From L-R, Ryan Henley, Joe Buenfeld, Charlie Forster, Toby Burden, Martin Young, Darren Walkley, Stu Archibald, Jo Hacker
An incredible comeback by Hampshire was sealed with a series of phenomenal one to one matches as the lads in blue went unbeaten in the afternoon singles to beat Sussex 8-4. Full scores can be found by clickinghere.
This win is dedicated to the late Keith Maplesden who would have been extremely proud of the spirit and camaraderie on display- as well as the excellent standard of golf shown on the sunny, downland course overlooking Brighton marina.
Team Hampshire wore black ribbons on their collars for the duration of the match as a mark of remembrance for a man who helped to shape the future of golf in our region. Martin Young summed up Keith's influence on Hampshire Golf by saying to his team mates- "Keith took over as secretary shortly after I started playing for Hampshire, he changed a lot of things with the running of the County and built up the finances to create the funding and opportunities we all enjoy today..." He urged all the players to remember that each time that they "attend a training day, open a sleeve of County Logo ProV1's or a brand new Adidas County shirt..."
Perhaps this sense of perspective helped to inspire the team to the display that we witnessed this weekend.
The win against Sussex was far from easy, despite the final overall 8-4 score line. The morning foursomes at one stage looked worrying with the top match of Darren Walkley and Toby Burden struggling to make much ground after their Sussex opponents covered their front 9 in 30 strokes. Match 3 also shook hands earlier than they had planned with the Sussex pair barely putting a foot wrong throughout the match that left Archibald and Hacker with too much to do to get back in to the game.
The momentum started to shift when Forster and Buenfeld, out in match number 2, found a clutch birdie on the 18th to squeeze a half point from a match they had been down in almost all morning. Shortly after, the experienced pairing of Young and Henley, who had been coasting throughout the majority of their game found themselves all square on the 17th tee- a solid par on the tough penultimate hole was good enough to restore their lead and a 3 putt from the Sussex duo on the final green gave the relieved Hampshire team a well earned point and, more importantly, a much needed boost heading back for lunch.
After a quick turnaround Hampshire took to the singles matches with the bit well and truly between their teeth, none more so than Jo Hacker in the top match who set the tone for the team. Playing at number 1 for the County for the first time and with a real 'never say die' attitude, Jo won his last 3 holes to rescue half a point for the team. Shortly after, Toby Burden ground out another half point with some fine ball striking and, just as importantly, a bucket load of grit and determination.
Charlie Forster won his first 3 holes, then didn't drop a shot for the rest of the round- quite a handy recipe for winning a match if you ask me! Charlie coasted in, hitting greens and fairways for the remainder of the round- his Burner Mini Driver now becoming a thing of legend- and shook hands on the 15th green with his Sussex opponent.
Next up was Darren Walkley, coming off a frustrating loss in the morning despite playing some brilliant golf and facing none other the current English Amateur Champion- Joe Sullivan. Darren went down early to a flurry of birdies from his opponent but, as you would expect, remained tough and slotted winning birdies on the 6th, 11th and 13th to take control of the match. Standing on the 17th tee knowing exactly how important winning points was becoming as the matches began to conclude all around the back 9, Darren smoked a long iron in to ideal position and followed this up with a 9 iron to 15 feet- good enough to close the match out as a 2&1 winner.
With the win now agonisingly close- Joe Buenfeld's match was next to finish as he sealed a rock solid win. Joe made 4 birdies in his opening 6 holes and refused to let go of his early advantage, eventually closing out his match in style on the 15th green.
Ryan Henley, fresh from his recent County Championship win, clinched the win for the team as he asserted his dominance in his match by winning three holes on the spin from the 7th- reaching the turn 4Up and comfortably closing out his match as a 4&3 winner.
By this point, the match was won and the celebration had started but there were still 2 matches left on the course and the Hampshire Team were out supporting the matches that were still alive. Stu Archibald had battled all day and found himself 1 down on the 18th tee- clearly not wanting to be the only player to give up a point he dug deep in to his locker and mustered one last, closing birdie on the 18th- good enough to win the hole back and secure a half point for the team.
Last, but by no means least, Martin Young turned the screw in his match after a tight front 9 by winning crucial holes around the turn- a birdie on the 11th and a winning par on the tough par 4, 12th saw him take a 2 hole lead down the stretch. Once his match reached the 16th, the good news had spread that the win belonged to Hampshire but Martin, being the competitor that he is, sensed the opportunity to place the cherry on top of a memorable afternoon of golf and cooly slotted a 6 footer in the heart of the hole, fist pumped back to his team mates who watched on from the tee and strolled back to enjoy the fun!
This win sets up an appetising last league Match Vs Surrey at Blackmoor on Sunday 6th August- win it and the County progress to the SE Final. Trust me when I say, if it's anything like this recent match against Sussex- you will not want to miss it.