Avalon Match Report Wells v Worlebury B (away)

The Wells Avalon team visited Worlebury for a “top of the table” clash on Saturday 08th July.  The Wells team were keen to exact revenge on Worlebury after we had been comprehensively beaten at home in our first game of the season. 

As has become the standard, Darren Barnett and Justin Chadburn led us out .  A half on the first, followed by a couple of missed putts on the 2nd meant the guys were 1 down very early. The level of competition then really showed as Justin had to make birdie on the 3rd just to salvage a half.   Wells then lost the 5th after big hitting Tom, from the opposition, smashed a drive down the 5th leaving him a short iron in (and with a shot) Worlebury went 2 up. Darren responded by hitting a glorious 5-iron to 4ft on the par 3 6th halving the deficit.  Another win on the 8th brought the game back to level pegging.  On the back 9 though the home side really showed their quality by making birdies on the 10th and 14th to put Wells 3 down with 4 to play.    A great birdie by Wells on the long par 5 15th into wind and a halved hole on 16th meant Wells were dormie 2.  A very entertaining match with lots of high quality golf, 8 birdies in total, but sadly a loss on the 17th green.

Group 2 saw another regular pairing of Glen Crocker and John Parkhouse.  John sporting his new, trim .... handicap ....he is now 4 shots lighter, had an excellent match alongside Glen in a competitive game of unbelievable standard of golf.  The home team were -1 gross and no hole was ever won with a score higher than par.  John putted brilliantly early on to keep Wells in the match but the onslaught of birdies from the opposition made it difficult for Wells to keep up.  Wells had a putt on the 16th to take the game down 17 where shots were on offer but sadly it was missed.  Despite a loss the Wells team commented “that it had been the most enjoyable match of the season – great company; very fair and useful golfers”.

Sadly though this did mean Wells were 2 games down and hence winning this one was going to be an uphill battle...

Group 3, saw a new paring of Nick Poore and Bryan Ashton going out. The first hole saw Bryan hole a clutch 10ft putt for the half and this set the standard for the game.  The visitors never looked back, playing steady golf and dovetailing very well, which when coupled with the home team missing a few putts, saw Bryan and Nick 3-up after 5 holes. The Worlebury team then staged a comeback to repair the early damage and make the turn only 1-down. In line with the glorious sunshine, Bryan and Nick turned up their own heat winning the 10th, 11th and 14th to make the turn back towards the clubhouse much sweeter. With a half on the 15th the Wells team secured a fine 4 & 3 wins and 3 good away league points.

Group 4 had Rory Passmore and Dave Baker pairing up for the first time.  The new pairing showed that solid golf and good dovetailing is key to winning in the Avalon League. The Wells pairing shot out of the blocks, winning holes 1, 3, 4, 5 ,6, and 7 to be 6-up through 7. Sadly the par on the 8th wasn’t good enough to eclipse the home team birdie and the first dropped shot on 9th meant Wells made the turn “only” 5-up.  Further pars on 10 and 11 meant the 6-hole lead was reinstated and standing on the 13th tee dormie 6 it was a very strong and comfortable position to be in.  Wells lost the 13th but Wells rediscovered their winning ways on the 14th meaning that Wells secured a strong and convincing win 6 & 4.

This put the team game on a knifes edge at 2 all and everything came down to our final pairing. The coveted position of anchor leg was reserved for Peter Cherry and Lloyd Katz.  The last pair out playing against the Worlebury Capt Terry and Gareth.   The pairing were evenly matched with very few shots on offer.  Worlebury took the early lead on the 3rd but were blown away by Lloyd’s very long, straight driving and clinical greenside touch meaning that Wells went to the turn 2-up.   The home team then pulled one back but Wells immediately got it back before Lloyd delivered a killer blow on the 13th, hitting a 3 wood 265 yards to 12 feet.  Sadly the eagle putt was missed but the tap in birdie moved the visitors to 3 up.  Wells were 2-up on the 16th when the of the Worlebury team wandered over to let the home team Captain know that the game was on his shoulders.  The Wells team didn’t feel the need to update their team primarily as everyone was too busy enjoying drinks in the sunshine... Our own captain fantastic, Peter was however, unfazed by the pressure and promptly chipped in for par on the 17th to seal a memorable victory for the pairing and for the Wells team at the home of the league leaders.

The victory was made even sweeter by hearing that our 3-2 victory was the first home loss that Worlebury B team had suffered in 7-years... Wells had every reason to feel proud of themselves as this achievement also meant that we are only 6 points behind Worlebury in the league and with both teams having just 2 games remaining this league title is going down to the very last game....

The next game is against Wheathill away.... 

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