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County kids to the fore

Geoff Garnett
4/ 6/2008

PRESTBURY'S young star James Newton brought great credit to himself and his club with a fine display for Cheshire juniors.

The county youngsters were playing their annual match against the Balearic Islands juniors for the Matthew Brown Cup at Son Parc Golf Club in Menorca.

The competition was devised by Son Parc owner Hugh Brown, in memory of his grandson Matthew who died in tragic circumstances in 2006.

The Cheshire team, with 10 newcomers, experienced problems, with much of their luggage missing on arrival and for the first day, but they coped admirably.

They practised hard in hot conditions before the opening ceremony and the tournament’s mixed foursome opening.

Their pre-match preparations had built up a great team spirit and this was rewarded with a fine set of results in some close matches with wins for 12-year-old five-handicapper Newton and Abbie Cowlard to give Cheshire an early lead of 8-2.

After lunch, the fourball matches between boys and girls pairs saw the home team show their quality and only Claire Fry and Zoe Evans were on the winning side in a superb match highlighted with three birdies from Evans to give them a 10-8 edge going into the final day’s singles.

Cheshire needed five wins from the 10 matches and, at the midway stage, led in five games but the tiring journey and hot conditions began to take their toll, despite Matthew Taylor getting the team off to a flier with a 5/3 win.

In some close encounters, Newton and Martin Leese secured halves while Claire Fry and Kelly Paxton took their matches to the final hole before losing out to give the home team a decisive 23-15 points win.

Cheshire President Ted Leather said: "Both teams can be very proud of the both the quality of their golf and their standards of etiquette at all times. They were a credit to the county, their clubs and their families.

"The thanks of both teams go to Hugh Brown for his generosity in providing the juniors with such a wonderful opportunity to show their skills and to all who helped behind the scenes, on and off the course, to make this another magnificent occasion.

"It will continue to provide a terrific incentive for juniors in Cheshire to be chosen for this splendid competition in future years."

Hugh Brown said: "Everyone at Son Parc was pleased with the spirit in which the match was played and I am sure that everyone enjoyed the course, the club and the island, and that many new and old friendships were established."

Back at Prestbury, Newton won a club medal with a superb nett 69, which included two birdies.

He also played for the Prestbury team in a Mid Cheshire Junior League fixture at Sandiway and won 6/4 against his Delamere Forest opponent, who received a nine-shot advantage.

TO GET your club and individual results, achievements and special events in this report, contact Geoff Garnett on 0161 881 7550 or email ggggarnett@aol.com