Cornwall Golf Union
Cornwall U16 Boys win Ben Enoch Trophy as U14s Win Again
(L to R: Dave Drewett, Harry Richards, Tommy Miller, Hugo Watson, Harry Drewett, James Tucknott, Heath Coombes, Kai Dingle, Jack Welch, Matt Tucknott)
On what was another great day in what has been a great month for Cornish Junior Golf, the U16 Boys team became winners of the Ben Enoch Trophy with a win in their final match against Dorset at St Austell GC.
Hot on the back of last week's away win in Somerset the unbeaten U16s scored an impressive 9 - 3 win to top the end of season table and to put icing on the cake there was another win for the U14s as they too beat Dorset 7.5 - 4.5.
[U16 Team Manager Dave Drewett reports]
The Under 16 team arrived at a most hospitable St. Austell golf club for the final Match of this year’s Ben Enoch league knowing just a draw or a win would guarantee they would be this year’s champions.
Our preparation for this game had been meticulous and by now the boys were all very well acquainted with the course. The numerous practice matches and county training sessions conducted at the course would surely give us a competitive advantage over the only team that could beat us.
Dorset’s team were a strong one, in fact it would emerge that on paper they had significantly lower handicaps than Cornwall overall and were clearly serious about retaining the trophy they had won a year earlier.
The weather on the day was much improved from the deluge of rain which had fallen the previous evening. The forecast was dry with a fresh breeze. It would be remiss of me not to mention the superb condition of the course that was presented to us that morning. Many compliments to the green staff, the greens were the best I have seen on my travels this year.
St. Austell member and stalwart of junior golf for many years Alan Lund ushered the boys to the first tee where he announced the pairings and started the matches off at the scheduled tee times. Thank you for your support Alan.
My boys knew exactly what was required of them and were urged not to be complacent. They responded in typical fashion, emphatically winning the morning foursomes games 3 - 1. Tommy Miller and Heath Coombes recorded a 4/2 win, Harry Richards and Jack Welch won 1 up and the stand out performance of the day a quite incredible 10/8 victory in the last game for James Tucknott and Kai Dingle. We were only denied obtaining the maximum 4 points when Hugo’s and Harry’s opponents snatched an unlikely victory with a miraculous birdie from the trees on the last hole.
After a short break for lunch play resumed and a now quietly confident team were reassured by the knowledge we only required 3 points from the 8 available in the singles matches.
Whilst some of the matches were close initially, the momentum always continued with Cornwall throughout the afternoon. It was evident that the boys weren’t going to let this opportunity slip- With early wins for JT again! 7/6 and Hugo 5/4 and a further 2 matches favouring us at Dormie, we had by now accumulated the sufficient point tally required to beat Dorset.
The matches finally concluded with wins for Harry 5/3, Kai 2/1, Tommy 3/2, Harry D and Heath both A/S and a loss for Jack 3/1 in what ultimately proved a comfortable 9 to 3 win for the Cornwall boys.
Cornwall U16’s are Champions and my word do they deserve to be! What an amazing bunch of young gentlemen they are and I am very proud of what they have achieved. Take a bow lads.
[U14 Team Manager Mark Wallwork reports]
Firstly, we would like to thank Alan Lund our Past CGU Juniors President for being in attendance and carrying out starter duties so efficiently. Then St Austell Golf Club, for providing their excellently presented golf course and as always ensuring excellent catering/refreshments for players, parents and officials in this our last inter county match of the year.
It was a pleasure to welcome the Dorset boys and managers to Cornwall, which was a return match from last year’s very enjoyable away fixture at the fabulous Lyme Regis Golf Course. We would also like to thank all the parents from both counties who transported the boys from all over the South West to the fixture. I am sure all the boys do appreciate your effort’s and dedication to their game.
The course was in great condition and recovering well after the recent heatwave.
Starting the U14’s off in the foursomes were Tiernan Wallwork and Quinn Bateman. Tiernan playing it safe using an iron shot placing it left centre of the fairway giving Quinn a good iron shot onto the fringe of the green. Dorset put their 3rd shot into a bunker and draining the bunker shot for a 4, but Tiernan sank a 20ft putt to win the hole. Jago Crapp hits a big iron shot up to the bunkers just short of the green, also with good shots off the 1st were Archie Haynes and Joab Atkins.
Catching up with the boys on the 3rd hole Joab and Harrison Gurd were 2 down with Archie and Ryan Tozer 1 down,
On the 5th Archie and Ryan had brought it back to A/S, Joab and Harrison still battling at 2 down, with Jago and Jay finding it hard to win a hole going 3 down on the 5th. Tiernan and Quinn still holding their opponents to 1 up on 5.
Closing the 9 hole foursomes off - Tiernan and Quinn won their match 4&2, Joab and Harrison lost 2&4, Jago and Jay Dingle put up a real fight trying to bring it back but unfortunately lost 2&1. Leaving Cornwall 2-1 down with one match still playing.
The foursomes match of the day was with Archie and Ryan as they were 1 down going onto the 8th bringing it back to A/S going down the 9th with Cornwall hitting two fantastic shots into the green and Dorset pushing the ball out right giving them a difficult shot back onto the green. Up next is Ryan for a 10ft pressure putt and sinks it to bring Cornwall 2-2 going into the afternoon singles matches.
After a light lunch of sandwiches and chips, kindly provided by St Austell GC, the boys were ready for the singles matches.
The singles were too close to call for the first few holes, standing on the 5th Ryan, Harrison, and Tiernan were A/S, Archie 3 down, Joab and Jago 1 down, Quinn and Jay 1up.
Moving onto the 8th hole Archie’s fighting spirit and course knowledge pulled his game back to 2 down. Quinn lost a hole and let his opponent catch him up putting his game A/S, Harrison in his debut match having a proper battle, but keeping his game A/S. Jay the captain for the day was playing some steady golf by holding his lead to 2up with Ryan also going 2up.
Moving through the turn the match was heating up and we were beginning to see a few of the games unfolding with Tiernan going 3up, Ryan 2up, Quinn 1up, Jay and Archie both A/S Joab, Jago and Harrison all 3 down on 13. The back 5 holes became a make or break area for our boys, and they needed to be on point with their tee shots, even though we had some rain the day before as well as on the morning of the match, the ground was still very firm so course management was of key importance.
So as the scores started to come in Tiernan won 5&4, Ryan won 5&3, Joab lost 4&2, Jago lost 3&2 , meaning with 4 matches still active it was all to play for as we were now A/S over the day.
The state of play was Harrison 2 down with 3 to play, Quinn 1 down on 16, Archie won his match on the 17th 2&1 and Jay after a hard battle ended up halving his match. Quinn won the 16th hole and was now A/S on the 17th and Harrison from being 3 down on the 13th made a remarkable recovery bringing his match back to A/S stepping onto the 18th tee. Quinn dug his heels in and won the 17th going down the last 1 up. We now had a chance of sealing the win if one of our boys came home with a point. Both of the final groups had a following down the 18th from both counties showing great support for the boys. Quinn had a steady drive splitting the fairway and his second shot landed at the base of a tree but luck was on his side as it was a young sapling so free relief was given, he then put his next shot onto the green and sank the putt for par, his Dorset opponent had already taken 3 shots onto the green, therefore the match was over and the boys shook hands giving Quinn the 1up win. Harrisons fight back was still going on and he had a game to remember coming back from 3 down, winning his last 4 holes and winning his match 1up.
Final score of the day = Cornwall 7.5 - 3.5 Dorset.
So to recap on this month then. There was the outstanding win by the CLCGA Girls in their Inter Counties Match Week at Carlyon Bay, an away win for the U14s and U16s in Somerset and now two home wins for the pair. CGU Juniors President Matt Tucknott was delighted saying "This caps off a fantastic year for junior golf in Cornwall" Tucknott was very complimentary over St Austell's welcome and hospitality to both teams and thanked the club. He added "Home advantage shone through and course knowledge learnt during preparation sessions (at St Austell) definitely helped the boys in all of the matches".
Team Manager Dave Drewett said "It was always going to be a long afternoon for me even at 3-1 up at lunch. But the boys were brilliant and all of them have delivered across the season. I am really pleased for them." U14 Team Manager Mark Wallwork was equally pleased to see his team collect a back to back win saying "This was an excellent match result by the Cornish boys, and all of them should be very proud of their performances this season".
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