Surrey were crowned winners of the 2023 Boys’ County Finals at John O’Gaunt thanks to a dominant final-round 8.5-0.5 victory over Worcestershire last night.
FORMAT: four-team round-robin matchplay
Surrey only led by a single game point heading into the final day but a 3-0 win in the foursomes, followed by a 5.5-0.5 success in the singles, ensured they secured the trophy for the first time in more than a decade. Yorkshire beat Wiltshire 5-4 to claim second overall.
Surrey player Monty Holcombe said: “We’re so pleased, the whole group has put in so much work. We had a tough first day against Yorkshire, we played well but results didn’t quite go our way but we’re a determined group and we knew anything could happen as it’s a three-day tournament and we came out firing on the final day.”
Surrey’s success came after they lost 5-5-3.5 on the opening day to Yorkshire while the competition was blown wide open on day two after the White Rose squad, which included England internationals Dylan Shaw-Radford and Josh Berry, lost to Worcestershire
Surrey County Head Coach John Noble added: “I’m delighted for the boys, this is topping up a great year for them as we won the qualifier here in July. They’ve all had some fantastic individual performances in this tournament and a big thanks go to my assistant coaches for their hard work in helping us achieve this.
“It’s such a fantastic feeling as I’ve been trying to win this for 11 years and to win it with this bunch of guys who are all mates, is amazing. What’s more is we can still come back again next year as an under-18 group as they’re still so young.”
Holcombe, who was part of the losing GB&I Jacques Léglise Trophy team last week, led from the front for the champions. The Walton Heath player remained undefeated throughout the week, finishing with a record of P6, W5, D1, L0.
James Brash (Foxhills) also didn’t suffer any personal losses, gaining four points out of a possible five. That included an incredible opening day singles success against former Yorkshire County champion Jake Wallis.
Brash was three down with five to play against the Garforth player and won 14, 15, 17 and 18 to gain a one up victory.