The Brent Knoll Bowl

Date: 24-25 March 2012

Venue: Burnham & Berrow

Captain: Nigel Whalley

 

Report on 2011

A weekend of sunshine without any wind marked this as a very enjoyable Brent Knoll.  It was good to have new young blood in the team especially as they all played very well with a bit of guidance from their elderly partners. The strategy of playing old with young seemed to work well.

 

Our first round was against the Erratics from Royal Porthcawl in South Wales.  Francis had to travel up to Burnham on Saturday morning and got off to a slow start, which against the Welsh Amateur Champion they could not quite recover from and lost 2 and 1.  Whalley and Kelly played steadily and won 2 and 1 leaving it all down to the final match. Aubin and Irving were all square with two to play.  There was plenty to watch on the short 17th, which was eventually halved in five with the advantage switching each time someone played a shot. At 18 the Erratics were in the edge of a bush with their drive but managed to chip out and get on the green to 15 feet in three. Aubin holed a twenty foot putt for a four to win the match.

 

We were surprised that Marlborough had beaten Clifton and we were expecting a tough and close game. All three Sherborne pairs played well and in the end we all won our games comfortably. This gave us confidence for the next round which would be tough against the RAF. Aubin and Irving did not play as well the next morning and were defeated 5 and 4. Whalley and Kelly also did not play well but thankfully our opposition were generous enough to play worse and we won 3 and 2. The top match was the decider and played to a high standard with par golf. All square on the 17th and both 15 feet from the hole with their tee shots in identical places it was just us to putt. Francis just missed but unfortunately showed the opposition the line and they holed for a birdie two. They also managed to get up and down at the 18th from the greenside bunker for a half in four to win the match.  Disappointed as we were to loose, we consoled ourselves with the fact that we were the last school team standing as the other semi-final comprised the Army and Navy.





Match details

Brent Knoll Bowl - Round 1 v Erratic GS at Burnham & Berrow on 26 March 2011

  Score Points
Score
 Points
1. R A R Francis & J B D Pralle   0 J G Jermine & M Wyatt 2&1 1
2. N K Whalley & E R S Kelly 2&1 1 A M Ingram & R deLloyd   0
3. N D Aubin & J R E Irving 1 up 1 T J Melia & E P Graham   0
Result won 2-1   2     1





Brent Knoll Bowl - Round 2 v Marlborough at Burnham & Berrow on 26 March 2011

  Score Points
Score
 Points
1. R A R Francis & J B D Pralle 4&3 1 M A Griffiths & T C K Macfarlane   0
2. N K Whalley & E R S Kelly 4&3 1 A O Gough & J R Hewer   0
3. N D Aubin & J R E Irving 5&$ 1 M P R Cornish & A J Naylor   0
Result won 3-0   3     0







Brent Knoll Bowl - Semi Final v RAF at Burnham & Berrow on 27 March 2011

  Score Points
Score
 Points
1. R A R Francis & J B D Pralle   0 D B Marshall & M J Oliver 1 up 1
2. N K Whalley & E R S Kelly 3&2 1 S J Halliday & G Ashcroft   0
3. N D Aubin & J R E Irving   0 C E Audin & B J McKee 5&4 1
Result lost 1-2   1     2