The South Juniors set off from Dumfries on Saturday 26 July at lunchtime to play two Northern Counties Federation League matches against Durham and Northumberland on Sunday and Monday.
A practice round had been arranged at Boldon Golf Club, approx 5 miles north of Sunderland, in the afternoon. The boys set out in brilliant sunshine to acquaint themselves with the layout of the course but were amazed as they stood on the 5th tee at the top of the hill to see the Red Arrows fly just overhead to provide an accurate and daring display of precision flying over the North Sea at Sunderland. Golf was forgotten as they watched the intricate flying manoeuvres and appreciated the nerve and skill of the pilots. A wonderful display which lasted over twenty minutes.
It was their turn on Sunday morning to show their skills on the golf course as they set out for the morning foursomes in the match against Durham Juniors. The greens had lost some of their fire due to overnight rain but still were too fast and tricky for the South boys who lost the foursomes by 3 games to 1. In the afternoon the South team fared no better losing the singles by 6½ games to 1½. Rowan Marchbank was the only one to play to his potential gaining 1½ points from a possible 2. Sadly, Ross Whyte lost his unbeaten singles run. He now has 6 wins from 7 games. A bad start to the weekend but could the boys raise their game for the match against Northumberland on Monday?
Results
Morning Foursomes
Ross White (D&G) and Graeme Hoodless (Newton Stewart) lost to Jack Ainscough and James Wilson by 4 & 3
Rory Brunton (Portpatrick) and Fraser Hughes (Newton Stewart) lost to Cameron Wallace and Ryan Dixon by 4 & 3
Conor Harkness (D & G) and Rowan Marchbank (D & G) beat David Bingham and Nicholas Johnstone by 1 hole
Jamie Parker (Southerness) and Chris Shearman (Lochmaben) lost to Thomas Harbord and Rian Lamb by 3 & 2
Foursomes Score South 1 Durham 3
Afternoon Singles
Ross Whyte lost to Jack Ainscough by 4 & 2
Graeme Hoodless lost to James Wilson by 3 & 2
Rory Brunton lost to Cameron Wallace by 3 & 1
Fraser Hughes lost to Ryan Dixon by 5 & 4
Rowan Marchbank halved with David Bingham
Conor Harkness lost to Nicholas Johnstone by 1 hole
Chris Shearman beat Thomas Harbord by 6 & 5
Jamie Parker lost to Rian Lamb by 2 holes
Singles Score South 1½ Durham 6½
Match Result South 2½ Durham 9½
After a good night’s sleep in a Newcastle hotel the boys travelled to Bellingham Golf Club in the Northumbrian moors near Keilder Water to try and do the double over Northumberland. Another lovely summer’s day with no wind and on a beautiful heathland course with super turf and slower greens. Perfect conditions for good golf. The parings in the morning foursomes were changed to try and get the South team a better start. The teams were evenly matched resulting in four close games and a draw at lunchtime by 2 games all.
After nine holes in the afternoon singles the South were leading in five games, losing in two and the other was halved. As this news spread round the team the heads went up and the tired legs gained extra strength to carry the exhausted bodies to a well deserved victory. All the members of the team played much better than on Sunday and it was a happy trip home to Dumfries in the early evening.
Results
Morning Foursomes
Ross Whyte and Rowan Marchbank beat William Wilkinson and Aidan Topham by 3 & 2
Rory Brunton and Graeme Hoodless lost to Brad Robinson and Callum Lawson by 1 hole
Conor Harkness and Chris Shearman lost to Joshua Brookes and Matthew Wood by 2 and 1
Fraser Hughes and Jamie Parker beat Conor Turnbull and Jordan Cook by 1 hole
Foursomes Score South 2 Northumberland 2
Afternoon Singles
Ross Whyte beat William Wilkinson by 2 & 1
Graeme Hoodless beat Aidan Topham by 5 & 3
Rory Brunton lost to Brad Robinson by 3 & 2
Conor Harkness beat Callum Lawson by 4 & 2
Chris Shearman lost to Joshua Brookes by 3 & 2
Rowan Marchbank beat Matthew Wood by 5 & 3
Fraser Hughes lost to Conor Turnbull by 2 &1
Jamie Parker beat Jordan Cook by 2 & 1
Singles Score South 5 Northumberland 3
Match Result South 7 Northumberland 5