Gloucestershire

ENGLISH BOYS' COUNTY FINALS

Following the U18's success at Broadstone GC earlier in the year the team are at Teignmouth GC for the English Boys' County Finals - Tuesday 25th - Thursday 29th August.

We will endeavour to keep you posted of their progress and you can also follow them using the link: HERE

AMBROSE EAVES	FINN ELLIS	OSCAR LINTON	ASH MILLINGTON - CAPTAIN
JAXSON PERRY	LEO POWELL	JOEL WARNE	TEAM WITH SUPPORT CREW

DAY ONE: TUESDAY 27TH AUGUST - GLOUCESTERSHIRE 3.5 V YORKSHIRE 5.5

After a couple of very windy practice days, the weather conditions were a little more tranquil for our first match against Yorkshire, albeit there was still some wind coming from the South which made playing conditions quite tricky

With the Foursomes pairings agreed the night before, it was Ash Millington & Leo Powell who led the way for Gloucestershire in the morning session. They were down early doors and battled throughout the round to secure a half point with a magnificent up and down on the last hole. It was much the same for the second pairing of Ambrose Eaves and Jaxson Perry who lost a couple of early holes but then fought bravely to recover the early deficit and secure our first win with a 2up victory. The last pairing of Finn Ellis and Joel Warne lost the first 4 holes and were 5 down after 9 but managed to reduce the deficit to only 2 holes by the 13th before eventually losing 3 & 2. So it was honours even at lunchtime with the scores at 1.5 v 1.5.

In the afternoon singles, Oscar Linton was included in the side with Finn Ellis making way and with the exception of Ash, it was much the same in the afternoon with Yorkshire taking the early advantage in nearly all the other games. Ash was 5 up after 7 but was pegged back by his opponent before eventually winning his match 3 & 1. Unfortunately the next 4 games were lost with Leo losing 3 & 2, Jaxson 2  & 1, Ambrose 3 & 2 and Oscar 2 & 1. This left Joel as the only player able to secure another win and after being 2 down after 7 holes, he fought his way back  to win 1 up. 

So a disappointing first day overall with a 5.5 v 3.5 win to  be Yorkshire. In the other match,  Cambridgeshire beat Kent by the same scoreline so it’s still all to play for tomorrow as Gloucestershire play Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire play Kent. A win tomorrow will put us in great shape for the Final match against Kent on Thursday so hopefully the boys come out with all guns blazing. 

It was great to see so many  of the “Green Army”  at Teignmouth GC supporting the boys and thanks go to all of them for making the trip down. 

Fingers crossed for a more favourable result tomorrow! 

SHOTS OF THE DAY 

The treacherous 444 yard 15th hole where Ambrose and his opponent  both hit the green with 3 excellent approach shots and both made par 4’s despite the green!

Captain Ash: 350yard opening drive down the par 5 1st to start the day - 400yard tee shot on the par5 13th - worldly chip on 18 to setup a par save to half his foursomes with Leo

Leo had overshot the par3 18 and put Ash on the path behind the green, which he then had to drop on to a hanging lie off the 10th tee. Ash hit the chip to 10ft for Leo to sink the par putt. Some up and down to save the game.

Captain Ash Millington leads the team	Playing for this beauty!	Captains' Office
Tied AM Foursomes with Yorkshire and ready for PM Singles	Final scores for Day 1 - onwards and upwards for Day 2!	Day 1 League Table

DAY TWO: WEDNESDAY 28TH AUGUST - GLOUCESTERSHIRE 5 V CAMBRIDGESHIRE 4

Day 2 was a must win game against Cambridgeshire to stand any chance of winning the competition on the final day against Kent. Cambridgeshire won their match against Kent the previous day so were formidable opponents in the match ahead. 

It was the same foursomes pairings as on Day 1 but the order was changed  slightly with Ambrose & Jaxson switching places with Finn & Joel in the order.  Ash & Leo were out first and came up against some formidable opposition in 2 England U18 players. They played some really good golf along the way but unfortunately lost 4 & 2. Finn & Joel then secured an excellent half in the 2nd match out with Joel holing a good 5ft putt on the last to seal the half point. The youngsters were the final pairing out and Jaxson & Ambrose ran out worthy winners 4&3 to secure a very valuable point.

So it was into lunch level pegging at 1.5 v 1.5 with all to play for in the afternoon. Everyone held their own early on in the afternoon singles with all the games going in Gloucestershire’s favour. It stayed that way for much of the front nine until Ash went 1 down on the 7th hole and unfortunately didn’t recover, eventually losing 3 & 2. 

Leo was the 2nd match up and he had a truly magnificent 6 & 5 win having played some great golf along the way. Next up was Jaxson and he won his match with ease by a 5 & 4 margin and with only 3 games left out on the golf course who were all up through 9, a win was certainly looking positive. Finn was the 4th game out and he had a great game against his opponent with holes being traded on frequent occasions throughout the match Unfortunately, Finn just came up short on the last losing 1 down. So with the scores level at 2 v 2 in the afternoon singles, it was  in the hands of Ambrose and Joel to secure the win. Ambrose secured a very important half point in the penultimate game albeit with a tinge of disappointment having been 3 up with 4 holes to play and that only left Joel out on the golf course who was playing  some great golf. He was 3 up through 14 so surely it was only a matter of time before he won his match and it wasn’t long before the team were able to celebrate as Joel won the next hole winning his match 4 & 3 and securing a 5 v 4 overall win

Yorkshire won their match against Kent leaving them top of the table with Cambridgeshire  in 2nd, us in 3rd on goal difference with Kent bringing up the rear. We  need  Cambridgeshire to beat Yorkshire by the slenderest of margins tomorrow and for us to beat  Kent handsomely in order to take home the trophy and the boys are certainly up to the task. 

So still all to play for tomorrow and the boys will all be up for breakfast 6.30am ready to do battle against Kent in the first match out on what promises to  be a very exciting last day. 

SHOT OF THE DAY:

Joel Warne hit his shot on the 215 yard par 4 seventh hole to 10 ft and sunk the putt after his opponent had missed the green left and hit a miraculous chip to about 3ft so Joel had to hole the putt to win the hole! It was great!

Ash leads off Day 2, with another stunning drive down the Par 5 1st leaving Leo with 140yds into the green!	Jaxson holes his birdie putt on 3rd to go 1 up.	Captain Chaos!	Leo just misses 20 footer on 6th to remain 1up
'Who's got the keys?'	AM Results	Finn and Joel on 18th, which they won to half their game	President Ian tests the weight of the trophy with Security keeping a watch.

Day 2 -Final Scores	Day 2 - League Table

DAY 3: THURSDAY 29TH AUGUST - GLOUCESTERSHIRE 5.5 V KENT 3.5

The team arrived at Teignmouth GC in good spirits, despite the early alarm calls at 6am, and ready for the challenge ahead. We were the first match out knowing that a big win was required to stand any chance of winning the title.

It was the same foursomes pairings as on the previous two days with Ash & Leo leading the way. Their match was hard fought and they eventually overcame their opponents on the 16th green winning 3&2. In the last match, Ambrose & Jaxson won 2 &1 leaving only Finn & Joel out on the course. They were 2 up with 2 to play but unfortunately lost the final 2 holes to halve their match leaving the lunchtime score 2.5 v 0.5 in favour of Gloucestershire, so overall an excellent morning’s work. Yorkshire won their morning session 2 v 1 against Cambridgeshire so it was still all to play for and we were all set up for an exciting afternoon of golf.

Ash led the way again in the singles but came up against some stiff opposition and lost on the 16th green 3 & 2. However, we won all 3 of the next singles matches with |Leo winning 3&2, Jaxson winning 2 up and Finn winning 4 & 2 so the big win we were after was still on. However, news from the Yorkshire match was not good as they were up early doors in nearly all their matches but we still needed to finish strongly in case they faltered in anyway. Ambrose was ahead for most of his match but narrowly missed out securing a point losing 2 down on the last. Joel was 3 down early in his game but fought his way back to all square standing on the 17th tee but he lost a ball from his tee shot which resulted in him losing that hole and he also lost the last to finish 2 down. So with honours even in the afternoon singles the overall score was 5.5 v 3.5 in favour of Gloucestershire. Attention then turned to the Yorkshire game and sure enough, they won the afternoon session 4.5 v 1.5 winning 6.5 v 2.5 overall and securing the title of England County Boys Champions.

Upon completion of the Yorkshire v Cambridgeshire match, attention turned to the Presentation and once the speeches were over all the team Captains went up to receive a memento in memory of the week which each of the boys was able to take home. The results were then read out and Kent came 4th, Cambridgeshire 3rd with 2 points, Gloucestershire 2nd with 4 points and the winners were Yorkshire with 6 points and the Yorkshire team then stepped up to receive the trophy.

Throughout the week the boys received excellent support from the GGU “Green Army” and thanks go to our President, Ian Hughes who was with us all week; the Vice President, Richard Salter; Past Presidents Dereck Butler, Steve Sheppard & Alan Robinson; 1st Team Captain Gary Ward; Coaching Chairman Dave Hares and Ian & Mary Cornwall for being so supportive throughout the event. Also, a special mention to both Tom Motley & Chris Lloyd who were providing help and guidance to the boys throughout the week and they were all certainly well prepared for the event as a result. But most of all the boys must be congratulated on an excellent performance and for conducting themselves in such an exemplary manner. They should all be very proud of what they achieved.

We now all look forward to next year and hopefully we will be able to qualify for the England Finals again when we play the SW U18 boys Championships next July down in Perranporth.   

Ian James - U18's Match Manager

Spectacular Views!	Jaxson on 6th Hole	Finn on 7th	AM Scores and PM Draw

		Day 3 - match final scores	Finals Table
	The youngest member of the Gloucestershire Team, Jaxson Perry, pictured left features in the England Golf report: Read HERE		Finally, this isn't the first time we have played Teignmouth GC. In 1980 the team pictured left (L-R - Duncan Wren, David Hearn, David Hares, Peter Ackford (Pres) and Andrew New) represented Gloucestershire in the SW Boys Championships. 44 years on it’s fair to say that the ‘Class of 2024’ are slightly better kitted out than this lot!

VERY WELL PLAYED TEAM!

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