Two years after his last appearance for the East Riding Men's team, Jamie Gregory made a timely return to the fold as he captured the winning point in a thriller against Sheffield Union at Brough Golf Club.
The fixture was much anticipated with both teams looking to keep pressure on YIDU league leaders Halifax & Huddersfield. A defeat for either team would almost certainly mean the end of their 2024 title challenge.
The morning foursomes were predictably tight with the spoils being shared.
Yorkshire regulars Steve Uzzell and Jack Northgraves (pictured) led the team off and were soon into their stride and wrapped up a 5&4 win. Another white rose pairing, Jack Maxey and Aaron Brettell, were out second, but had to settle for a half against the steely Sheffield pairing of Jon Berrisford and Jon McGuinness.
East Riding remained unbeaten in match three where Jacob Hodgson and Ryan Gray had their chances late on but also had to share the points.
In match four, a new look pairing of Jonnie Fisher and Luke Thornton couldn't reach the last and went down 2&1, but another debut partnership, Leigh Gawley and Tom Duck, gelled quickly and brought back a full point with a 2up victory. In the anchor match, Tom Brown and Jamie Gregory never got going and went down 5&4. Not the return Jamie was looking for, but he would more than make up for it a few hours later!
So 6-6 at lunchtime and all to play for against a Sheffield side who have won the league 8 times since 2011.
Steve Uzzell was in a hurry to get his Euro final build up started and dominated the top match with an impressive 6&5 victory over Luke Turner from Hallowes. Jack Northgraves couldn't quite follow suit and lost out on the final green to bring the overall match score to 8-8.
Most of the rest of the top and middle order were in no mood for tight finishes with big wins for Jack Maxey, Ryan Gray and Jacob Hodgson. Only recent Oakdale Acorn winner Aaron Brettell went the distance and was held to a half in a high quality match four. East Riding now had a 15-9 lead and closing in on a third consecutive win over the Sheffield Union.
Jonnie Fisher lost his match at the short 17th, but Leigh Gawley completed his second win of the day with his 6&4 win to move the score along to 17-11 in favour of the home team. Just one more win to find....
Tom Duck lost at the last, shortly followed by Hessle's Luke Thornton who also succumbed on the final green. Could Tom Brown find the win in the penultimate match? Sadly, he also came up just short at the tricky par 4 18th, leaving all eyes on Jamie Gregory (pictured below) in the anchor singles. Thankfully a succession of quality chips and gutsy putts kept his nose in front and the Ganton man closed out his match on the 17th much to the relief of the large home support.
So a 19-17 win keeps ERUGC in the hunt for a third title in four years and effectively puts Sheffield out of the running with their 2-2-0 record for the season.
Steve Uzzell and Leigh Gawley both had 100% records on the day and remain well clear in first and second respectively in the Player of the Year standings.
Thanks to all at Brough Golf Club for presenting the course in such wonderful condition and for looking after both teams on the day. Starter Andy Pittaway kept things in order on the first tee as superbly as ever.
Next up is another traditionally tough fixture - an away trip to Leeds Union at Wike Ridge on Sunday 4 August. Leeds suffered an unexpected defeat to Bradford in gameweek four, but will be eager to get back to winning ways when East Riding come calling.
Full results, fixtures and table
