Pyecombe Pitcher team go top
Team move top
With one fixture remaining, away to Piltdown on 30th August, the ESN Pyecombe Pitcher team moved to the top of the table despite a weekend of mixed fortunes on 12th and 13th July.
On Saturday 12th the team hosted Mid-Sussex Golf club on the East Course in very hot conditions and secured a comfortable 4-1 victory.
The 16th, 17th and 18th holes had a bearing in each match as the visitors found those holes tough to conquer in the challenging Medal format.
Tom Aye-Moung and Nigel Webb led the team out and secured an excellent 71-75 win against a tough Mid-Sx pairing in Damon Raikes and Robert Blake.
Next up Tom Foreman and Mark Campbell (Capt) were surprised to find themselves 1 shot back after three holes despite being two-under par themselves. The Mid-Sx pair eagled the 2nd and birdied the 3rd to put ESN under pressure. Good golf thereafter steadied the ship and a birdie on 10 and excellent pars on 17 and 18 into the wind by Tom ensured a 1 shot victory.
Neil Gray and Ross White were Saturday’s only victims and fell to a solid 74 from the visitors who dovetailed superbly.
Next up Mark Earley and Stirling Wakefield secured a comfortable 3 shot win as conditions began to bite.
Anchoring the team were Josh Hardy and Marcus Opoku who delivered the performance of the weekend by blowing their opponents away with a 9 shot victory and a 65. Josh had a remarkable 5 birdies and Marcus nearly matched him with 4 of his own.
A great display.
On Sunday the team travelled to Seaford and suffered a 3 ½ - 1 ½ defeat.
Seaford fielded their strongest team of the season and this combined effects of two matches in two days and the heat somewhat took its toll on the team.
Lee Drew and Marcus Opoku led the team out and Marcus continued his form of the previous day by making 5 more birdies on a course that yields very few. Despite this the pair could only manage a half owing to a disastrous 7 on the treacherous 17th hole. Marcus birdied the tough 18th to secure the tie in 72s.
Dean Plant and Mark Campbell started slowly in their match and were 4 over after 5 holes, the pair recovered well with solid pars on the next 10 holes until Dean birdied the 16th to bring the pair within 1 shot.
The Seaford pair dovetailed yet again to par the 17th and match Dean’s score and despite both ESN players making par on the tough 18th, the Seaford pair yet again swapped places on the scorecard with a remarkable up and down from the right-hand bunker, including an 18ft par putt, for a narrow win 72-73.
Kieran Doherty and Nigel Webb suffered a surprising defeat after shooting 71 and holding a comfortable lead after 12 holes. The home pair fought back and shot an excellent 69 to take the point.
Mark Earley and Lee Sexton lost out to another excellent home round of 71 which left anchormen Josh Hardy and Tye Townsend with the task of avoiding a heavy defeat. The ESN pair came up with the goods and finished their match with a brilliant 69 and an 8 shot victory.
A star man performance by Josh over the weekend with a pair stroke average of just 67, closely followed by Marcus with 9 birdies in his matches.
Well played both.
The team will know what is needed to reach the semi-finals by the time the match against Piltdown is played as all remaining fixtures will have taken place by then.
The current league tables are shown below:
PYECOMBE PITCHER TABLE JULY.docx
On Saturday 12th the team hosted Mid-Sussex Golf club on the East Course in very hot conditions and secured a comfortable 4-1 victory.
The 16th, 17th and 18th holes had a bearing in each match as the visitors found those holes tough to conquer in the challenging Medal format.
Tom Aye-Moung and Nigel Webb led the team out and secured an excellent 71-75 win against a tough Mid-Sx pairing in Damon Raikes and Robert Blake.
Next up Tom Foreman and Mark Campbell (Capt) were surprised to find themselves 1 shot back after three holes despite being two-under par themselves. The Mid-Sx pair eagled the 2nd and birdied the 3rd to put ESN under pressure. Good golf thereafter steadied the ship and a birdie on 10 and excellent pars on 17 and 18 into the wind by Tom ensured a 1 shot victory.
Neil Gray and Ross White were Saturday’s only victims and fell to a solid 74 from the visitors who dovetailed superbly.
Next up Mark Earley and Stirling Wakefield secured a comfortable 3 shot win as conditions began to bite.
Anchoring the team were Josh Hardy and Marcus Opoku who delivered the performance of the weekend by blowing their opponents away with a 9 shot victory and a 65. Josh had a remarkable 5 birdies and Marcus nearly matched him with 4 of his own.
A great display.
On Sunday the team travelled to Seaford and suffered a 3 ½ - 1 ½ defeat.
Seaford fielded their strongest team of the season and this combined effects of two matches in two days and the heat somewhat took its toll on the team.
Lee Drew and Marcus Opoku led the team out and Marcus continued his form of the previous day by making 5 more birdies on a course that yields very few. Despite this the pair could only manage a half owing to a disastrous 7 on the treacherous 17th hole. Marcus birdied the tough 18th to secure the tie in 72s.
Dean Plant and Mark Campbell started slowly in their match and were 4 over after 5 holes, the pair recovered well with solid pars on the next 10 holes until Dean birdied the 16th to bring the pair within 1 shot.
The Seaford pair dovetailed yet again to par the 17th and match Dean’s score and despite both ESN players making par on the tough 18th, the Seaford pair yet again swapped places on the scorecard with a remarkable up and down from the right-hand bunker, including an 18ft par putt, for a narrow win 72-73.
Kieran Doherty and Nigel Webb suffered a surprising defeat after shooting 71 and holding a comfortable lead after 12 holes. The home pair fought back and shot an excellent 69 to take the point.
Mark Earley and Lee Sexton lost out to another excellent home round of 71 which left anchormen Josh Hardy and Tye Townsend with the task of avoiding a heavy defeat. The ESN pair came up with the goods and finished their match with a brilliant 69 and an 8 shot victory.
A star man performance by Josh over the weekend with a pair stroke average of just 67, closely followed by Marcus with 9 birdies in his matches.
Well played both.
The team will know what is needed to reach the semi-finals by the time the match against Piltdown is played as all remaining fixtures will have taken place by then.
The current league tables are shown below:
PYECOMBE PITCHER TABLE JULY.docx