ENGLISH COUNTY FINALS 2009

ENGLISH COUNTY FINALS 2009 - FINAL DAY

Val Barker - Friday, 18 September, 2009

First out this morning were Rachel Rusted and Liz Galland and with clouds gathering they had a very close match, finally clinching a half point on the 18th. Regrettably Liz Cramond and Hannah McLoughlin did not fare so well, losing their match on the 15th. The last foursome match was much closer with Claire Howells and Charlotte Dalton pulling back to just one down on the 17th, only to halve the final hole and thus lose the match 1 down.

In the afternoon, suddenly the clouds cleared and the sun came out for the second time this week. The Warwickshire team came out fighting with three of the matches up by the tenth and one All Square. Could we score our first point were the whispers going round the course? Sadly the opposition had other ideas and made a really exciting last 8 holes of competition. Where Charlotte Dalton had been an impressive 5 up on the tenth, her match went the whole way, fortunately with Charlotte winning on the 18th. Lisa Barton, rested for the first time this morning, was All Square on the 10th, went to one down on 13th, then 3 down on 15th. Lisa played the last three holes brilliantly to end her match All Square, with a total of four birdies in the round.

What a battle Hannah McLoughlin had in her match, being 3 down on the 10th but pulling back to 1 down after 15th. On 16, she hit her tee shot into the bunker whereas her opponent landed on the green - they both walked off with a Half in three! Hannah finished her match All Square. Claire Howells had a real tussle with Sophie Beardsall but finally lost 3 and 2.

Ashley Cramond also had several birdies in her round and was up in her match for most of the time. On the last hole though, her putt just lipped out and she lost the hole, finishing All Square. Last out was Liz Galland, who had played so well in the morning foursomes and she quickly went 2 up after the first two holes, being 4 up after the 10th. Liz was unable to keep this run going though, finishing a fine round on the 18th hole, All Square. Liz also had four birdies in her round.

Having seen the team play first hand today, I have to say they that they all performed exceptionally well. With a little more luck going their way, the wins during the 5 days could have been much higher. The team spirit was fantastic and they showed great enthusiasm and golfing talent during the week. Bev Belcher, County Captain can be very proud of their performances, with the final result perhaps not reflecting their efforts.

Congratulations to home team Lancashire who took the 2009 Title with a Total of 4 1/2 points to Hertfordshire's 3 1/2.

For FULL results of the Final Day's play, please see EWGA website: englishwomensgolf.org and the Click on NEWS.

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