Surrey golfers help England under-16s beat Ireland
A pair of Surrey golfers helped England under-16s romp to victory over the Republic of Ireland.
Aaron Moody, from Burhill Golf Club, and Emily Peaford, who plays at Walton Heath Golf Club, starred as England Golf’s under-16s stormed to a 14-4 win in their annual international match with Ireland at Ballybunion Golf Club.
After Saturday morning’s action was cancelled because of the weather, the teams played foursomes in the afternoon in 40mph winds with 55mph gusts.
There was nothing separating the teams at the end of the day’s play, as they were level at 3-3, after some extremely tight matches saw four of the six go down the final hole.
But England proved prolific in the Sunday singles, as they amazingly won 11 of their 12 matches to complete an emphatic win.
England under-16 team captain and manager Jamie O’Connor said: “There were a couple of key moments on Saturday as George Whitehead and Aaron Moody crucially won the 17th and 18th to win their foursomes match, while Frankie Morton and Albie Beeston won 16 and 17 to recover a half in their match.
“It was well poised and we knew that we’d have to perform well on day two to get the win, and it was a really strong performance to complete a big victory, with the girls winning 6-0, and the boys winning 5-1.
“It was a really experienced England team, and was probably the last cap for all the players as under-16s, so it was a really good test for the youngsters of how they control the controllables, and how to just stick in there and get the job done, as the weather was biblical!
“A big thanks to Ballybunnion and Golf Ireland for arranging it. We look forward to the return fixture next year, where we’ll be excited to have 12 fresh faces.”
Results (England players first):
Foursomes: England 3-3 Ireland
Ellie Lichtenhein & Daisy Lee v Alex Kearney & Hannah-Lee McNamara (tied)
Arianna Virk & Ria Prabhakar v Gemma McMeekin & Grace Dowdall (lost 1-down)
Lauren Crump & Emily Peaford v Beth Cuthbert & Eva Branks (won 2&1)
Alex Boyes & Thomas Hartshorne v Harry O’Hara & John William Burke (lost 7&6)
George Whitehead & Aaron Moody v Luke Furlong & Adam Doherty (won 1-up)
Frankie Morton & Albie Beeston v Eoin Burrows & John Moran (tied)
Singles: England 11-1 Ireland
Alex Boyes (Teesside, Yorkshire) v John Moran (won 3&1)
George Whitehead (Hillside, Lancashire) v Harry O’Hara (won 3&2)
Aaron Moody (Burhill, Surrey) v Luke Furlong (won 1-up)
Frankie Morton (Orsett, Essex) v Eoin Burrows (won 2&1)
Albie Beeston (North Hants, Hampshire) v Adam Doherty (won 4&2)
Thomas Hartshorne (Teesside, Yorkshire) v John William Burke (lost 3&2)
Lauren Crump (Hill Valley, Shropshire) v Gemma McMeekin (won 2-up)
Daisy Lee (Lancaster, Lancashire) v Alex Kearney (won 1-up)
Arianna Virik (Coventry Hearsall, Warwickshire) v Grace Dowdall (won 4&3)
Ria Prabhakar (West Essex, Essex) v Eva Branks (won 3&1)
Ellie Lichtenhein (The Buckinghamshire, Buckinghamshire) v Beth Cuthbert (won 6&4)
Emily Peaford (Walton Heath, Surrey) v Hannah-Lee McNamara (won 4&3)