Eastern Counties Foursomes Championship

The BB&O First Team competed in the Eastern Counties Foursomes for the third year and narrowly missed out to Essex by just one point. Having led after the first day a very tight second day saw Essex win by the narrowest of margins having had a better third session on Sunday morning.

For a full report from our Team Manager, Ashley Walton, please see below.

The Team at Seacroft

From the left - Alex Nicholls (Goring & Streatley), Aaron Ashberry (Burford), Shane Slatter (Calcot), George Bayis (Harewood Downs), Charlie Gold (The Berkshire), Ashley Walton (Captain)

Lee White (Frilford Heath), Adam Birdseye (Maidenhead), Craig Buttivant (Gerrards Cross), Peter Handcock (Harleyford), Adam Batty (Beaconsfield), Rory Browne (Feldon Valley)

CAPTAIN'S REPORT

On the weekend of 19th/20th May, the BB&O First Team travelled to Seacroft Golf Club to compete in the annual Eastern Counties Foursomes Championship. A total of 9 counties play in this event, each with a team of 10 players. Matches between all 9 counties then take place over the 2 days, all played in foursomes format. BB&O have only recently started playing again in this event where in 2016 we had finished 9th with 9.5 points and 5th in 2017 with 19 points. There was not just hope but a real expectation of continuing that progression trend in 2018. 

On the Saturday morning BB&O played Norfolk and Essex. Matches against Essex are always hotly contended and this match offered the opportunity to hit back as Essex had beaten BB&O in their most recent encounter. In the top match BB&O were represented by Rory Browne and County debutant Charlie Gold. Rory & Charlie played some great golf and beat both Essex & Norfolk. In the second match, another debutant, Shane Slatter and Peter Handcock followed suit to deliver two further points for BB&O. Match 3 was a slightly closer affair. George Bell and debutant Alex Nicholls were 1 down with 2 to play in both matches. A great finish by George and Alex gave us a half with Essex and a win against Norfolk! The 4th match pairing was Lee White & Adam Birdseye. Unfortunately two tough games resulted in a loss in both matches. The final pair were our top points scorers from 2017.  Aaron Ashberry & Adam Batty ended the morning session with mixed emotions comfortably beating Norfolk but losing to Essex on the last. This all added up to 6.5 points for BB&O, leaving us in second place behind Leicestershire & Rutland after a strong morning session.

The Saturday afternoon saw BB&O pitched against Bedfordshire and home County, Lincolnshire. Playing with the same pairings and in the same order, Rory & Charlie in the top game were once again superb and finished with 3 straight birdies to win both matches convincingly. Shane & Peter lost their way a little in the 2nd match and lost both games. George and Alex were once again having a highly competitive game but finished strongly to beat Bedfordshire and Lincolnshire. Lincolnshire took the game to the last hole where George & Alex again showed their battling qualities. In the 4th match, Lee & Adam had found their groove and beat Lincolnshire but dogged play from Bedfordshire at the end of the match saw them earn a half. In the bottom game, Aaron & Adam had a roller coaster of a match but managed to hold on to win both points again. BB&O finished the session with 7.5 points and had the overall lead in the event by 1 point over Essex.

On Sunday morning BB&O were pitted against Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire with the same pairings and order. Rory & Charlie were unable to find their Saturday form and lost both games in the top match. Shane & Peter were also struggling to find their form from Saturday morning and also lost both games. In the 3rd match there was some more positive news where George and Alex had yet another close match, this time beating Cambridgeshire and losing to Northamptonshire on the last. With things looking bleak for BB&O for the first time in the weekend, Lee & Adam stepped up and delivered 2 convincing victories to earn 2 points. Aaron & Adam also found another gear and comfortably delivered 2 more points for BB&O. This left us with 5 points from the morning session and in 2nd place just 1 point behind Essex.

In the final session on Sunday afternoon BB&O had to play Leicestershire & Rutland (sitting 3rd) and Suffolk (sitting 5th). In the top match, Rory & Charlie were not having a good afternoon and found themselves 6 down and 4 down through 8 holes. Not ones to give up they somehow dug deep and found the missing ingredient. A succession of birdies saw them claw their way back to being all square with Leicestershire and 2 up against Suffolk!! However, there was to be a final twist. Some excellent play from their opponents couple with an agonisingly horseshoe out on the 17th, they ended up halving with Suffolk and losing on the last to Leicestershire. Following a change of order, Lee & Adam went out in the second group. Both of their games seemed to stay at AS all the way round, until they 17th went 1 down to both opponents. With a fantastic birdie on the last Lee and Adam managed to turn two defeats into two half points. BB&O's 3rd pairing of Shane & Craig Buttivant lost to two very good pairings. Craig had travelled independently of the team to offer his support and acted as a reserve and took the place of Peter for the afternoon session. In the final match, Aaron & Adam put on a masterclass to win both of their games comfortably. This left just the 4th match on course. Battle hardened George and Alex were once again caught up in a closely fought match! A strong finish saw them beat Leicestershire on the 17th, but Suffolk were holding them off with great golf of their own. Once again the match went down the last with BB&O 1 down. Having to 2 putt from 50 feet to win the hole and half the match. Alex put BB&O hearts in mouths and left George with a testing five footer. George was up to the task and planted his putt firmly in the middle of the hole to the delight of his team mates and BB&O Secretary and President. This left BB&O with 5 points from the session and an anxious wait to see how Essex had got on.

Mixed reports suggested that Essex had either won the session easily or were really struggling! In the end, it turned out to be somewhere in the middle, and Essex also came in with 5 points from the session and just pipped BB&O to the title by a single point. Although it was really disappointing for the team to lose by such a small margin, they can be proud of their runners up position and continued improvement in this prestigious event. Essex were worthy winners and we look forward to locking horns with them next year.

Ashley Walton

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