On a day of July sunshine Harrow welcomed two new 55 year old youngsters to the side this year....Mark Aubrey-Fletcher and Adrian Gracey who provided fire power to the established and ageing quartet of Tindall Warman Brewer and Fricker.It looked a promising side on paper and in the event was so nearly so!
We played Radley in the first round and with the Woking course and greens in magnificent condition rolling at 11 on the stimp overcame a well respected side 2.5/0.5. A satisfactory start.....
Marlborough next up and with Tindall and Warman at top pair struggling to find the fairways from the tee and losing their match it was solid victories from Brewer/Gracey and Aubrey-Fletcher/Fricker which saw Harrow through 2/1.
The following day with the sun out once more Harrow were up against Highgate who had beaten a decent Rugby side the day before.
All 3 Harrow pairs played well enough to see them off 3/0 so onto the final where Malvern awaited who had also won the Hewitt this year and so were thirsting for more glory!
This is where the Captain is slightly kicking himself for not tweaking pairings at lunchtime as despite the 3/0 win in the morning there were ominous signs of some Harrovian swings starting to crack......so it proved and as the final wore on the evidence of Harrow tee shots finding the bushes or thick heather began to mount. A change of pairings and order at lunch could have made for a very different result.
As it was Malvern's top pair took out Warman and Tindall with something to spare and Brewer and Gracey followed in their footsteps shortly after leaving Aubrey-Fletcher and Fricker to agree a halved match as they were neck and neck with a few to play.
So a 2.5/0.5 loss in the final.
For the second time in 3 years a runners up slot which felt particularly disappointing especially when Malvern sang their school song in celebration of victory on the clubhouse veranda despite being told their throats would be slit if they did!
All in all a wholly enjoyable tournament with Woking as gracious as ever with their welcome and hospitality.
We look forward to another tilt at it next year with a number of good players now vying for places which is an encouraging sign for years to come.
JMT Warman .
