The Elite team really turned on the style on a wet and blustery day against Hampshire at Sandford Springs. on 6th April.

The ‘Woods’ and ‘Lakes’ 9’s were in good condition though all the players found the pace of the greens difficult. The match consisted of 5 morning foursomes matches played over the ‘Woods’ 9 holes, followed after lunch by 10 singles matches played over the ‘Woods’ 9 and the ‘Lakes’ 9.

BB&O came out ahead in all 5 of the morning foursomes although 4 of the matches went to the last hole. The afternoon singles matches were quite even over the first 9 holes of play with each County up in three matches with the rest all square. BB&O were well behind in the three rubbers with Michael East, Alex Nicholls and George Gardner all struggling against dogged opponents. All three staged spirited fight backs over the back 9 with each taking their opponent to the 18th hole. Michael won the last two holes to win his match whilst Alex won the 18th to halve his match. George having pegged his opponent back to all square by the 16th lost the 17th and went on to lose his match by a single hole. It was great to watch the three of them demonstrate such a strong competitive spirit when not playing at their best.

Elliot Wills, Patrick Bart and Louie Moore played extremely well in their respective rubbers dispatching their opponents with plenty to spare. Patrick at 6ft 3in played Hampshire’s smallest player, George Saunders, at 5ft nothing. It was something of a ‘David and Goliath’ matchup. George, being out driven by 80 yards on most tee shots, established a ‘2up’ lead at one stage through accurate driving and a tidy short game. Patrick held his nerve, however, and made his length off the tee pay turning the match round in his favour.

The overall margin of victory was 13-2 in favour of BB&O though this was probably a bit harsh on the Home side. Of the eight matches on the day that were won by a single hole, BB&O won seven of them against Hampshire’s one. It is testimony to the BB&O boys that they managed to come out on the right side in a number of the close matches.

The matches were played in a competitive manner despite this fixture being in essence a friendly. It was apparent that both Counties had a good respect for each other as both BB&O and Hampshire have a history of producing good quality juniors and junior teams. It was therefore pleasing to come out on the winning side on this occasion.

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