IRELAND BEAT SCOTLAND, ENGLAND NOW TITLE FAVOURITES

For Immediate Publication Issued Thursday 15th August, 2013 England poised for victory after demolishing Wales England are favourites to regain the Raymond Trophy at Ganton tomorrow after demolishing Wales 11-4 on day two of the Home Internationals, supported by Fairstone Financial Management Ltd, while Ireland overcame reigning champions Scotland 6½ – 8½.  Just a draw with the Scots tomorrow will see England as champions, while Scotland need to win. Ireland, could still feature if they can copy England’s win over Wales. After losing the foursomes 2-3 with some indifferent play, the English players came out after lunch with all guns blazing. The morning setback was a wake-up call and they turned the contest on its head by winning all but one of the ten singles. “This morning was not pleasant,” said England captain Terry Casey. “We didn’t play our best but all credit to Wales for their good play. We had a few words at lunch and there was a complete turnaround. The boys played to their true potential and I couldn’t fault them this afternoon. “Now, it’s in our own hands. We know it won’t be easy. It never is against the Scots. They are strong in depth and they won’t give us anything as we found in the Europeans in Denmark.”        From the first tee-off in the afternoon England were generally in charge. Ryan Evans (image copyright Leaderboard Photography) was certainly that. He covered the front nine in 31 strokes with an eagle and four birdies to be 7-up against Craig Melding, the Wellingborough man eventually winning 7 and 6. The rest of the team seem to feed off that. New English champion Callum Shinkwin romped 5-up through seven holes against Jason Shufflebotham and eventually ran out a 4 and 3 winner as did Ben Stow over Mike Hearne after being 3-up at the turn. Jimmy Mullen, used only in the singles, maintained his 100% record with a 4 and 2 win over Welsh champion Jack Bush, Harry Casey completed his fourth successive victory, 4 and 3 over Richard James, while Toby Tree twice built a three hole lead to beat Matthew Moseley 3 and 2. There were also wins for Nick Marsh and Pat Howard, while Craig Hinton came back from 2-down to Ben Westgate too win on the last green. There was consolation for Wales when Alastair James got the better of Michael Saunders by 2 and 1. Ireland put a spanner in Scotland’s works when they came from behind to beat the reigning champions after trailing 2-3 from the morning foursomes. They took command in the afternoon, winning six of the singles and halving another to see the lads in green to their winning 8½ points. “We were very disappointed to lose to England yesterday but today we played a lot better,” said Ireland captain Padraig Hogan. “We are still struggling with our foursomes pairings but we won all the tight matches today and you need a bit of luck “This course is fantastic. The greens are getting faster and faster and it is the player who is most patient who comes out on top. We are relying on Scotland to beat England tomorrow but the outcome is going to be very tight.” Brian Casey led the way for the Irish in the singles with a 4 and 3 win over James Ross then Gavin Moynihan took the top game 2 and 1 against Graeme Robertson. Moynihan was 3-up after going out in two-under-par 34 and although Robertson pegged it back, the end came at the 17th. Dermot McElroy found himself two behind early on to Jack McDonald, who was also out in 34, thanks to an eagle at the ninth and 1-up. McElroy levelled with a birdie-two on the tenth, went ahead with another on 12 and they swopped further birdies until a par on the last saw McElroy take the point by 1 hole. However, the Scots were not to be denied. Grant Forrest edged past Kevin Phelan 2 and 1 and Alex Culverwell secured their biggest winning margin, 4 and 3 over Cormac Sharvin. Scott Borrowman trailed most of the way against Ireland’s Reeve Whitson and was still 2-down with four to play. But the Scot took the 15th with a par and 17 with a birdie to secure a half. With Bradley Neil earning the Scots another point with a 3 and 2 win over Gary Hurley the battle wasn’t over. However, Pat Dunne led Daniel Young all the way to win 3 and 2 and Rory McNamara did the same against Matthew Clark. It was left to Jack Hume to see Ireland over the line by turning his game around when it must have seemed lost. Scott Crichton was 4-up at the turn but Hume found his form on the back nine, winning four holes-in-a-row from the tenth, two with birdies, to get back level and although Crichton led again with a birdie at 14, Hume covered the last three holes in par to win by 1 hole. For more information and full results visit the Home Internationals website.-ENDS- For further information please contact: Lynne Fraser Marketing & PR Manager England Golf