TEAM FOR EGU COUNTY FINALS

Captain John Atkins has announced the 7 man team to represent Somerset in the English Golf Union County Finals at Hunstanton Golf Club between 24th and 26th September.

It is :- Laurie Canter (Saltford) Luke Collins (Mendip Spring) Charlie Cossins (Bath) Phil White (Wells) Craig Adams (Farrington) David Gregory (Burnham & Berrow) Ashley Mansell (Clevedon)   

GLOUCESTERSHIRE REPORT

Somerset's Channel League campaign for 2010 closed with a disappointing defeat away to local rivals Gloucestershire at Filton GC on Sunday 1 August. With only Charlie Cossins/Matt Lea getting a half in their game the morning foursomes concluded with Gloucestershire in  a commanding 4.5 to 0.5 lead and Somerset with a mountain to climb. Although the afternoon games were more evenly match the deficit was too large to overcome. Wins for Phil White, Craig Adams, Ellis Cook and David Gregory saw a respectable return from the afternoon but the hosts ran out comfortable winners 10.5 to 4.5.

The team was :-

Phil White (Wells) Luke Collins (Mendip Spring) Charlie Cossins (Bath) Matt Lea (Saltford) Curtis Edwards (Taunton & Pickeridge) Ellis Cook (Burnham & Berrow) David Gregory (Burnham & Berrow) Matt Kippen (Enmore Park) Craig Adams (Farrington) and Ashley Mansell (Clevedon)

2nd TEAM V GLOUCESTERSHIRE

The 2nd team completed their Wessex League fixtures for the season at Wells GC on Sunday 1 August. The morning foursomes saw convincing victories for George Morgan / Tom Small 5 and 4, Jack Palmer / James Popham 3 and 2 and the Taunton  & Pickeridge pairing of Matt Turner/Conor O'Dell 6 and 5. The match continued to be close in the singles with Somerset again edging the afternoon by one point to finish 8.5 to 6.5. Morgan, Palmer, Turner and O'Dell completed their clean sweep for the day and a win for Rob Parker and a half for Jeremy Larcombe ensured the victory.

The team was:-

George Morgan (The Mendip) Tom Small (Farrington) Jack Palmer (Wells) James Popham (Enmore Park) Rob Parker (Taunton & Pickeridge) Adam Meades (Burnham & Berrow) Matt Turner (Taunton & Pickeridge) Conor O'Dell (Taunton & Pickeridge) jeremy Larcombe (Burnham & Berrow) and Justin Lane (Burnham & Berrow)

WILTSHIRE REPORT 

A bright and breezy day welcomed the players to Minehead & West Somerset GC on Sunday 18 July. The morning foursomes began well with the top two pairings of Phil White/Matt Kippen and Curtis Edwards/Ellis Cook gaining solid wins. A remarkable comeback from dormie 2 down by Jeremy Larcombe/Max Brittan to gain a half and a 4and 3 win for the Farrington pairing of Craig Adams and Tom Small saw the hosts lunch with a 3.5 to1.5 lead.

A good start was important to maintain the momentum and Phil White earned himself an extended viewing of the Open Golf in the clubhouse with a clinical 6 and 5 demolition of the Wiltshire Captain Kevin Phillips. Further victories for Matt Kippen, Jeremy Larcombe and the evergreen Justin Lane, coupled with a half from Curtis Edwards saw the match wrapped up within the first 6 games. A disappointing finale from the lower order saw the final score 8-7 in Somerset's favour.  This second successive Channel League victory sets up an intriguing final match against local rivals Gloucestershire in 2 weeks.

The team was:- 

Phil White (Wells) Matt Kippen (Enmore Park) Curtis Edwards (Taunton & Pickeridge) Ellis Cook (Burnham & Berrow) Jeremy Larcombe (Burnham & Berrow) Max Britton (Saltford) Justin Lane (Burnham & Berrow) John Atkins (Wincanton) Craig Adams (Farrington) Tom Small (Farrington) 

2nd TEAM V WILTSHIRE

The Wessex League encounter at North Wilts GC served up a very tight and evenly contested game throughout the day. Wins in the foursomes for the Taunton & Pickeridge pairing of Matt Turner/Connor O'Dell (2 and 1) and Jack Palmer with County Junior Captain James Popham (4 and 3) restricted Wiltshire to a 3-2 lead at lunch. Connor O'Dell, Matt Turner and James Popham continued their good form with victories in their singles match and a half from Jack Palmer moved Somerset into the lead. Wins for Jonathan Pitcher and the Under 16 Junior Matt Pearson enabled the visitors to gain a well deserved half from the match.

The team was:-

Adrian Deakins (Burnham & Berrow) Connor O'Dell (Taunton & Pickeridge) Jack Palmer (Wells) Matt Turner (Taunton & Pickeridge) James Popham (Enmore Park) Sam Sloman (Taunton & Pickeridge) Jonathon Pitcher (Burnham & Berrow) Tom Hurst (The Mendip) Matt Pearson (Worlebury) Gareth Roberts (The Mendip) 

CORNWALL REPORT  

On 11 July at the the challenging West Cornwall Golf Club, Somerset raced into a commanding lead in the morning foursomes. 5 and 4 victories in the opening games for Charlie Cossins / Matt Lea and Phil White / Matt Kippen set the scene and the remaining pairings all put points on the board with only one match not taking the maximum. A 4.5 / 0.5 scoreline at lunch augured well for the overall match.

Charlie Cossins continued his fine form with a win in the top match against Cornwall County Champion Anthony Nash but as expected Cornwall came back fighting taking 3.5 points from the next 4 games. However, wins for Ellis Cook 4 and 2, Craig Adams 2 and 1 and a battling 1 up from Curtis Edwards restricted the hosts to a narrow victory in the singles and enabled Somerset to run out overall winners 9-6.

The team was:-

Charlie Cossins (Bath) Matt Lea (Saltford) Phil White (Wells) Matt Kippen (Enmore Park) Max Britton (Saltford)  David Gregory (Burnham & Berrow) Curtis Edwards (Saltford) Ellis Cook (Burnham & Berrow) Ashley Mansell (Clevedon) Craig Adams (Farrington)   

DEVON REPORT

On Sunday 27^th June Somerset hosted Devon at Worlebury. Because of the World Cup we swapped play around with the singles in the morning and the foursomes in the afternoon.

There was some excellent golf played in very hot conditions, with wins for Craig Adams, Dave Gregory, Max Brittan, George Morgan and an excellent comeback from the experienced Justin Lane. Two halves from Jeremy Larcombe and Captain John Atkins meant that Somerset went into lunch 6 - 4 up.

Devon came out strong in the foursomes winning the first 2 matches, then Louis Boston and Jeremy Larcombe won . Devon claimed the final pairing leaving it all down to the last pair on the course John Atkins and George Morgan, George holed an amazing 35 foot putt on the 18^th hole which meant the match ended up 7.5 - 7.5.

Great day of golf shame the football was not better.

The team was :-

Craig Adams (Farrington) David Gregory (Burnham & Berrow) Max Brittan (Saltford) George Morgan (The Mendip) John Atkins (Wincanton) Tom Small (Farrington) Louis Boston (Saltford) Jeremy Larcombe (Burnham & Berrow) Justin Lane (Burnham & Berrow) Ellis Cook (Burnham & Berrow)

SECOND TEAM VERSUS DEVON

A young and inexperienced team took on a strong Devon 2nd team in the Wessex League match at Yelverton. Victories in the foursomes for James Holl / Jonathon Pitcher and Craig Cook / Ryan Cardwell left the match closely balanced after the morning session. However the afternoon singles saw Devon win the first two singles comfortably and the only winner in the singles was Rob Parker. Halves from Adrian Deakins and Pitcher completed the only remaining positive results and Devon claimed the overall result 11 - 4.

The team was:-

Adam Meades (Burnham & Berrow) Connor O'Dell (Taunton & Pickeridge) Adrian Deakins (Burnham & Berrow) Ryan Cardwell (Burnham & Berrow) Craig Cook (Enmore Park) James Popham (Enmore Park) Matt Pearson (Worlebury) Rob Parker (Taunton & Pickeridge) Jonathon Pitcher (Burnham & Berrow) James Holl (Burnham & Berrow) 

GLAMORGAN REPORT

Somerset played Glamorgan on the 20^th June at Clyne golf club.

In the morning foursomes it was clear that we were up against a very strong Glamorgan side. Only Laurie Canter and Mat Lea managed to win a point with a 4 & 3 victory.

In the afternoon singles Somerset faired no better with only Phil White, Louis Boston and Ashley Mansell winning a point and Ellis Cook getting a half.

The final result ended up being 10.5 - 4.5 to Glamorgan.

The team was :-:

Phil White (Wells) Laurie Canter (Saltford) Louis Boston (Saltford) Ellis Cook (Burnham & Berrow) Matt Lea (Saltford) Ashley Mansell (Clevedon) Tom Small (Farrington) Jeremy Larcombe (Burnham & Berrow)  Justin Lane (Burnham & Berrow) Jack Palmer (Wells)

Open Qualifying

Somerset County squad players Charlie Cossins and Curtis Edwards have progressed to the next stage of the Qualifying competition for this year's Open Championship with good performances at the Local qualifying round played at Ferndown GC on 21 June.

In a strong field made up predominantly of professionals, Cossins won the event with a fine 67 and Edwards with 71 was succesful in a play off with 7 other players for one of the last 5 of the 14 alloted places from the field of 96.

They now travel to Scotland for the next round on 29 June.

Laurie Canter wins West of England Strokeplay

Laurie Canter's excellent start to the season continued with a commanding victory in the West of England Strokeplay Championship held at Royal North Devon GC. His 14 under par total beat the previous record aggregate score for the tournament at RND held by Lee Corfield. In a high quality field containing several current England Internationals, Laurie finished 6 shots clear after rounds of 68,66,72 and 68. Three other Somerset squad members made the cut with David Gregory, Charlie Cossins and Luke Collins finishing 15th, 22nd and 26th respectively.   

    photo courtesy of Tom Ward

 Narrow defeat in opening fixture 

The 1st team had a closely fought match in their opening Channel League match against Gwent at Saltford. With the match evenly balanced at lunchtime after the foursomes, victory in the opening two games from Phil White and Curtis Edwards gave cause for optimism. However defeat in each of the last 3 games saw the result tip in favour of the Welsh County by the narrowest of margins.

The Channel League

----SOMERSET----------v-------GWENT--------------.Date----18/4/10- Venue---SALTFORD---------------------------

FOURSOMES

RESULT POINTS   RESULT POINTS   1 Phil White (Wells) & Stuart Ponfield (The Mendip)   0 N EDWARDS/ R BENTHAM 4&3 1     2 David Gregory (B&B) & Curtis Edwards (Taunton & Pick ) A/S 0.5 R TAYLER/ S RANDALL A/S 0.5     3 George Morgan (The Mendip) &/ Louis Boston (Saltford)   0 A MASON/ N OAKLEY 5&3 1     4 Charlie Cossins (Bath) & Matt Lea (Saltford) 2&1 1 R BARBER / A WILLIAMS   0     5 Max Brittan (Saltford) & Ellis Cook  (B&B) 4&3 1 J DAVIDSON/ L POLLARD   0       TOTAL 2.5   2.5       SINGLES       RESULT POINTS   RESULT POINTS   1 Phil  White 8&7 1 N EDWARDS   0     2 Curtis Edwards 3&2 1 S RANDALL   0     3 Stuart Ponfield   0 R BENTHAM 5&4 1     4 David Gregory 3&1 1 N OAKLEY   0     5 George Morgan   0 A WILLIAMS 3&2 1     6 Charlie Cossins   0.5 J DAVIDSON   0.5     7 Louis Boston 5&4 1 R BARBER   0     8 Matt Lea   0 A MASON 3&2 1     9 Ellis Cook   0 R TAYLER 2&1 1     10 Max Brittan   0 L POLLARD 3&2 1       TOTAL 4.5   5.5     MATCH TOTAL 7   8

Emphatic win for 2nd team 

The County 2nd team began the Wessex League season with a convincing 12-3 victory over their Gwent opponents. 

The Wessex League

Somerset                            Gwent                                18 April 10                   Farrington

-------------------------------------v---------------------------------.Date------------------------ Venue------------------------------

FOURSOMES

Somerset RESULT POINTS                    Gwent RESULT POINTS 1 Adam Meades (Saltford) & Bradley Whittock (Saltford) 2/1   1 Mark Rogers & Andrew Ritter     2 Matt Parham (Wells) & Jack Palmer (Wells)     Paul Taylor & Rhys Briscoe 1 up   1 3 Justin Lane(Burnham&Berrow)& Tom Small (Farrington) 2 up   1 Dan Udry & Chris Marshall     4 Adrian Deakins (B&B) & Gareth Roberts (The Mendip) 8/7   1 Rhys Twomey & Rhys Fletcher     5 Jeremy Larcombe (B&B) & Ashley Mansell (Clevedon) 4/3   1 James Parrott & Pat Mulcahy       TOTAL   4     1       SINGLES               Somerset RESULT POINTS                       Gwent RESULT POINTS 1 Adam Meades 1up   1 Andrew Ritter     2 Matt Parham       Rhys Briscoe 3/2   1 3 Ashley Mansell 6/5   1 Paul Taylor     4 Jack Palmer 4/3   1 Dan Udry     5 Bradley Whittock 4/2   1 Rhys Fletcher     6 Tom Small 2/1   1 Chris Marshall     7 Jeremy Larcombe 1up   1 Mark Rogers     8 Adrian Deakins 6/5   1 Rhys Twomey     9 Gareth Roberts 5/4   1 Pat Mulcahy     10 Justin Lane     James Parrott 3/2   1   TOTAL   8     2   MATCH TOTAL  12     3

Somerset start with convincing win in pre-season warm-up

The Somerset team began the season in promising fashion with a convincing win in a pre-season warm-up game on Sunday 21 March against Worcestershire. On a beautiful day at Burnham & Berrow Golf Club, the team took an early lead in the morning singles on the Channel Course and went in at lunch 7-5 ahead. With double points available for the afternoon foursomes on the Championship Course the overall match was still very much within the visitors grasp. However, despite missing 4 of their top players, the strength in depth of the Somerset squad, assembled by Captain John Atkins, shone through with convincing wins throughout the team with just one pair failing to take full points.

John Atkins said afterwards ' it was a good warm-up for the team and a useful outing with the first Channel League match against Gwent less than a month away. I was very pleased with the performance of everyone and shows that we have a number of good young players pushing for a place in the team'.