The Hull Golf Club trio of Jacob Hodgson (7 hcap), Will Borman (16) and Samuel Frankish (20) competed in the Yorkshire Inter-District Union Junior Club Championship at The Wath Golf Club on Sunday 14th July 2019, and shot fantastic scores of 32, 37 and 37 points respectively to win the Championship by three ahead of Harrogate GC!

They will now go ahead and represent Yorkshire in the England Golf Week at Woodhall Spa on 12th & 13th August 2019.

Well done lads!

It was fitting that Alan should assume the captaincy for the match against Harrogate Union, almost 40 years to the day since he made his debut for the team. But, in contrast to his contribution of nil points in 1979, his foursomes half and singles win helped East Riding to an emphatic win this time.

Hornsea was in fine condition but a strong northerly wind made for difficult playing conditions and the players were sorely tested to hold the green downwind and to get the ball close to some tight pin positions.

Harrogate were first to gain the advantage, with four of their pairings recording a two hole or more advantage at the turn but the East Riding pairings of Luke Robinson & Matt Raybould and Nick Raybould & Andy Lockwood both turned 4 up and were to close out their games by 3&2 and 6&5 respectively. Captain Wright, partnered with Jack Maxey, managed to pull back their halfway deficit to gain a half but the remaining matches were lost to give Harrogate the lunchtime lead.

Foursomes score: East Riding 5, Harrogate 7

With the top half of the of the afternoon singles comprising four Hornsea members and two ex-members, East Riding aimed to get a commanding lead early on but if that failed, there were two more local players in the anchor roles, should the match go to the wire.

The first part of the strategy paid off - but only just, as the top five games all came to the final green. Fortunately, East Riding won three of them through Robinson and the Raybould brothers and Lockwood  halved his match. There were then wins for Captain Wright, Tom Duck and Rich Webster to leave East Riding needing one more point for victory.

It was a long wait for those on the clubhouse terrace (and others following proceedings on Twitter) before Lewis Nicholls appeared on the 18th fairway and secured the necessary point with a 1 hole win, as his opponent cut his approach onto the practice putting green and out of bounds. Tom Broadley and Leigh Gawley were soon seen walking in, having secured their wins with holes to spare.

Singles score: East Riding 19, Harrogate 5

Overall score: East Riding 24, Harrogate 12

With maximum points on the day, Nick Raybould moves to the top of the Order of Merit on 25, with Leigh Gawley and Luke Robinson on 24, Tom Duck 22 and Lewis Nicholls 20.

The next match is against Halifax & Huddersfield at Fixby (Huddersfield) on 4th August.

The first round was played on Sunday 30th June at Ganton where conditions were beyond difficult, with wind gusting to more than 30mph throughout the day. The field of 71 players found the course very challenging to say the least, with many scoring over 90 and even 100.

Leading scores in the clubhouse after the first round were Steve Lynch (74), Tom Duck (77), Nick Raybould (78) and Jamie Gregory (79), fantastic scoring for the conditions.

Going into round two at Brough a week later and the weather was much more benign, which meant that plenty of players had an opportunity to catch the leader.

In the end Steve shot a very solid score of 72 (total 146) to fend off the nearest challengers Alan Wright (149) and Nick Raybould (149) to take the title, a formidable two rounds of golf well deserving of the championship. Congratulations Steve!

And so it transpired as Teesside took a commanding lunchtime lead, with the only East Riding win coming from Hornsea pair, Leigh Gawley & Tom Broadley, 1 up, whilst Team Manager, Andy Woodhead, playing with Cottingham's Dan Swales, secured a half. The other Hornsea pair of Luke Robinson & Nick Raybould were unlucky not to gain points, as their opponents holed a 20 foot birdie putt across the final green to win 1 up, after Luke had all but holed out for birdie from a greenside bunker.

Foursomes score: Teesside 9, East Riding 3

With a mountain to climb, East Riding needed a fast start and they got it in spades, as match after match came in, adding points to their tally. Five wins and a half were recorded from the top seven matches as Luke Robinson, Nick Raybould  and Andy Lockwood all won 1 up, Leigh Gawley romped home 7&5, Tom Broadley won on the 17th and Tom Duck secured a half.

At that point, East Riding were leading by a couple of points but the fightback faltered and died, as Teesside won four of the remaining five games, with Dan Swales the only winner from the East Riding tail. Withernsea's Steve Dale, on debut, having lost narrowly in the foursomes, found himself two up at the turn in the bottom match but was unable to hold on, losing on the final green.

A closely contested match saw ten of the eighteen matches finish on the final green, with a further six concluding on the 17th.

Singles score: Teesside 11, East Riding 13

Overall score: Teesside 20, East Riding 16

Leigh Gawley, with another maximum, moves to the top of the Order of Merit table on 19 points, followed by Nick Raybould on 18, with Tom Duck and Luke Robinson a further point behind.

The next match is against Harrogate Union at Hornsea GC on 14th July when it is anticipated that Alan Wright will make his 200th appearance for the Men's Team. Why not come along and give Alan the reception he richly deserves.

East Riding soon established a firm grip on the morning foursomes with the top five matches all reaching the turn two holes or more to the good. None of these games would progress beyond the 15^th green, giving East Riding 10 points with wins from Luke Robinson & Matt Raybould (6&4), Jack Maxey & Alan Wright (5&4), Nick Raybould & Leigh Gawley (7&6) and Andy Woodhead & Phil Scott (4&3).

The final match, featuring Boothferry members, Steve Lynch & Jamie Bancroft, was a close-fought encounter with never more than two holes in it. However some deft chipping and inspired putting saw the York pair prevail on the final green.

Foursomes score: East Riding 10, York 2

In order to get back into the match, York needed a fast start in the afternoon singles and, despite East Riding taking the top match through Luke Robinson (4&3) it looked possible with York winning the second and fourth games and coming back strongly from 3 down to only 1 down with two to play in the third game. However, Jack Maxey held on to win that match on the final green and with that the York challenge collapsed, East Riding winning all but one of the remaining eight games.

Nick Raybould, Leigh Gawley and Steve Lynch all ran riot on the back nine to close out their matches by 5&4, the same scoreline achieved by Jamie Bancroft who won his opening five holes. Lewis Nicholls, Tom Duck and Andy Woodhead all won on the 17^th green, the latter rounding off a winning run of five consecutive holes with a chip-in.

Singles score: East Riding 18, York 6

Overall score : East Riding 28, York 8

The team was well supported during the day by the President, Chris Clarkson, the President Elect, John Chambers, the Men's Team Administrator, Howard Palmer, the Starter, Steve Robinson, the Secretary, John Illingworth and former Presidents, Steve Thornton, Stephen Wright and Edward Clark. Also present were Mrs Chambers and Mrs Wright, together with a posse of Boothferry members following their own.

Thanks to all the supporters and others involved, especially to Chris Mowforth and the Boothferry Club for hosting the event.

Tom Duck and Lewis Nicholls head the Player of the Year table with maximum points (14) with Nick Raybould on 13, followed by Leigh Gawley, Luke Robinson and Andy Woodhead on 12.