Seeking our first win in the Senior Men’s County Finals since 2008, we went into the third and final day at Harrogate having lost one game and won one. This also applied to Lincolnshire, Sussex and Cornwall, so all four teams were in with a shout of winning the title. We had a highlight on day 1 with a hole-in-one for Richard Stockdale.
The Cheshire team comprised:
Martin Keates (Prestbury)
Richard Stockdale (Knutsford)
Paul Knight (Eastham Lodge)
Martyn Grimley (Ringway)
Neil Andrew (Northenden)
Guy Hindle (Warrington)
Mike Wallwork (Ringway)
Simon Bolam (Prestbury)
Chris Mitchelson took on the role of non-playing captain as our usual captain, Martin Keates, was more than fully occupied with his playing role.
Front: Guy Hindle, Mike Wallwork, Martyn Grimley
Our opponents in the final match were Cornwall, last year’s winners. The morning foursomes were shared with 1.5 points each, but we won four of the six afternoon singles to clinch a tremendous win 5.5 to 3.5.
Meanwhile, Lincolnshire were forging ahead against Sussex, whereas we were hoping for a draw. It was not to be and Lincolnshire won, leaving them on the same 4 point total as ourselves. In the event of a tie, the countback works on game points and Lincolnshire had 15 to our 14. A very difficult pill to swallow, but we congratulate Lincolnshire who beat us on day 1 and for whom this was their first County Finals success. Well done to Richard Latham and his team.
This was a tremendous performance by our team in what is a gruelling event with 36 holes on three consecutive days. League results have been very disappointing this year but the success in winning the qualifying at Wilmslow breathed confidence into the players. Despite the unavailability of Gareth Bradley, the team did extremely well against three strong teams in the finals at a very hospitable Harrogate GC.
To read a full report on the England Golf website click here
Full scores: click here
Images from day 1
