Good Evans, England shade it over Irish
15th August 2013England, looking to regain the title they lost to Scotland a year ago, were taken all the way by Ireland on the opening day of the Home Internationals supported by Fairstone Financial Management at Ganton but managed to edge home 8-7 while Scotland beat Wales more easily.
England managed to stay just in front throughout after they built a two point lead in the morning foursomes. But Ireland took the singles, underlining how close a match it was.
“Playing the Irish is never easy,” said England captain Terry Casey. “I knew there wasn’t a weakness in their side and it was a close call. Too close for comfort in fact. Well played the Irish but we gained some important wins and the standard of golf was very good.”
The foursomes finished 3½ – 1½ in England’s favour and they were given a great start in the afternoon by new cap Ryan Evans, who beat Paul Dunne 6 and 5. The Irishman was not firing on all cylinders but Evans was quick to punish any slips and he was 4-up after seven holes which he covered in two under.
Evans also won the eighth, ninth and tenth to go 7-up and although he lost the 12th to a par, the Wellingborough man sealed victory on the 13th.
Jimmy Mullen, another new cap, will remember his debut, beating Gary Hurley 4 and 2, the Devon man birdying the tenth and 11th and being three under when the contest ended on the 16th.
English champion Callum Shinkwin went 1-up early on against Kevin Phelan and the lead swung one way then the other in a close tussle that ended all square.
But Reeve Whitson gained another point for the Irish after trailing 3-down to Craig Hinton. The Oxford man was 2-up with four to play but lost the last three holes as Whitson got home by one hole.
The Irish were fighting back and Dermot McElroy beat a wayward Ben Stow 3 and 2 while Brian Casey was always ahead against Paul Howard, eventually winning by one hole. It might have been more but the Irishman, 3-up after 14, lost a ball off the tee at 15 and also lost 17 to a Howard par before getting home.
At one stage during the afternoon England supporters were wondering where the other wins were going to come from. But Toby Tree came from 2-down to beat Cormac Sharvin by 1-hole and it needed a 5 and 3 triumph from Harry Casey over Chris Selfridge to see England over the line.
Gavin Moynihan completed Ireland’s tally with a 3 and 1 win over Nick Marsh, the Yorkshire lad prolonging the match by winning the 15th and 16th after being dormie four.
Scotland began the defence of the Raymond Trophy with a 9½ – 5½ win over Wales after dropping only half a point from the morning foursomes.
With such a big lead going into the singles, it seemed that the afternoon might be a stroll in the park for the Scots. But it didn’t work out that way and credit the Welsh for a fine fightback.
“I’m delighted with the win,” said Scotland captain Scott Knowles. “There is never an easy match in international golf and although we built a good lead in the foursomes the Welsh came out in the afternoon and gave us a good game.
“Perhaps their young side were a little nervous in the morning but my side will have learned a lot from the afternoon singles. We want to defend the title and my team is more than capable of performing.”
They were given a fine start by Jason Shufflebotham who lost the opening hole but came back to beat Graeme Robertson 3 and 2 in the top game only for the ever reliable Jack McDonald to overwhelm Welsh champion Jack Bush 6 and 5.
Grant Forrest and James Ross added to the Scottish tally with 3 and 2 wins over Matthew Moseley and Lee Jones respectively but the Welsh replied with three wins of their own.
Craig Melding went 2-up through four holes and 3-up after seven against Alexander Culverwell but the Scottish champion cut the deficit to 1-down through 11. However, Melding regained the advantage and ran out a 3 and 2 winner.
Zac Galliford was locked in a close encounter with Scott Crichton but after gaining the lead on the sixth, stayed ahead but Crichton fought back from 2-down to win the 16thwith a birdie and 17 with a par only for Galliford to secure the match on 18 with a winning bogey five.
David Boote added to the Welsh morale with a 6 and 4 win over Ewan Scott, the Welshman finishing with back-to-back birdies and five under par for 14 holes.
But the Scots were not to be denied and Scott Borrowman saw them over the line with a 2 and 1 win against Alistair Jones while the final two games were shared on the 18th, Matthew Clark adding to the Scottish tally with a 1-hole win over Ben Westgate while Richard James scored the final Welsh point by the same margin against Bradley Neil.
Tomorrow England play Wales while the Scots face Ireland.