Golf: Hampshire breeze to victory against Nottinghamshire

Hampshire were quick out of the blocks as England U16 international Albie Beeston decided less was more, playing just 24 of a possible 36 holes on the first day at Goswick Park, a fantastic links course on the far Northumbrian coast, close to the Scottish border.

Last year’s North of England U16 winner romped to an 8&6 win in the top foursomes match, playing with recent South of England Boys Open winner Max Blake, from Corhampton.

Left to right: Tiago Fernandes, Fred Gll (capt), George Scott, Albie Beeston, Michael Whittaker, Alfie Batten and Max Blake. (Image: Hampshire Golf)

And after the North Hants GC member’s teammates won one and lost the other of the three alternate shot matches before lunch, Albie went out first and demolished Nottinghamshire No. 1 Harry Banner with four birdies on his way to another 8&6 victory.

Banner was struggling with a niggling injury from the third but Albie was in no mood for taking pity on his opponent and smashed an eight-iron 210 yards on the par-five fourth to make a four on the Northumbrian links course, close to the Scottish border.

With Blake winning three holes in a row from the fourth before sinking a 30-foot birdie on the eighth to complete a 5&3 win over Nottinghamshire’s William Psenko, the leaderboard rapidly turned into a sea of blue.

Banner and Psenko are both members of England Golf’s Midlands Regional Squad, but Hampshire proved their depth goes beyond their three members of the South Region training squad for U18s.

Royal Winchester’s Michael Whittaker, who was beaten playing with English U15 champion Tiago Fernandes before lunch, bounced back brilliantly to send Jack Grinter to another crushing defeat – this time by 6&5 – having lost 5&4 to the same player and partner Psenko before lunch.

Beeston sent out captain Fred Gill, from Basingstoke in the anchor role in the singles and he was quickly in control against Leo Price, from the Midlands Champions.

Stoneham’s Albie Batten was two-up after six against Theo Nelson but the Notts teenager hit back to go all-square by the 10th.

He then claimed his team’s sole full point of the afternoon session by closing out a 3&2 victory.

Gill, who became just the fourth Hampshire player to be crowned South East Junior Champion in more than 60 years, at the end of May made it two points out of two with a 3&2 win.

Albie Beeston (North Hants) and Max Blake (Corhampton) congratulating each other on winning their point in the first foursomes match against Nottinghamshire’s Harry Banner and Theo Nelson. (Image: England Golf)

That left Batten’s clubmate George Scott, brought in for this debut after lunch, to fight for a half having come back from two-down with four to play.

With favourites Yorkshire rattling off an 8-1 win over Somerset in the other match, every point could be crucial by the time of Thursday’s finale.

And Scott – a member of the South East League team who qualified for September’s final – got up-and-down from a bush on the 16th, and won the 17th – before both parred the last for a draw to make it 6½-2½ to Hampshire, who reached the finals in three-out-of-four years from 2012.

County junior manager Richard Beeston is bidding to lead Hampshire to victory in the English Boys Finals for the first time at the sixth attempt.

Winning the title has proved beyond teams containing the likes of Walker Cup stars Justin Rose, Scott Gregory and Jack Singh-Brar over the past 30 years.

Yorkshire have a record 10 victories since the first final in 1986.

Rose – who like Beeston played at North Hants as a junior – played in the 1996 finals, aged just 16, less than a month before he would help the Hampshire men’s team be crowned English County Champions – for the first time in 70 years since the competition was founded by the English Golf Union.

The latter was created in 1925 and Hampshire are the oldest county golf union in the country having been founded back in 1893, a year before Yorkshire, who were their first-ever opponents in an inter-county match.