A very different day again weather wise as Turnhouse took on Galway who had already been successful against both Huyton & Prescott and Maesteg. Galway were last year's Irish champions but did not come to play in the final instead giving up their place to Mallow who emerged the overall winners in 2014.
The team today was Jack & Mikey, Rory & Leigh then Craig & Matthew who was getting his first game for the team. Mark sat out today as did Ben having been injured the day before and having to stop playing in the reserves competition after 9 holes having jarred his shoulder.
Jack halfed the first hole then went one down on the second when he missed a long putt from the edge of the green. Mikey went down 1 on the 1st and then won the second to bring it back to a half. By the time we get to the 6th Jack is 2 down and then loses his ball in the water so needs to hit a second shot down from the top of the hill. This is a tricky hole to play as the boys have to play down from a high point to a green with the pin located near the water today, making it difficult to get close without making a splash. Jack's second ball is better and lands on the green but he needs his putt to half and he misses and loses the hole to Galway. Mikey's shot has landed on the green and he sinks a fantastic putt to half the hole and maintain his 1 up.
By the time Jack and Mikey reach the 9th where the cameras are rolling the rain is falling steadily again. Jack wins this hole to get back to 3 down. Mikey's second shot hits the bank but he is still smiling as his chip thunders past the hole leaving a tricky putt.
Both boys give a shot away on the 10th and Mikey does well to maintain his all square. Jack however goes to 4 down. The rain is at its heaviest as we wait for the boys to approach the 11th green. There is a break in the clouds however promising some drier conditions later. Both boys hit the green and Jack putts for a win and Mikey for a half.
Cloud has lifted and there are patches of blue sky and just a promise of some sunshine. There are a few puddles on the course but at least it's not raining any more. The cameras are rolling on the 15th as Jack and Mikey play through. At this point in the game both are down - Jack by 3 and Mikey by 1. Jack loses the 16th 4 down and 3 to play, and Mikey goes 2 down with 2 to play. Mikey manages to win the hole back on the 17th to go back to 1 down with 1 to play. His downfall is the 18th though and he makes a great shot close to about 3' of the hole, but it spins back to the edge of the green, so unlucky, and his opponent lands his to around 5' to win the hole. Turnhouse lose the first 2 games to Galway. Hard fought to the last though.
In the second game, Rory goes one up on the first and then on the second he hits above the trees to the right but finds his ball to hit a great shot to the green where he halfs with his opponent, Leigh has a birdie on the first and then on the second he chips confidently up on to the green to par the second and half the hole once again to remain level.
Rory hit his shot behind the rocks and has to take a drop and goes for a long hit over the water. He clears the water but the ball hits the embankment and rolls back into the water. Waterproofs and umbrellas come out as the rain comes down steadily. It is just like being in Scotland, but luckily there is no sign of the wind that hampered yesterday's golf. Rory then concedes the hole as his opponent was over and close to the pin in 3. Although Leigh pars this hole too his opponent has a birdie and he goes 1 down.
A recovery for Rory on the 4th when he birdies for a win, and Leigh also wins to bring the score back to level. Rory loses his advantage on the 5th, where he looks initially happy with his shot but has to go back to hit a provisional. He then has to drop a ball where he entered the hazard and he goes back to level when his opponent takes the hole. Leigh maintains his all square on the 5th and the rain comes down once again. Onto the 6th and 3 balls are on the green, Rory needs to drop his again where he entered the hazard and he concedes this hole as well to go back to 1 down. Apparently this hole was very lucky for the Welsh yesterday with one of the players getting a hole in one! Its not lucky for Turnhouse though as Leigh also loses on this hole and is also 1 down. The rain comes back on again and this seems to be a lucky factor for both Rory and Leigh as they are both 1 up by the time they get to the 10th. Rory has had a birdie on the 9th with a second shot straight on the green and Leigh pars the 9th and they both win the 10th. Rory is 3 up by the 12th and Leigh putts to win the hole and go 2 up on the 13th.
Leigh hits a 2nd shot after a round of applause from the 13th unsettles him and his drive goes left. He drops a ball on the fairway. Rory's drive was right down the middle and hits an iron on his second shot. Plays safe with a lay up and a great view of the green. Doesn't quite make the green with his 3rd shot but his opponent does. Rory overshoot the green and is in the bunker leaving his opponent to putt for a win.
The cloud lifts again on the 15th but Rory has a disaster and hits his ball out of bounds on the next few holes and ends his game 2 down on the 18th, very disappointing for him after such a great fight back through the middle stages of the game. Leigh 3 putts on the 17th which would have seen him go 2 up - instead he is all square and he halfs the 18th ending his match. Then the rain comes on again!
In the third game the rain has come on as Craig and Matthew finish the second hole - Matthew has a seriously good putt and both he and Craig remain level after two holes. Craig has a great approach to the 3rd, this was a very controversial hole for him yesterday having got stuck in the trees up on the left and having an impossible shot to the green. Today though he hit his second shot across the water and hit the fence, bouncing up on the the edge of the green. The luck was also with Matthew as his shot went short and looked like it wasn't going to make the green at all - but then it hit a rock on the embankment, bounced up again, over the fence and on to the green. Matthew duly putts to within a few feet of the hole and has a 4 to half the hole.
Both Craig and Matthew get on the green on the 4th but Craig's opponent hits way out left and they have to go and look for lost ball. Matthew's opponent is in the bunker and hits out a lovely chip on to the green. Matthew has the putt to win the hole and go 1 up whilst Craig also putts for the win and brings his score back to level. Craig's shot on the 6th lands safely on the green with his opponent landing at the back of the green. Matthew gets closest to the hole and putts for a birdie to win the hole taking him to 3 up. On the 7th Craig lands closest to the hole. Matthews putt just keeps running but Craig hits a cracking putt for a birdie 3 and both boys are 2 up.
When we get to the 9th Matthew lands his second shot to within 4' of the hole whilst Craig's hits the pin and bounces off. He gets his birdie here in front of the camera. Craig loses the 10th but by the time we get to the 15th they have made a recovery and won the last few holes - Craig wins 4 and 3. Matthew does the same and wins on the 16th 3 up with 2 to play.
So the luck of the Irish held out on the day, whilst the luck of the Scottish ran out like the barrels of Guinness on St Patricks day! All in all it was a very close match, keenly contested. Maesteg did Turnhouse a favour today by beating Huyton & Prescott 31/2 to 21/2 leaving Turnhouse in the play off for 3rd and 4th tomorrow against the other Welsh team Camarthen.
The team tomorrow will be Mark & Jack, Mikey & Craig then Matthew and Ben getting his first team game of the week. Good luck tomorrow boys!
The team today was Jack & Mikey, Rory & Leigh then Craig & Matthew who was getting his first game for the team. Mark sat out today as did Ben having been injured the day before and having to stop playing in the reserves competition after 9 holes having jarred his shoulder.
Jack halfed the first hole then went one down on the second when he missed a long putt from the edge of the green. Mikey went down 1 on the 1st and then won the second to bring it back to a half. By the time we get to the 6th Jack is 2 down and then loses his ball in the water so needs to hit a second shot down from the top of the hill. This is a tricky hole to play as the boys have to play down from a high point to a green with the pin located near the water today, making it difficult to get close without making a splash. Jack's second ball is better and lands on the green but he needs his putt to half and he misses and loses the hole to Galway. Mikey's shot has landed on the green and he sinks a fantastic putt to half the hole and maintain his 1 up.
By the time Jack and Mikey reach the 9th where the cameras are rolling the rain is falling steadily again. Jack wins this hole to get back to 3 down. Mikey's second shot hits the bank but he is still smiling as his chip thunders past the hole leaving a tricky putt.
Both boys give a shot away on the 10th and Mikey does well to maintain his all square. Jack however goes to 4 down. The rain is at its heaviest as we wait for the boys to approach the 11th green. There is a break in the clouds however promising some drier conditions later. Both boys hit the green and Jack putts for a win and Mikey for a half.
Cloud has lifted and there are patches of blue sky and just a promise of some sunshine. There are a few puddles on the course but at least it's not raining any more. The cameras are rolling on the 15th as Jack and Mikey play through. At this point in the game both are down - Jack by 3 and Mikey by 1. Jack loses the 16th 4 down and 3 to play, and Mikey goes 2 down with 2 to play. Mikey manages to win the hole back on the 17th to go back to 1 down with 1 to play. His downfall is the 18th though and he makes a great shot close to about 3' of the hole, but it spins back to the edge of the green, so unlucky, and his opponent lands his to around 5' to win the hole. Turnhouse lose the first 2 games to Galway. Hard fought to the last though.
In the second game, Rory goes one up on the first and then on the second he hits above the trees to the right but finds his ball to hit a great shot to the green where he halfs with his opponent, Leigh has a birdie on the first and then on the second he chips confidently up on to the green to par the second and half the hole once again to remain level.
Rory hit his shot behind the rocks and has to take a drop and goes for a long hit over the water. He clears the water but the ball hits the embankment and rolls back into the water. Waterproofs and umbrellas come out as the rain comes down steadily. It is just like being in Scotland, but luckily there is no sign of the wind that hampered yesterday's golf. Rory then concedes the hole as his opponent was over and close to the pin in 3. Although Leigh pars this hole too his opponent has a birdie and he goes 1 down.
A recovery for Rory on the 4th when he birdies for a win, and Leigh also wins to bring the score back to level. Rory loses his advantage on the 5th, where he looks initially happy with his shot but has to go back to hit a provisional. He then has to drop a ball where he entered the hazard and he goes back to level when his opponent takes the hole. Leigh maintains his all square on the 5th and the rain comes down once again. Onto the 6th and 3 balls are on the green, Rory needs to drop his again where he entered the hazard and he concedes this hole as well to go back to 1 down. Apparently this hole was very lucky for the Welsh yesterday with one of the players getting a hole in one! Its not lucky for Turnhouse though as Leigh also loses on this hole and is also 1 down. The rain comes back on again and this seems to be a lucky factor for both Rory and Leigh as they are both 1 up by the time they get to the 10th. Rory has had a birdie on the 9th with a second shot straight on the green and Leigh pars the 9th and they both win the 10th. Rory is 3 up by the 12th and Leigh putts to win the hole and go 2 up on the 13th.
Leigh hits a 2nd shot after a round of applause from the 13th unsettles him and his drive goes left. He drops a ball on the fairway. Rory's drive was right down the middle and hits an iron on his second shot. Plays safe with a lay up and a great view of the green. Doesn't quite make the green with his 3rd shot but his opponent does. Rory overshoot the green and is in the bunker leaving his opponent to putt for a win.
The cloud lifts again on the 15th but Rory has a disaster and hits his ball out of bounds on the next few holes and ends his game 2 down on the 18th, very disappointing for him after such a great fight back through the middle stages of the game. Leigh 3 putts on the 17th which would have seen him go 2 up - instead he is all square and he halfs the 18th ending his match. Then the rain comes on again!
In the third game the rain has come on as Craig and Matthew finish the second hole - Matthew has a seriously good putt and both he and Craig remain level after two holes. Craig has a great approach to the 3rd, this was a very controversial hole for him yesterday having got stuck in the trees up on the left and having an impossible shot to the green. Today though he hit his second shot across the water and hit the fence, bouncing up on the the edge of the green. The luck was also with Matthew as his shot went short and looked like it wasn't going to make the green at all - but then it hit a rock on the embankment, bounced up again, over the fence and on to the green. Matthew duly putts to within a few feet of the hole and has a 4 to half the hole.
Both Craig and Matthew get on the green on the 4th but Craig's opponent hits way out left and they have to go and look for lost ball. Matthew's opponent is in the bunker and hits out a lovely chip on to the green. Matthew has the putt to win the hole and go 1 up whilst Craig also putts for the win and brings his score back to level. Craig's shot on the 6th lands safely on the green with his opponent landing at the back of the green. Matthew gets closest to the hole and putts for a birdie to win the hole taking him to 3 up. On the 7th Craig lands closest to the hole. Matthews putt just keeps running but Craig hits a cracking putt for a birdie 3 and both boys are 2 up.
When we get to the 9th Matthew lands his second shot to within 4' of the hole whilst Craig's hits the pin and bounces off. He gets his birdie here in front of the camera. Craig loses the 10th but by the time we get to the 15th they have made a recovery and won the last few holes - Craig wins 4 and 3. Matthew does the same and wins on the 16th 3 up with 2 to play.
So the luck of the Irish held out on the day, whilst the luck of the Scottish ran out like the barrels of Guinness on St Patricks day! All in all it was a very close match, keenly contested. Maesteg did Turnhouse a favour today by beating Huyton & Prescott 31/2 to 21/2 leaving Turnhouse in the play off for 3rd and 4th tomorrow against the other Welsh team Camarthen.
The team tomorrow will be Mark & Jack, Mikey & Craig then Matthew and Ben getting his first team game of the week. Good luck tomorrow boys!