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Cumbria kids handed surprise county call-up
Last updated 11:48, Wednesday, 27 August 2008
TEENAGERS Thomas Forster and David Simpson have been handed a shock call-up for Cumbria’s Northern Counties League title-decider on Saturday.
County call: Thomas Foster, 18, with the County Junior Championship trophy
The pair will make their debut in the biggest game of the season against Durham at Dinsdale Spa when victory for Cumbria could land them the championship for only the second time in their history.
Forster, 18, wins his call-up as reward for winning this month’s Cumbria Junior Championship, while Simpson, also 18, is also in good form.
Both are scratch players and will be pitched together in the foursomes.
Cumbria will be without FOUR key players, including star recruit Gary Wolstenholme, who will this weekend begin his quest to secure a place on the European Tour, and Workington trio Will Bowe, Simon Young and Mark Cowan, who are representing their club at the English Club Championships in Wiltshire.
Despite the blow, county captain Cliff Heath insists the team will be strong enough to challenge for the title.
He said: “I’ve lost quite a few guys but let’s be positive about it – it’s giving up-and-coming lads a chance.
“I’ve every faith in them and they are playing well.
“I don’t think it weakens the team a great deal and we can still go to Durham with a great deal of confidence.
“Durham won’t be a push-over, it will be a tough game but our players are good enough.”
Wolstenholme presented Heath with a major dilemma as the former Walker Cup player said he was unavailable, only to later discover he doesn’t need to set off to Dundonald Golf Club in Ayrshire for the Tour School regional qualifier until Saturday night.
But Heath decided to stick to his original team and has named England’s most capped amateur player as the reserve.
He said: “I was sorry to lose Gary but I had already informed the team when he found out he wasn’t going until late Saturday. I am a man of principle and there was no way I could go to anybody and say Gary Wolstenholme is now available and ask them to stand down, and Gary understands that.”
Cumbria: John Longcake (Silloth), Nicky Bell (Carlisle), Martin hand (Carlisle), James Atkinson (Kendal), Geoff Nixon (Brampton), Craig Morrow (Ulverston), Grant Little (Carlisle), Andrew Millray (Windermere), David Simpson (Penrith), Thomas Forster (Brampton), Brian Rhodes (Barrow) and Stephen Jopson (Carlisle).
Title hopes gone with the wind
Last updated 11:50, Wednesday, 20 August 2008
CUMBRIA hopes of winning the Northern Counties qualifier were blown away on the storm-torn Isle of Man.
Lancashire took the title with their score of 922, with Cumbria nine shots behind in fourth place on 931.
Northumberland finished second (927), Durham third ((29) , the Isle of Man were fifth (932), Yorkshire sixth ((938) and Cheshire seventh (962).
Old warhorse John Longcake led the way for Cumbria, defying wind to shoot a two-over-par 74 in the morning, but the county was forced to settle for sixth place after the morning rounds.
Cumbria returned the best team score in the afternoon with 458.
Gary Wolstenholme led the way with his round of 73, with a chip coming up short on the last hole robbing him of level par.
It was enough to earn the former Walker Cup player, who represents Kendal’s Carus Green Golf Club, a prize for the best afternoon round.
He was followed in by Workington’s Simon Young on 75, Martin Hand improved by nine shots on his morning round to record a 76.
Fellow Carlisle player Nicky Bell found conditions tough and could only improve by one for an 80, while Workington player Will Bowe found the odd gorse bush and the seashore to spoil his contribution to make 80. Longcake, from Silloth, came home with another very steady 74 to narrowly miss out by one shot to take the individual best score, carded by Nick McCarthy of Yorkshire with 147.
Scores: Gary Wolstenholme (Carus Green) 78+73=151; Simon Young (Workington) 79+75=154; Martin Hand (Carlisle) 85+76=161; Nicky Bell (Carlisle) 80+81=161; Will Bowe (Workington) 76+80=156; John Longcake (Silloth) 74+74=148.
- Cumberland News
Ten foot chip puts Cumbria on brink of counties league title
Last updated 13:18, Wednesday, 13 August 2008
New county golf hero Stephen Jopson today recalled the moment how he went from the brink of disaster to clinching one of the most dramatic wins in Cumbria’s history.
Stephen Jopson: ‘It was like a football match’
The Carlisle golfer’s 10-foot chip at the 18th hole saw him half his match against Yorkshire’s James Maw and secure a sensational 9½-8½ victory for Cumbria, which puts them in with a chance of landing the Northern Counties League title.
Jopson was playing in only his third county match after breaking into the team for the second match of the season against Cheshire, and has proved a real surprise package for captain Cliff Heath.
The 23-year-old, who plays off a handicap of plus one, is clearly proving a lucky mascot as Cumbria have now won both the games he has featured in.
But on Saturday at Workington, he enjoyed his finest moment so far with the match finely poised at all square and all eyes on him going to the final hole.
He recalled: “I knew what it was going to come down to because everybody was watching so I just had to concentrate on trying to get a win, but I then drove into the trees.
“I thought I was going to make four. I tried to be aggressive and try to get it as close to the flag as I could, but I hit it a little bit big and nearly put it out of bounds.
“I said to my caddie it would be a good time to chip in and luckily I did from 10 yards. It was 1,000-to-one chance that it went in.
“After that it was like being at a football match as all the Cumbria lads jumped in the air and the Yorkshire players all looked really sick.”
Jopson is a late-comer to the county team, and began the season playing in the B team, before getting his big chance.
He puts his change of fortunes down to hard work practising over the winter and to some advice from team-mate Martin Hand and Carlisle Driving Range pro Craig Goodfellow – and now hopes he can play his part in what would be only the second time that Cumbria have clinched the championship.
He said: “Martin has done well for the county himself and has been a huge help, and I’ve also been going to Craig for lessons.
“They helped change my swing and I recently got down to plus one. Things are going well, and I’m just enjoying playing. I’ve no interest in being a pro and I’m just looking forward to playing in some of the bigger stuff as an amateur.
“We’ve one more match now and we have a chance of winning the league after winning our last three games.”
After Cumbria’s first three pairings of Gary Wolstenholme and Simon Young, John Longcake and Andrew Atkinson and Nicky Bell and Martin Hand all won, Yorkshire then pulled level, leaving the match evenly poised going into the afternoon’s singles.
Fourteen-year-old Seb Crookall-Nixon, Cumbria’s youngest ever player, won his singles match 5&3, while there were also victories for Longcake, Wolstenholme, Young, Hand and Grant Little.
Cumbria now face Durham at Dinsdale Spa in their final game of the season on August 30.
Success for comeback star Hand
Last updated 13:21, Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Comeback star Martin Hand is enjoying his biggest success after returning to the game he quit as a promising teenager.
100 not out: Carlisle county players Nicky Bell and Martin Hand are organising an international tournament at the course to celebrate the club’s centenary
Hand finished tied fourth in the European Mid-Amateur Championship at Postolowo in Poland.
The 37-year-old Carlisle golfer posted a three-round total of 225 (77, 74 and 74) to finish seven shots behind the winner, Denmark’s Michael Flindt.
Sweden’s Niklas Rosenkvist was three shots behind Flindt on 221 and Yorkshire’s Roger Roper the top-placed British golfer third on 224.
Hand’s fellow Carlisle player and county team-mate Nicky Bell finished tied 17th on 229.
The result continued the resurgence in Hand’s amateur career which hopes could see him land his first Cumbria Strokeplay Championship next month on his home course of Carlisle.
He gave up golf at the age of 18, didn’t pick up a club again until he was 25 and didn’t earn a place in the county team until he was 33.
But he has made rapid strides to rediscover his hunger for the game and become one of Cumbria’s top players.
Hand, a plus one handicapper, said: “I was a decent golfer when I was younger but when I got into my late teens other things took over my life.
“I fell out of love with the game and had a complete break from golf. I got a job as an apprentice electrician, started working for a living and realised I couldn’t do both as work had to come first.
“Then I went for a game round Stony Holme when I was about 25 with Nicky Bell and I got the determination to get back to playing well.”
In 2004 Hand had a handicap of four but he improved so much he was playing off plus two at one stage, and forced his way into the county team.
His top five finish in Poland has been the highlight so far but he would love to secure his first Cumbria Strokeplay Championship at Carlisle on June 29 and 30.
He said: “I was really pleased finishing fourth in Poland as it was a real brute of a course – really tough and the longest course in Europe.
“I hope I’ve hit form in time for the County Championship and it would be great to win on my home course, but it’s going to be very tough.
“There are a lot of very good, in-form golfers. John Longcake is in a rich vein of form, Nicky Bell will be on his home course, Gary Wolstenholme will play for the first time and then you also have players like Simon Young and Steven Jopson, so it’s going to be very tough.”
Hand is hoping members of the field at the European Mid-Amateur Championships will take part in Carlisle’s International Mid-Amateur Championship at Carlisle on September 26-28.
The tournament for players over the age of 25 with handicaps of scratch or better will tie in with Carlisle’s centenary celebrations.
C
Simon’s on fire
Last updated 11:41, Wednesday, 11 June 2008
IT was home sweet home for new County Boys’ champion Simon Mulholland.
Just champion: Penrith captain Joe Grinbergs presents the Colonel James Trophy to Edward Stobart
Mulholland, 17, posted a 70 on his home course of Penrith to win the event and the TB Hustler Challenge Trophy, which attracted a record entry of 98 youngsters from 19 clubs. He finished one shot ahead of David Simpson and Jamie McDonald, with Dan Park a further shot back in third place.
Thirty boys turned in scores of nett par or better.
The John Sheffield Trophy for the best gross score by an under-14 non-category-one golfer, was won by Bentham Golf Club’s Ryan Crayston with a score of 81 (nett 67).
The Colonel James Inter-Club Team Trophy for the best aggregate gross score was won by Penrith Golf Club’s team of Simon Mulholland (70), David Simpson (71) and Edward Stobart (77) with a total score of 218. The prize for the best nett score for players with handicaps from nought to 18 was won by Workington Golf Club’s Sean Hoskin (handicap 18) with a nett 65.
The prize for the best nett score for players with handicaps from 19 to 30 was won by Windermere Golf Club’s Dom Musetti (handicap 24) - also with a nett score of 65.
The team to represent Cumbria in the EGU Champion Junior Club Competition at Harewood Downs Golf Club on August 9 and 10 was also decided at this event. Workington earned the honour with an amazing aggregate nett score of 199.
The four-man team was Brad Hannah (73), Adam Shuttleworth (68), Sean Hoskin (65) and Jamie Caine (66) with the three lowest scores to count.
umberland News
Cumbria record morale-boosting victory
Last updated 11:39, Wednesday, 04 June 2008
CUMBRIA captain Cliff Heath hailed his team’s battling spirit after they battled back to defeat Northumberland at Brampton – despite losing their opening four singles matches.
Up and out: Gary Wolstenholme plays a shot out of the greenside bunker on the first hole during the morning foursomes
Cumbria collected a morale-boosting 9½-8½ victory over their neighbours but it looked at one point as if they were about to lose their second game of the season following their opening Northern Counties League defeat to Lancashire last month.
After the morning foursomes finished 3-3, debutant Gary Wolstenholme (Carus Green), Will Bowe (Workington), Nick Bell (Carlisle) and John Longcake (Silloth) all lost their opening singles matches, leaving Cumbria staring at another defeat.
But they went on to win six of their final seven matches as Workington’s Simon Young rediscovered his form to lead the fight-back.
Ulverston’s Craig Morrow, Kendal’s James Atkinson, Brampton pair Geoff Nixon and Grant Little and Andrew Millray, of Workington, all won, with Carlisle’s Martin Hand halving his match.
Heath said: “There were some tremendous performances. It was extraordinary as we were three-up at one stage but then we were 7-3 down.
“When our first four players lost it looked disastrous and to see us win six of our last seven matches is remarkable. Our tail end did very well.”
Elsewhere, Yorkshire hosted Durham at the Oaks and set about making amends for their defeat against Northumberland earlier in the Month.
They went into lunch after winning five of the foursomes and halving one and then they won the singles 10½-1½ and the match 15-3.
Lancashire played Cheshire at St. Annes Old Links where the league leaders held on to win a very close run match by 9½-8½ and retain their position at the top of the table.
Senior selection
Last updated 11:39, Wednesday, 04 June 2008
CUMBRIA will include three past and present county captains in the team which will play in the Northern Counties Senior Championships, known as the Big Six.
Terry Rhodes
Present captain Cliff Heath has been named in the team, along with two of his predecessors, Andrew Morrison and Terry Rhodes.
This year’s event for over-55s will be played at Fairhaven, near Lytham, on July 8 and 9.
Cumbria: Andrew Morrison (Appleby), Eric Gullicksen (Seascale), Cliff Heath (Windermere/Silloth), Peter Cresswell (Barrow), Terry Rhodes (Ulverston) and John Willis (Carlisle).
Longcake beats his pal to land third title
Last updated 11:39, Wednesday, 28 May 2008
COUNTY golf stalwart John Longcake landed his third County Matchplay Championship – defeating three players who weren’t even born when he first won the title in 1985.
John Longcake: ‘I’ve had a good run of late, so I went into the event in good form and I was delighted to win’
The Silloth on Solway player defeated Martin Hand 5&4 in the final at Ulverston on Monday.
In the earlier rounds, Longcake, 45, overcame youngsters Stephen Jopson, James Oliphant and Chris Coates – three players who weren’t even born when he collected his first matchplay crown.
In the qualifying strokeplay contest on Saturday, he led the field with two rounds of level par 71.
His victory capped a flying start to the season for the country star, who is one of Cumbria’s most decorated players, and who has also won five County Strokeplay titles. He won the Ulverston 36-hole Open Scratch competition two weeks ago by three shots, before winning the Silloth 36-hole Open Scratch after a three-man play-off.
Longcake played tribute to county team-mate Hand after the final finished at the 14th.
The pair will put their rivalry to one side when they represent Cumbria against Northumberland at Brampton on Saturday, and Longcake is also tipping Hand to win the County Strokeplay title at Carlisle on June 29.
He said: “Martin is a good friend of mine and we play a lot of golf together.
“He is the most improved golfer in the county and he will be one of the players to beat in the strokeplay at Carlisle.
“He was a reasonable player for a long time but in the last couple of years he put a lot of effort into his practice and decided he wanted to get better.
“I’ve had a good run of late, so I went into the event in good form and I was delighted to win.”
Longcake is optimistic Cumbria can bounce back from their 14½-3½ to Lancashire at Seascale earlier this month when they take on Northumberland at Brampton on Saturday.
He said: “We can still win the league if we win the remainder of our matches.
“We played well against Lancashire but they are a really good team with good players who play full-time. Northumberland will probably be similar as they defeated Yorkshire but there’s no reason why we can’t win.
“Everybody has the same ability but it is down to who putts best on the day.”
County bag a new kit
By Amanda Little
Last updated 05:30, Friday, 23 May 2008
CUMBRIA’S golf team, pictured, received the perfect boost to the new season by securing a sponsorship deal.
Seascale Golf Cub hosts Cumbria Golf v Lancashire
Carlisle firm Armstrong Watson Financial Planning & Wealth Management have handed the team a five-year sponsorship deal.
The deal will see all 15 members of the squad provided with elite Galvin Green Performance sports attire, as well as funding coaching.
Paul Dickson, head of financial planning & wealth management at Armstrong Watson, said: "Cumbria Golf and Armstrong Watson both share the same aspirational values - to inspire our team, and invest heavily in personal development and training to ensure we're always at the top of our game. To be able to support CUGC achieve this was a natural decision and we're looking forward to our on-going relationship with the team."
The team got off to a disappointing start in their opening match when they lost 14½-3½ to Lancashire at Seascale on Saturday.
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