponent, Andy saw himself 1 up going down the last - against someone who hits the ball at tour level distance. He managed to secure his second point of the day with a confident finish, winning 2&1.

Match 5 – Richard Dalton was a motivated man looking to right the mornings wrongs (even if the wrongs are watching putts drop from everywhere against you). A great game between the pair with Dalts having the edge all the way to the last hole where the game was eventually halved.

Match 6 – James Barker was up against another long hitter who was occasionally erratic, but always seemed to knock in a 15 footer for par. He was down for most of the match, but as you'd expect, stepped up and hit the right shots at the right time.  From 1 down with 3 to play, he played the last 3 perfectly for his 2 up win. Never give up, never surrender.

As the final pair approached the 17th tee (a beautiful par 3), word was filtering back about the potential come back thanks to the strong golf being played in front, captain Ben was trying to work out what was needed to bring the victory back to Northamptonshire. With the games in front that had finished on the 17th, the Northamptonshire players stayed out in the 2nd downpour of the day to cheer on the final group. Motivating Sam and Ben to play some of their best golf.

Match 7 – Sam Bird was a close game throughout with neither player getting more than 2 holes ahead. At the turn Sam was 2 up but was outclassed by his opponents sharp short game which lead to him standing one down on the 17th tee. A brilliant birdie putt brought the game back to all square. 18 was halved with pars. A fair result for a good sporting match.

Match 8 – Ben Hawkins was bringing up the rear and was fearful to face the same fate as Dalts and Barker in the morning, watching putt after putt from distance drop against Darren to be 3dn 5 to play. Digging deep and getting birdies on 14 and 16 to get to 1dn playing 17. A par on 17 was enough to see the match all square down the last. 18 was halved in pars meaning the match finished A/S. Which was enough to see the game swing in Northamptonshire’s favour. A proud moment for the captain to win the game. 

Match result

Norfolk 5.5 – 6.5 Northamptonshire 

To sign off, the team spirit and cohesion shown from this cohort was a proud moment for the captain, the players fought for each other and went to the very end, reaping the rewards.

Onto Lincolnshire.

Signing off,

Ben Hawkins 2nd team captain (speaking in third person).