Cheshire’s men took on last year’s league winners Yorkshire in a vital clash at the delightful Eaton Golf Club on Saturday.
Both teams came into this fixture desperate for a win to give them a real shout at overhauling league leaders Lancashire, who were due to meet Northumberland the following day. Laurent Beech, from the host club, made his debut for the men’s team, quite an accolade to be picked for such a vital and tough match.
The spoils were shared in the morning foursomes, highlights being Jack Nicholson and Sam Prince beating England international Tom Osborne, and Charlie Daughtrey 5&4 and youngsters Cole Self and Laurent Beech securing a valuable half.
The 12 singles matches would therefore settle the match. Jon Beesley got a valuable half in a tough match with Daughtrey, followed by a brilliant win for Sam Burton who won the last three holes to gain a vital point. Chris Chilton also had an epic battle, fighting back to square the match on the 17th. He holed bravely from 6 feet for par and then saw his opponent Bailey Hird inexplicably miss from no more than 18 inches for Chris to secure an unlikely but much needed point. Remy Miller lost the first three holes in his match but fought back gamely to get a half. Josh Sims also had a real tussle and also came from behind to get his nose in front on the 18th. Cole Self and Haminder Matharu had fairly comfortable wins, leaving the match resting on the final game involving debutant Laurent Beech. He was one down stood on the 18th tee needing to win the hole for the half point required for Cheshire to win the match. Despite a beautiful chip down the slope from behind the green, a par was not enough and the fixture ended in a 9-all draw.
Huge thanks to Eaton Golf Club, home club of President Roy Claxton, for their excellent hospitality and for the wonderful condition of the course which was praised by both teams.
The footnote to this is that Lancashire went to Northumberland but came away with no points, losing 7.5 to 10.5. This leaves Yorkshire and Cheshire at the top of the table with one fixture left. As in 2023, a nerve jangling finale awaits on 7th September…..
League table 18th August, 2024
Match result
