Strong finish gives England U16s victory over Wales A strong finish brought England a two-point victory in the annual U16 boys’ international against Wales at Radyr Golf Club. They won the final singles session 4½-3½ to seal an 11-9 win against a strong Welsh side. Team manager Nick Over remarked: “It is worthy of note that 15 of the 20 matches went to the 17th or 18th hole which reflected the closeness of the match. "Overall, I was extremely pleased with the way the boys battled to the end to eventually overcome a spirited Welsh team in a match that could have gone either way.” The result was in doubt until the last two matches finished on the 18th, where Taylor Stote won his point with a par and Harvey Byers – who was unbeaten during the three sessions – also parred the hole to halve his game.  England had gone into the final session with a one point lead, after winning the opening singles 5-3 and taking 1½ points from the four foursomes In the first day’s matches, Angus Flanagan was unbeaten, playing very well to win his singles and battling well with George Saunders to gain a half in the foursomes. Harvey Byers was also unbeaten – and was perhaps unlucky not to win both his points. His approach shot struck the flag on the last in the singles and the ball finished further away than it otherwise would have done. He had to settle for a par and a halved match. He teamed up with Harry Goddard for a convincing win in the foursomes after being down on the front nine. James Wilson won his singles point and then provided the highlight of the afternoon with back-to-back iron shots to one foot from the hole on both the 14th and 15th, both conceded for birdie. His partner, Luke Kelly, played only one shot in two holes! Despite this, they lost the last hole and finished one down. The team was: Harvey Byers (Walton Heath), Angus Flanagan (St George’s Hill), Harry Goddard (Hanbury Manor), Luke Kelly (Ashton-under-Lyne), Thomas Plumb (Sherborne), George Saunders (Meon Valley), Taylor Stote (Burnham & Berrow), and James Wilson (Tyneside). The autumn U16 series continues with a match against Scotland at Dalmahoy on 26-27 September and a match against Ireland follows a fortnight later on the weekend of 10-11 October at Templepatrick. The teams for these will be announced later. Lyndsey Hewison Press Officer England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 07825 752 193