Playing Bradford on their own turf is never easy. The courses are generally hilly, adding an extra dimension to club selection and Skipton GC is no exception. Uniquely the tees to the 1st, 3rd and 5th holes sit alongside each other at the top of a hill, so spectators can watch the early stages of the games, without having to move more than a few yards.
The East Riding team were resplendent in their new blue shirts and tops, kindly sponsored by Aaron Pheasant of Hull GC, although a few players were hiding their kit under extra layers as a cold easterly wind was blowing. Steve Uzzell led the foursomes away and, as the spectators drifted along the line of tees, the force was with the East Riding as they stood on the 5th tee, up in five and all square in the other.
However, by the turn, the initiative had swung towards Bradford, as they led in four matches with East Riding up in the other two. The pairs of both teams who were leading after 9 holes in the top five matches all went on to win their matches giving Bradford a 6 points to 4 advantage and with youngsters, Jack Northgraves & Luke Thornton 1 down with four to play, it was looking like an uphill task for East Riding in the afternoon singles.
However, the boys came to the heart-attack hill that is the 18th hole all square and, with Bradford bunkered short, Thornton played long, just running through the back of the green. Whilst Bradford failed to get up and down, Northgraves wisely elected to putt from the fringe down the lightning fast green, leaving the ball four feet short, which Thornton duly holed for the win and lunchtime parity at 6 points apiece.
As the afternoon singles matches progressed through the turn, it was looking very positive for East Riding, leading in six matches by a margin of 3 up or more, 1 up in another, all square in two and only 1 or 2 down in the remaining three. But the situation can change very quickly in team golf and, as Bradford duly won these three matches, they also took the two which had been all square after 9 holes, to take them to 16 points overall.
Uzzell, Tommy Risker, Dan Digby, Northgraves and Paul Lockwood all secured reasonably comfortable wins to put East Riding on 16 points and with Matty Raybould dormie 1 up and Aaron Brettell dormie 2 up, a tie was assured. Standing by the 17th green, with the aid of binoculars, Raybould was seen to bunker his second to the 18th, from which an up and down was considered unlikely and with his opponent seemingly on in two, it looked as if that match was halved.
Attention then turned to Brettell's match. Both players had missed the 17th green in two with Brettell having the more difficult pitch. His ensuing putt narrowly missed , leaving his opponent a three footer to take the match up the 18th. Tantalisingly, the putt lipped out and East Riding had won, not by 19:17, as initially thought but by 20:16 as it transpired that Raybould had halved the 18th to win his match.
The spectators witnessed some excellent shot-making, not least by Ryan Gray, who, having found his ball between two rocks in the penalty area in front 16th green played a recovery from there and then holed the subsequent putt for par. Sadly, for Gray, his opponent then holed out for a birdie!
Howard Palmer
ERU Men's Team Support
