The penultimate game of the 2023 season saw the East Riding Union travel to Normanton Golf Club to face the always strong Leeds Union. A win would secure a top three finish for the East Riding which would be a tremendous achievement for the team.
Under damp skies, the morning foursomes matches got underway in that really fine “wet rain”!! The early exchanges were tight with most games close after nine holes.
A highlight was Tom Adcock lipping out for a hole in one on the downhill par 4 5th! Tom and his partner, George Walker, were obviously in a hurry as they finished their match early with a 7&6 win. First points to East Riding.
This was soon followed by Luke Thornton [pictured above] and Warren Burns with a solid 3&1 win. Luke Townhill and Ewan MacKenzie managed to win on the last, as did Alfie Slater and Bobby Beasley.
Honours were even in match three for Callum Burns and George Coope. On balance, probably a fair result. So all eyes were on the last match of Harry Mukerjea and Ben Staveley to see if a good morning was to become a great morning. In another thriller which went to last hole, the home side prevailed - just - for their only win of the morning! So at half time the East Riding were 9-3 up.
Large leads always make management nervous. The team was reminded of this whilst having lunch and warned of a fast start from the home side. However it was the East Riding who drew first blood in the afternoon. Luke Townhill was obviously in hurry and made short work of his match winning 7&6. But it soon became clear it was going to be a very close afternoon!
There was only one win in the top five matches for the East Riding, that coming from Callum Burns who was on a good form all day, winning comfortably 4&2. A battling half point from Bobby Beasley and a solid 4&2 win from the back to form Alfie Slater meant that the tail needed to wag strongly to take a rare victory on Leeds territory.
Ben Staveley fought hard to recover from 5 down after 10 to take his match to the 18th, eventually losing 2 down. Tom Adcock ran into an inspired opponent in the afternoon and unfortunately lost his match 4&3. So with two games left on the course, the match was tied 16-16. A very nervous affair for both camps!!
George Coope was playing the last all square and Harry Mukerjea was 2up with two holes to play. This was too close to call. As it transpired, George fought hard but came up just short, whilst Harry managed to hang on for the win, so the match was tied 18-18.
Thank you to our hosts today, the Leeds Union and Normanton Golf Club for your hospitality. Thank you to all those who came to support us today. Much appreciated. So, once more unto the breech dear friends!
Next week sees East Riding's final fixture of the campaign with a trip to Teesside Golf Club on Friday 25 August. With a win, East Riding can finish second in the 2023 YIDU junior league, but a loss would mean they have to settle for fourth. It's been that sort of season! Results and standings
Luke Townhill's second maximum haul in five days takes him to the top of the Player of the Year standings with 30 points. He stays just one ahead of Alfie Slater, who also won both matches at Leeds, as Ewan Mackenzie and George Coope slip to 3rd and 4th respectively.
Sunil Mukerjea
Junior Team Manager
