University of Lincoln’s golf team secured their third win of the season at home when they beat relegated Newcastle University 4 to 2 at Woodhall Spa on Wednesday, February 16th.
Lincoln went into their penultimate game knowing a victory over Newcastle would give them a strong chance of reaching the national knock-outs for the third consecutive year. Newcastle came into the match with Lincoln without recording a single victory all season, and any surivival of relegation on their part seemed unlikely.
Rory Dixon and Alex Taylor, who have both been prominent starters for Lincoln all season, were once again out in the first group at Woodhall Spa. Dixon went out looking to set matters straight after he lost to his opponent earlier in the season. However, this time Dixon knew what was at stake and proved too powerful for his counterpart, eventually taking the rubber comfortably, six and five.
Taylor, who was full of confidence after his four birdies in six in the previous match, was looking emulate his Lincoln partner Dixon. But this match was full of inconsistencies for Taylor and even though he showed signs of a comeback he fell to a two and one deficit.
With the fixture now tied at one a piece, captain Sam Buss and Christian Swann went out in the middle group and immediately set the standards for their opposite numbers. The Lincoln skipper put in yet another reliable performance and recorded a three and two victory to boost his side’s chances of winning the fixture.
Buss’ partner Swann was up against Newcastle’s female golfer and even though he was disadvantaged due to the extra yardage, he clinched a one up victory on the 18th.
All Lincoln required now was a point from the last pairing of Jamie Powell and Jonny Elliott. As they reached the 10th hole on the turn it was all too comfortable. However, Newcastle’s final two were not going to give up as easily as expected, and attempted a late surge. It was not enough though, as Powell went on to win his match two and one. However Elliott could not quite manage the same result and lost two and one.
Lincoln only have one match left this season and all they require is a draw against Loughborough University to book their place in the Premier Division national knock-outs. The match is expected to be hard fought as Loughborough need to beat Lincoln to ensure that they finish in 4th place and reach the knock-outs instead of Buss’ men.