Dorset County

The first match to launch Dorset’s participation in the U16 South West Ben Enoch Trophy was against Cornwall, and both counties were very pleased to be given the opportunity to play on the two courses at St. Mellion International Resort. Dorset was missing a couple of the top U16 players due to their participation in the McGregor that week, and so we drafted in a couple of extra players to cover. It promised to be a very hot day, so the Dorset team were laden with water and refreshments to keep energy levels up. They were thouroughly drilled by Dan Frost before the match got underway.

 The morning Foursomes commenced on the Kernow Course (or Old Course), with both counties getting settled over the first few holes. The Lyme Regis pairing of Seed and Lyon were in a tussle with South West U16 Champion, Harry Hall, and his partner, but come the turn, Seed/Lyon were slightly ahead. Across the other matches, Dorset seemed to have the edge and the match looked like it was going in the right direction, but as they approached holes 10-14, Cornwall started to edge back in a couple of matches. The hope of a 4-0 result for the morning’s work seemed to dwindle, and we had to be satisfied with a 2-2 result, making the afternoon session decisive.

After a quick lunch, the Singles kicked off on the prestigious and challenging Nicklaus Course.  By the turn, Carroll was struggling to keep to a 2 holes deficit to Harry Hall, while Seed was also finding it hard to keep consistency. Lyon and Davis were both up, and the remaining games were, if anything, slightly in Cornwall’s favour. Again, holes 10-14 seemed to be the turning point for many of the matches, as Dorset at last seemed to get the feel of the course.

 The results started to come in, starting with a nice surprise from the front match where Carroll had scalped Harry Hall by playing an impressive 2 under par for the back 9. Likewise, Seed had kept his head, and delivered a point for the team, and things were starting to look positive. As David Lyon ventured up the 18^th, Davis delivered an additional point. Captain for the day, Lyon was disappointed to let his point slip, and news came of narrow defeats for Dunstan and Harris. At 3 points each, the last two games were going to be decisive. The team watched from the 17^th fairway as Sam Russell shook hands for his victory to ensure a draw, but was quickly followed by Steffen Foley appearing on the horizon, walking past the 17^th tee box, with his 3&2 victory to deliver overall victory for Dorset.

 A fine match on a wonderful course, we were very pleased to deliver a victory with two of our key players missing. We move forward to our next match on July 29^th against Devon at Honiton Golf Club.

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