After Suffolks incredible 2nd place achievement in the 2024 Eastern Inter Counties Foursomes, the players, Captains and officials headed to Seacroft golf club with excitement. It was a very similar team to last year so Suffolk hoped experience would help the team push for another high finish.
Saturday morning and session 1 of 4 was an encounter with Cambridgeshire and defending champions Lincolnshire. The Lincolnshire match up would always prove pivotal even at this early stage if Suffolk wanted to compete in this event. Suffolk’s first pair Ben Sayers and Max Weaver set out their stool winning both of their points in round one. 2nd pair Taylor Crisp and Jimmy Price also came through strong with 2 huge points. Gregor Tait and Josh Robertson managed a point too whilst Jack Cardy and Will Wright added another half point to secure Suffolk a solid 5.5 point start, the same as Lincolnshire. Leicestershire and Bedfordshire lead the way at this early stage.
Another challenge, Saturday afternoon, with Essex and Bedfordshire. Max and Ben again start fast and give Suffolk a huge boost with another 2 points. Taylor and Jimmy also contributed another point as our top two pairs have a super day on the links. Harry Brinded had come off the bench in this session too. He helped Sam Renville collect a handy point. Greg and Josh found their stride too in this session taking both of their points. A total of 6 and another strong session meant we went to bed in a tie for 3rd with BB&O, ready to try chase down Leicestershire and Essex on Sunday.
Sunday morning was the stand out session of the day. Suffolk needed a big morning but in our way stood the leaders Leicestershire and BB&O, a team made up of 3 counties. Our mammoth morning session got off to a great start with Ben and Max getting both of their points again! It was turning into a special weekend for our top pair. In this Session Harry played with Russell Oakey and they managed to add a point too. With our 2nd and 3rd group unable to add any more points, any chance we had at an afternoon charge depended on the back pair, Gregor and Josh. A tense watch on the last hole was met with relief as Gregor holed out from 5 feet for 1.5 more points. A 4.5 point morning session left Suffolk work to do but it wasn’t completely out of site.
With one session to go Suffolk were 2.5 points off Leicestershires lead and also had the small matter of Essex and BB&O to get past too. Lincolnshire were only half a point behind us. The instructions from the captain were clear, go for 10 points. Ben and Max lead by example again with 2 more points. A 4 foot putt holed on the last by Ben meant a 100% week for the top boys which playing number one is an incredible achievement. Taylor’s final putt slid by sadly but he and Jimmy still managed to add another 1.5 and it was still very much game on. Harry was now playing with Jack. This new pair gelled nicely adding another 1.5. Our 4th pair were unfortunate not to collect any points but when Gregor and Josh got both of theirs the dream was back on.
A 7 point final session was excellent and gave us a slim chance. The slim chance got bigger when Leicestershire failed to complete their job with a poor final session. Essex and BB&O also tailed off as the weekend drew to a conclusion. Just as Suffolk started to dream, the juggernaut that is Lincolnshire come in with an incredible 8.5 and hopes were dashed.
A heart breaking way to finish a wonderful weekend for Suffolk. The players fought valiantly and proved again they have what it takes to compete in that flagship event. Another 2nd place finish for Suffolk just 1point behind the top spot. Well done to all involved.
