Essex Golf Union

Leslie F Wood Championship 2023

First Round Draw

Second Round Draw

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2022 LESLIE F WOOD CHAMPIONSHIP
FINAL
Played at Upminster Golf Club      

 The 20 22 Final between Braintree and Royal Epping Forest was contested on the 28th August at Upminster Golf Club. The hosts presented their course in great condition and made  their guests feel most welcome throughout the day.

The morning foursomes commenced in cool conditions, with a little cloud keeping the temperature at a comfortable level. There was little to choose between both teams as the pairings reached the halfway stage, three close matches and each side holding a good lead in one. The first match remained too close to call all the way to the final hole, finishing all square. Match 2 had a dramatic turnaround as Braintree let a good lead slip, eventually resulting in a win for Royal Epping. It was a similar result in the following two matches as both finished with comfortable wins for Royal Epping. The final foursomes match also produced a tense finale, Royal Epping going to the 18th tee 1up fired in their tee shot to 6 feet which was good enough to close out the match with another win. Braintree faced a tough challenge if they were to lift the L Wood shield taking a four-point deficit into the afternoon singles.

Following lunch, in the region of 60 supporters watched on as the afternoon singles got underway. The buoyant Royal Epping team and supporters looking ‘pretty in pink’. Knowing Braintree had to front load their afternoon order, John Lindsay, Royal Epping’s team captain put himself out first to lead from the front. Once again at the halfway stage most matches were too close to call. Three of the first four went the distance to the 18th hole, with Royal Epping taking wins in two games. Match three resulted in a win for Braintree which meant that with two wins each Royal Epping had fended off the fightback that Braintree required. The gallery was being treated to some excellent match play golf from both sides.

As matches five, six, and seven all finished in favour of Royal Epping the magic total of 8 points was passed giving a well-deserved victory to Royal Epping Forest. There was a comfortable win for Braintree in one of the remaining matches, but as the final had concluded those matches still in play were called in and awarded half points.

The match was played in great spirit, both Clubs can be proud of the efforts from their teams over the whole season.

The Essex Golf Union would like to thank Upminster Golf Club for hosting the event and their wonderful hospitality and also the spectators, who came, enthusiastically to support both teams and make it a special day.

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2021 LESLIE F WOOD CHAMPIONSHIP
FINAL
Played at Colchester Golf Club

The 2021 Final between Basildon and holders Upminster was played on the 29th August at Colchester Golf Club. The hosts presented the course in great condition and made all their guests most welcome throughout the day.

The morning foursomes commenced in cool conditions, with a gentle autumnal breeze which blew across the course. Upminster quickly established leads in the first two matches out on the course with the other matches remaining close during the first nine holes with slim leads being held by one side or the other. There was an early finish in match 1 in favour of Upminster, the match concluding on the 11th green. Four of the five matches eventually finished in Upminster’s favour with Basildon’s only point coming from the final match.

Following lunch in the region of 80 supporters watched on as the afternoon singles got underway. In the first match Lewis Bellotti continued the good form for Upminster by establishing an early lead. By the 10th hole Upminster held good leads in two of the first five matches with the others being close, however, four of the remaining five matches showed Basildon in front. The supporters of both teams were being treated to some excellent matchplay golf by two evenly matched teams.

As the first four matches out concluded, Upminster recorded victories in three matches with a sole win for Basildon in match 2, though a big win for Basildon in match 9 helped them keep a slender foothold in the final. Upminster were just one point away from retaining their title and this was eventually achieved when Allan Thomson concluded his match on the 16th green. In most of the remaining matches left out on the course Basildon held slender leads, but as the final had concluded all those matches were called in and awarded half points.

The match was played in great spirit, both Clubs can be proud of the efforts of their teams.

The Essex Golf Union would like to thank Colchester Golf Club for hosting the event and their wonderful hospitality, and also the many spectators who came to enthusiastically support both teams and make it a special day.

Leslie F Wood Championship 2019

2019 FINAL
Upminster v Romford
Played at Canons Brook Golf Club

The 2019 Final between local rivals Romford and Upminster was played on the 1stSeptember at the venue of last year’s winners, Canons Brook Golf Club. The hosts presented the course in great condition and made all their guests most welcome throughout the day.

The morning foursomes commenced in cool conditions, with a gentle autumnal breeze which blew across the course. 

All matches remained close during the first nine holes with slim leads being held by one side or the other. 

Four of the five matches eventually went down the 18th, the only one to conclude earlier than that resulted in Upminster’s only win from the morning foursomes. Romford took the lion’s share of points from the close finishes resulting in them going into lunch with a slender 2-point lead.

The morning foursomes had attracted in the region of 80 supporters but this number swelled to more than 200 as the afternoon singles got underway, and this added to the great atmosphere out on the course. In the first two matches out either side took a significant early lead, but the scores after that were very close as they came through the par 3 seventh hole, andperhaps they appeared to be slightly favouring Upminster. The sizeable support for both teams were being treated to some excellent matchplay golf by two evenly matched teams. As the first four matches out concluded, Upminster recovered the lunchtime deficit and had tied the match on 4.5 points each, with most of the remaining matches too close to call. The next two matches went to the challenging par 5 18thhole. Scott Pope and Micky Nash both recorded narrow 1up victories for Upminster and their supporters started to believe a memorable victory was on the cards. Neil Packer suddenly won a few holes and recorded a further point for Upminster on the 16thhole, who now just needed a half point to clinch victory. As match 7 approached the 18thgreen with Romford’s Henry Styles holding a slender 1up advantage, Paul Berner left the 15thgreen with a 3up lead for Upminster, dormie 3, guaranteeing Upminster the half point they needed to complete a great fight back. 

It was an exciting conclusion to a great match, played in great spirit, both Clubs can be proud of the efforts of their teams. 

The Essex Golf Union would like to thank Canons Brook Golf Club for hosting the event and their wonderful hospitality, and also the many spectators who came to enthusiastically support both teams and make it a special day.

Click on the image to the left to See the PDF Result Sheet.

First Round Results

Second Round Results

Third Round Results

Quarter Final Results

Semi Final Results

Leslie Wood Final

Congratulations to Canons Brook, 2018 winners.

2018 LESLIE F WOOD CHAMPIONSHIP

FINAL

Played at The Warren Golf Club

The Leslie F Wood Final between Canons Brook and Woolston Manor was played on the 2nd September at the venue of last year’s winners, The Warren Golf Club.

The morning foursomes commenced in cool conditions, and there were signs of tension in some of the golf played over the opening holes. Most matches remained close during the first nine holes, but the first two games finished with fairly comfortable wins, one for each side. The remaining matches were all very tightly contested eventually concluding with a match each and the final match being halved. So, the lunchtime position showed the two teams in a tie, and the prospect of a close finish to the day.

In the afternoon singles there seemed little to separate the teams as nine of the matches went through the 10thhole with either a 1up or All Square score. The sizeable support for both teams were being treated to some excellent matchplay golf by two evenly matched teams. As the afternoon progressed the tide slowly started to turn in favour of Canons Brook, as they recorded narrow wins in four of the first five matches. Matches six and seven were shared with a win each, putting Canons Brook close to victory, and then with a guaranteed half in match eight as it went to the 18thhole the result was confirmed. Congratulations to Canons Brook.

It was an exciting conclusion to a great match, played in great spirit, both Clubs can be proud of the efforts of their teams. 

The Essex Golf Union would like to thank The Warren Golf Club for hosting the event, and also the many spectators who came to enthusiastically support both teams.