After the agony of 2022 there was ecstasy for Worcestershire Boys as they qualified for the final of the County Championships for the first time in 14 years at Kirby Muxloe this week.
FORMAT: 36-hole team stroke play (best 5 out of 6 scores counting in each round)
Last year they missed out on winning the Midlands qualifier by the narrowest of margins. After finishing level with champions Leicestershire, they lost out by one shot by virtue of their ‘sixth player’s efforts – five out of six scores count towards the team score.
But on Wednesday there was no need for ‘countbacks’ as the Worcestershire Six, who also finished third in 2021, ended up 14 shots clear of second-placed Leicestershire, who won the national final for the first time at Furness last August.
U-18s manager Mark Hewlett was delighted for his side, who last year were Midlands League champions, beating Cambridgeshire in the final.
He said: “They have been phenomenal for the last year and what makes it really special is that many of them have been together as a team since they were 10.”
THE WORCESTERSHIRE SIX
• Hugh Adams (Hagley) 67, 73, 140 (-2)
• Cassius Blake (Moseley) 82, 83, 165 (+23)
• Thomas Blizzard (Droitwich) 76, 79, 155 (+13)
• James Ilsley (Stourbridge) 76, 71, 147 (+5)
• Mark Hewlett jnr (Gaudet Luce) 73, 74, 147 (+5)
• Philipp Krone (Moseley) 71, 73, 144 (+2)
England international Hugh Adams (Hagley) led the way, shooting the best score in the morning round at the Leicestershire venue. His four-under-par 67, which included eight birdies, helped his side forge into an eight-shot lead over Cambridgeshire at halfway. St Neots’s Harry McDonnell also opened with a 67.
In the afternoon the host county made a charge with England international Frazer Jones leading from the front. He picked up four birdies in the final seven holes to finish with a 66.
However it was not enough as Stourbridge’s James Ilsley recorded Worcestershire’s best second round score (71) while Adams (73), Moseley’s Philipp Krone (73) and Gaudet Luce’s Mark Hewlett (74) were not far behind.
The Lincolnshire boys also had a strong second round and they moved up to third with Cambridgshire eventually finishing fourth.
Worcestershire will now face the champions of the North, South East and South West in the England Golf final at John O’Gaunt GC in Bedfordshire in August (29-31).