Following the disappointment of the Midland County Team Championships, the U18's had to put that behind them and focus on their league campaign. In what had become a must win league game, Worcestershire entertained Shropshire and Herefordshire at Halesowen Golf Club in very difficult, blustery weather conditions. We also had to rely on our squad players when we had a couple of late withdrawals which resulted in several changes to the morning pairings but just showed how versatile and accepting the team were when new players joined the team.

For the second league match running we made a very positive start in the morning foresomes matches and achieved a convincing 4 -1 lead at the half way stage. Our lead-out pair of Krone / Humphries were always narrowly behind and despite a valiant effort, lost on the 17th. Nevertheless, the remaining pairings of Stott/Hewlett (5&3), Blake / Stephens (2up), Wakeman / Jones (6&5) and Lennon / Griffiths (3&2) were all able to achieve victories.

So with a 3 point advantage going into the singles it was important not to become complacent and to get off to a positive start which is exactly what happened. In increasingly challenging weather conditions it was as much about character as it was about skill as the windy conditions made club selection very difficult. As the afternoon matches progressed, the Worcestershire boys  coped slightly better with the adverse conditions than the opposition with wins from Humphries, Stott, Hewlett, Blake, Wakeman, Stephens, Lennon and a good halved match by Jones, the team gained 7.5 points of the available 10 points in the afternoon which mean't that Worcestershire achieved a well deserved 11.5 - 3.5 victory. Congratulations to all the players for their efforts and adaptability during the day.

Many thanks to : Halesowen G.C. and its members for offering their course for this match at late notice, to Jon Dick who kindly offered to be the starter on the day, to the hospitality team who looked after us very well throughout the day and to the S&H team and officials. A special thanks also to John Whitehead who thought he'd come along simply to support the team for the day but as the day progressed became a valued member of the team as his knowledge of the rules were required on several occasions which proved to be a positive learning experience for players and officials alike. As always many thanks to Mark Hewlett, Kevin Fee and the support from Parents / Guardians throughout the day.

Final Score: Worcestershire 11.5   Shropshire & Herefordshire 3.5 

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