First Team V Middlesex
On Sunday 2nd September, the BBO First Team played Middlesex at Frilford Heath in their Final League match of the year. Previous results meant that there was no opportunity for either side to win the league, however the winner would have the privilege of finishing 3rd.
In the morning foursomes there was some excellent early play, with 3 of the 4 BBO Pairs making a 2 at the very tricky 3rd hole on the Blue Course. In the top game, David Langley (Castle Royle) & Olly Huggins (Frilford Heath) were having a tight game, however back to back wins on the 7th & 8th put them 2 up. Solid golf had kept them 2 up with 2 to play, however good play by the Middlesex pair over the last 2 holed earned them a halved match. In the 2nd game, Tim Shin (Castle Royle) & George Bell (Harewood Downs) had a very fast start to be 3 up through 3. However they were slowly pegged back during the game and following an excellent chip-in on the 16th by the Middlesex pair, they were also pegged back to a halved game. In the 3rd match, Adam Birdseye (Maidenhead) & George Baylis (Mill Ride) were having and extremely close game. With hardly a hole in it all the way around it was inevetivable that it would go down the last hole, however Adam & George couldn’t find the final birdie they needed and lost 1 down. The final game was also very tight, with Adam Batty (Beaconsfield) & Rory Browne (Feldon Valley) finding themselves 1 down through 10. However they stepped it up a gear and won 4 of the next 6 hoies to win 3&2 and leave the match 2-2 at lunchtime.
David Langley, fresh off of an excellent 3rd place at the South of England Links Championship and getting back at 11:30pm the night before, led the way for BBO in the singles. However this match proved to be a round of golf too many in the weekend for David. Despite an excellent late rally to get himself back in the game he unfortunately lost 2&1. Tim Shin was out 2nd, and played excellently all the way to ease to a 2&1 win. In the 3rd game there was a real tussle. Olly Huggins was 2 down with 6 to play, birdied the 13th to go back to 1 down. He still found himself 1 down with 2 to play, but some determined play over the last 2 holes saw him turn the match around to win 1up. In the 4th game, George Baylis was playing some great golf, but came up against a force of nature, with the Middlesex player making 7 birdies in his last 10 holes to take a 2&1 win over George. In the 5th game, George Bell was a little out of sorts and despite all his efforts just couldn’t find the secret and unfortunately lost 3&2. This left Middlesex with a strong hold on the match with 3 matches still on course. However BBO had some aces up their sleeves. Adam Birdseye finished with a barrage of birdies to win his game convincingly 6&5. Adam Batty followed suit with some excellent golf to win 4&2, guaranteeing at least a halved match for BBO. This left the game down to the last game, but Rory Browne was not in the mood to string things out, and fired an impressive 6 under through 16 to win 3&2 and give the BBO a 7-5 victory to finish the season, guaranteeing a 3rd place finish in the league.
All attention now turn to the preparation for the English County Finals at the end of September at Aldeburgh GC in Suffolk.
Click Here for the full match result
