On Monday 22nd July, the Essex Ladies 2nd Team continued their winning streak winning 7/2 against Bedfordshire. The match was held at the Bedfordshire Golf Club which hosted very windy conditions with challenging greens. This meant an early start for Essex, leaving at 5.30am to get to the event. Early on Essex were up in one foursomes match but down in the other two. Pairing Charley Hatley and Maura Burns-Zaragoza continued their winning pairing form to give Essex the first point winning 2/1. In true matchplay style, pairing Nikki Bryant and Jessica Murray were 3 down through 8 holes and managed to turn the match around to win 3/2. Final pairing Emma Nagler and Ciara Rushmer got unlucky early on with their opponents having the home knowledge on the greens, however both of the girls, the youngest in the team, fought hard to make it to the 16th hole after being dorm down with 5 to play.
The girls were feeling good after lunch as they were now getting used to the wind and the fast greens. The afternoon was 30 degrees with slightly more wind than the morning and all the players knew it was going to be survival of the fittest in the afternoon matches. The first player out for Essex was Jessica Murray who fought hard to win her match 2/1 and be the first singles point on the board for Essex. Nikki Bryant was playing a Bedfordshire player who's home club was Bedfordshire, however that didn't stop her winning 4/3. Ciara Rushmer was the next player to get a point for Essex winning 2/1 against the Bedfordshire County Captain. Ciara showed maturity beyond her years and held her nerve against a very experienced player. The next point came from Emma Nagler who played Bedfordshire's youngest player and showed her experience by winning 4/3. Maura Burns-Zaragoza played very solid however her opponent hit a fantastic shot into the par 4 16th which proved crucial and Bedfordshire clenched the match 2/1. Bringing in the team was Charley Hatley, a very experienced Essex player who played solid from start to finish, holing a 5 foot putt on the 16th hole to win 3/2 giving Essex the overall 7/2 win and ensuring that Bedfordshire would be unable to overturn Essex at the finals on the 30th August.
A fantastic day was had by all - keep an eye out for our next match on Friday 16th August against Cambs & Hunts.
Many thanks Emily Perry, Essex Ladies County Team Manager