Witney Lakes was a course where there were many patches of water. Many balls found their way into the water. Many of those balls were purchased in Somerset.
After coffee and lunch and after the pairings were announced Marcus Woodward and late replacement Andrew Cardus-Hall (thankyou) played Ollie Bowden and Witney Lakes captain Tony Thorpe-Morris. The experience of Ollie with his 2 shots on par 3’s and Tony playing his round in level gross meant that Somerset lost 4 & 3.
Martin Rossiter and Geoff Rooke got off to a great start being 1 up after 2 holes. They tried their best to lose the match and did a very good job with a 2 and 1 defeat by Martin Hawkins and Mike Lewis.
Rob Hardy and Neil Whisler played Carlo Soave and Mike Atkins. Carlo and Mike showed the Somerset pair around the course with Mike particularly expert on the lakes and ditches. An enjoyable and close match which was enjoyed by all ended with a Somerset victory of 2 and 1.
Clive Stilwell and Maddie Casson were too busy talking about secretarial things while playing John Urban and Colin Whittle. A great start to the game which was ‘nip and tuck’ was settled by great ‘driver’ onto a par 3 by our opponents which led to Somerset’s final downfall by 2 and 1.
The next match was settled in Somerset’s favour which they pulled off with a mixture of skill, expertise and good fortune. Tony Charalambous and Bob Smith beat the Oxfordshire pair of Robin Kennett and Keith Bowker 5 and 4 despite Keith playing the shot of the day by running a shot which hit the bridge and finished an angstrom unit from the 18th green.
Phil Barrett and Peter Dawson did not bring their ‘A’ game to the match against Phil Stanway and Ian Allison, finally losing 4 and 2 to the home team. Played in a true spirit all four players enjoyed their round.
Somerset’s putting let them down in the penultimate match with Iain Robertson and Rob Ford not finding the hole often enough. Chris Spearing and Henry Willis knowledge of the course was a big part and allowed the home team a 1 hole victory.
A very good game where the score line does not represent how close the match was concluded the match with Ian Gover and Kevin Blakeley losing 4 and 3 to Alan Bray and Geoff Halliday who used their shots wisely. Like many of the Somerset’s teams putters were going to be placed in cupboards and not let out until they learnt the error of their ways.
The match was a resounding 6 – 2 victory for Oxfordshire who as well as having to engrave this years result also had to correct the previous years error.
Sausage and Mash, convivial conversation with one Somerset player leaving his jacket and tie in his car – the car however was in Bridgwater, preceded the speeches where Ollie and Mark thanked the club for its hospitality and both teams for the friendly atmosphere.
The small size of the changing rooms also led to one Somerset player losing his sweater which was later found in another players bag.
