Cambridgeshire Golf Union
CAGU vs Essex in the David Hall Trophy at Saffron Walden GC
Our first competitive match of the season took us to Saffron Walden GC on a grey but calm day in the beginning of March to play Essex in the yearly David Hall Memorial Trophy. The course was in fantastic condition which, given the amount of recent rain, was a real treat for both teams.
Morning Foursomes
The morning foursomes started with the pairing of Sam Marshall and Theo Morris taking on Josh and Ben Tobin. The Cambridgeshire duo played solid golf and scrambled well around the greens but unfortunately a few too many birdies saw the Essex pairing take the first point of the day 4&2.
The second match of the day saw the ever-reliable pairing of James McLaughlin and David Marris taking on Andy May and former Essex captain Ben Humphrey. The Cambridgeshire duo got off to a flying start and raced to a 3 up lead thru 10, courtesy of being 5 under par. A strong fightback from Essex saw the match halved. A deserved half point on both sides.
The third match of the day saw Paul Hodgkin and Ellis Kerr taking on former Professional and Walker Cup player Jack Dyer and Joe Dobbyn. A tough start to the morning with Cambridgeshire 2 down thru 2, but a 8ft putt from Ellis on the 3rd for birdie and a half gave the pair a glimpse. Thru 8 the pair were 4 down and starting to struggle, but a birdie on 9 and wins on 11 and 13 got us back to only 1 down. Unfortunately, Essex were too strong and held on to win the match 2&1.
Match 4 saw Simon Burns making a return to County golf after 20 years and a recent triumph in the County Scratch Matchplay alongside Toby Saunders making his 1st team debut. It soon became apparent they were playing a very strong pair and they would need to score well to have a chance. They were 1 down at the turn and unfortunately went down 3&2.
Match 5 saw the County Captain Luke Ryan in a familiar partnership with Matt Pearce taking on England Boys team member Charlie Rusbridge and Mason Barningham. A 25ft putt for birdie on the 1st from Luke saw the Cambridgeshire duo take an early lead. The match remained tight thru 8 holes with both teams 2 under par and all square. The Essex duo kicked on with further birdies on 9, 10 and to take up a lead which the Cambridgeshire pairing could not fight back from, losing 4&3.
Score – CAGU 0.5 – 4.5 Essex
A tough start to the day leaving a big ask of the CAGU team in the afternoon singles.
Afternoon Singles
Sam Marshall was tasked with leading the way against Jack Dyer in the afternoon singles. A match of high quality and a real test for our former England Boys international but a close match went the way of the Essex man courtesy of a chip in on the last to take the match 1 up.
Theo Morris was in imperious form in match 2, his long and straight hitting, coupled with some darts at the flags with his irons saw this singles specialist not lose a single hole and take home a comfortable point by 5&3.
Former County Champion James McLaughlin was out 3 and made a slow start to his match. 4 birdies on the back 9 saw the Cambridgeshire man streak ahead and claim the match 3&2.
Match 4 pitted David Marris against veteran of Essex Andy May. Few highlights in this match for David but a long putt on 7 brought the match back to all square and everything to play for. The Essex man proved too strong on the back 9 and took the match 4&3.
Match 5 saw the two “Old Boys”, Simon Burns from CAGU and Ben Tobin of Essex in a close fought match. Simon had a hot start being 2 up thru 2, but a good stretch from the Essex man saw Simon 2 down thru 9. The topsy turvy match continued with some fine golf from Simon hitting 4 birdie in 5 holes to go back to 2 up. The match switched again in favour of the Essex man with Simon losing 1 down. A credible performance on his return to the County set up.
Match 6 saw a baptism of fire on debut for Toby Saunders coming up against England Boys team player Charlie Rusbridge. A few gifted early holes in favour of Essex was hard to fight back from and Charlie’s straight hitting and precision iron/wedge play saw the point go the way of Essex 5&4.
Match 7 saw Paul Hodgkin make a strong start with a birdie up the 1st, but birdies on the front from Essex saw them go 2 up through 6. The putter went cold for Paul but he battled on gamely, being only 1 down thru 15. A fantastic wedge on 16 from 135 yards to 2ft saw the match go all square down 18 after a halve on 17. The iron shot into Saffron Walden’s downhill par 3 18th came up just shy for Paul, and failed to get up and won to halve the game, with Essex narrowly taking the point.
Match 8 saw Ellis Kerr narrowly beaten 3&1 in a game which will be good experience for young Ellis, a bright future ahead.
Match 9 saw the best golf of the day from Cambridgeshire’s Matt Pearce. A combination of steady driving, well struck irons and solid pitching saw Matt make 6 birdies and no bogeys, coming out on top 3&2 against Essex’s Ben Humphrey.
The last game of the day was County Captain taking on big hitting Mason Barningham from Essex. Another match of high quality with both players being well under par. Never more than 1 hole in it either way saw the Cambridge player hole from 8ft on the 13th for the half to stay only 1 down. A birdie up 14 and par up 15 saw Luke go 1 up. Mason then threw in a birdie on 16 to go back to all square. A cracking 3 iron from 220 yards to within 6 ft of the hole from Luke resulted in going dormie 1 up. A nice iron shot into the green before a fantastic up and down for the Essex man left Luke needing 2 putts from 30ft for the match. The Cambridge man duly ran the first putt 5 ft by but managed to hole for the match in near darkness.
Afternoon singles CAGU 4 – 6 Essex
Match Result – CAGU 4.5 – 10.5 Essex
Not quite the result we wanted, but a credible performance in the afternoon after tough start to the day in the morning foursomes.
A big thank you to Saffron Walden GC for hosting the event. The course was in excellent condition considering the weather recently and the hospitality was 1st class. Thank you to the President and his wife for supporting and the Hall family for making this vital match happen.
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