An exceptional France side managed to hold their nerve on the final day at Moortown Golf Club to secure a 13.5-10.5 win in the biennial International Match with England.
The visitors led 7-5 after day one and maintained their two-point advantage after Sunday’s morning foursomes, and despite England getting off to a good start in the afternoon singles, the French fought back to win five out of the eight matches.
The tournament threw up some great golfing tussles, as five French players and two England players (Dylan Shaw-Radford and Harley Smith) all won three of the four matches they played.
Day 1
Day one saw honours even after the morning foursomes with Noa Auch-Roy and Hugo Le Goff in stunning form to be -6 through 15 holes to beat last week’s Lytham Trophy winner Will Hopkins and Zach Chegwidden.
Dylan Shaw-Radford and Harley Smith, who won the Sunningdale Foursomes earlier this year, raced to a 5&4 win in their match with Oscar Couilleau and Darren Strachan while Ben Bolton and Ben Brown won 2&1 against Rafael Bobo-Lloret and Louka Morin, including a sublime eagle on the par-5 12th.
Eliot Baker and James Claridge were undone by Callixte Alzas and Aaron van Hauwe 3&1 after a game of chip-ins, two of which came for France to win key holes.
The first day’s singles saw a thriller between Hopkins and Le Goff, who levelled 12 of the opening 13 holes. Le Goff was 2-up through 14 before a sensational comeback from Hopkins saw him birdie 15 and win 16 with par. On the 18th, a dramatic finish saw Le Goff’s remarkable bunker shot horseshoe the hole before Hopkins’ 25-foot birdie putt went in and saw the Moortown clubhouse on their feet for a brilliant 1-up win to the Englishman.
Auch-Roy was 2-up with three to play against Chegwidden but the Essex man took it to the last before leaving his birdie putt just shy, as the Frenchman won 1-up. Smith was in devastating form against Strachan, winning 5-up after 14 holes thanks to four birdies, while Shaw-Radford was 3-up before a resistance from Bobo-Lloret saw them all-square after 14. However, Shaw-Radford dug in to win 2&1.
Morin defeated Brown 2&1 and teammate Alzas was in all sorts of trouble against Claridge, who was 3-up after 5, until the Frenchman battled back tremendously to win six of the next nine and eventually saw out a 3&2 win. Bolton found himself 4-down to Van Hauwe and fought back valiantly before succumbing to a 2-up defeat on the last, while Couilleau stormed to a 6&5 win over Baker, shooting -6 through 13 holes.
Day 2
Day two’s morning foursomes was a repeat of day one as the teams finished 2-2. Auch-Roy and Le Goff were in devastating form again to be six-under as a team through 12 holes including an eagle on the 7th to defeat Shaw-Radford and Smith.
Hopkins and Chegwidden played a thriller with Strachan and Bobo-Lloret, halving the 1st in eagles and there was nothing to separate them after 13. But the English duo won 14 and 15 to take a two-hole lead before a breathtaking 17th hole. Hopkins produced a great tee shot but Bobo-Lloret’s response was a dart straight at the pin just several feet short. Despite France looking set to reduce the deficit, Chegwidden stepped up to hole a fantastic 15-footer for birdie and win the match 3&1.
Bens Brown and Bolton went down 1-up on the 18th against Couilleau and Morin before Baker and Claridge got their first points of the competition as they won 2&1 against Alzas and Van Hauwe.
The singles started well for England as they looked to chase down a two-point deficit but Le Goff had revenge over Hopkins with a win on the final hole, before Smith and Shaw-Radford thrashed Auch-Roy and Morin 4&3 and 5&4 respectively.
Bolton was beaten 6&5 by Bobo-Lloret while Chegwidden fought back from 4-down, eagling the 12th and winning 13 and 15, but a three-putt on 16 saw English hopes fade away and he went down 2&1.
Baker lost 2&1 to Van Hauwe and although Brown birdied the 18th against Alzas to win a third match for England, and Claridge won his final two holes for a halve against Couilleau, it was too little too late.
Next year will see England’s biennial International Match take place with Spain, with details to be confirmed.
The tournament threw up some great golfing tussles, as five French players and two England players (Dylan Shaw-Radford and Harley Smith) all won three of the four matches they played.
Day 1
Day one saw honours even after the morning foursomes with Noa Auch-Roy and Hugo Le Goff in stunning form to be -6 through 15 holes to beat last week’s Lytham Trophy winner Will Hopkins and Zach Chegwidden.
Dylan Shaw-Radford and Harley Smith, who won the Sunningdale Foursomes earlier this year, raced to a 5&4 win in their match with Oscar Couilleau and Darren Strachan while Ben Bolton and Ben Brown won 2&1 against Rafael Bobo-Lloret and Louka Morin, including a sublime eagle on the par-5 12th.
Eliot Baker and James Claridge were undone by Callixte Alzas and Aaron van Hauwe 3&1 after a game of chip-ins, two of which came for France to win key holes.
The first day’s singles saw a thriller between Hopkins and Le Goff, who levelled 12 of the opening 13 holes. Le Goff was 2-up through 14 before a sensational comeback from Hopkins saw him birdie 15 and win 16 with par. On the 18th, a dramatic finish saw Le Goff’s remarkable bunker shot horseshoe the hole before Hopkins’ 25-foot birdie putt went in and saw the Moortown clubhouse on their feet for a brilliant 1-up win to the Englishman.
Auch-Roy was 2-up with three to play against Chegwidden but the Essex man took it to the last before leaving his birdie putt just shy, as the Frenchman won 1-up. Smith was in devastating form against Strachan, winning 5-up after 14 holes thanks to four birdies, while Shaw-Radford was 3-up before a resistance from Bobo-Lloret saw them all-square after 14. However, Shaw-Radford dug in to win 2&1.
Morin defeated Brown 2&1 and teammate Alzas was in all sorts of trouble against Claridge, who was 3-up after 5, until the Frenchman battled back tremendously to win six of the next nine and eventually saw out a 3&2 win. Bolton found himself 4-down to Van Hauwe and fought back valiantly before succumbing to a 2-up defeat on the last, while Couilleau stormed to a 6&5 win over Baker, shooting -6 through 13 holes.
Day 2
Day two’s morning foursomes was a repeat of day one as the teams finished 2-2. Auch-Roy and Le Goff were in devastating form again to be six-under as a team through 12 holes including an eagle on the 7th to defeat Shaw-Radford and Smith.
Hopkins and Chegwidden played a thriller with Strachan and Bobo-Lloret, halving the 1st in eagles and there was nothing to separate them after 13. But the English duo won 14 and 15 to take a two-hole lead before a breathtaking 17th hole. Hopkins produced a great tee shot but Bobo-Lloret’s response was a dart straight at the pin just several feet short. Despite France looking set to reduce the deficit, Chegwidden stepped up to hole a fantastic 15-footer for birdie and win the match 3&1.
Bens Brown and Bolton went down 1-up on the 18th against Couilleau and Morin before Baker and Claridge got their first points of the competition as they won 2&1 against Alzas and Van Hauwe.
The singles started well for England as they looked to chase down a two-point deficit but Le Goff had revenge over Hopkins with a win on the final hole, before Smith and Shaw-Radford thrashed Auch-Roy and Morin 4&3 and 5&4 respectively.
Bolton was beaten 6&5 by Bobo-Lloret while Chegwidden fought back from 4-down, eagling the 12th and winning 13 and 15, but a three-putt on 16 saw English hopes fade away and he went down 2&1.
Baker lost 2&1 to Van Hauwe and although Brown birdied the 18th against Alzas to win a third match for England, and Claridge won his final two holes for a halve against Couilleau, it was too little too late.
Next year will see England’s biennial International Match take place with Spain, with details to be confirmed.
ENDS
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org