Golf: Union boss Chris Mear has to make do and mend

Jun 27 2009 by Peter Barrow, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

UNION champion Richard Broadley has made himself unavailable for Halifax/Huddersfield’s Yorkshire Inter-union League date with Harrogate at Harrogate Starbeck tomorrow.

And to add to team manager Chris Mear’s headaches, so has first-choice replacement Steve Martin, the former champion from West End.

Mear found a good cure by drafting in talented 16-year-old Jamie Bower from his own club Meltham to fill the breach and is confident about the inclusion of the keen-as-mustard Yorkshire Under 16 player.

“He’ll do a good job, no problem,” said Mear.

“He played two matches last season – it would have been three had not the Sheffield game been washed out – and he is unbeaten.”

Young Bower made a winning debut for Yorkshire Under 16s last season and won both his matches against Wales Under 16s at Fixby in April.

He boosted his credentials in the Yorkshire Amateur championship at Pannal this week, adding a well constructed one under par 71 to a 76 to qualify for the matchplay stage ahead of many established players.

There he came up against a difficult foe in another 16-year-old, Gareth Johnson, a Yorkshire Boys and Leeds Union team member from Howley Hall who is in good nick at the moment, having led the first qualifying round on 68. Johnson advanced by 4&2.

Mear could be celebrating a first win after losing out to Leeds at Wetherby then seeing a good lead slip away as East Riding rallied to force a tied match.

Though Harrogate have been a chopping block in past seasons – they finished rock bottom last season with the ignominious record of losing all six matches – now they can be a force to be reckoned with, as they showed this term by tieing with champions Sheffield and winning away at Teesside, but they are said to be under strength tomorrow.

Team: Halifax, Huddersfield (v Harrogate): A Shaw (Huddersfield), J Fairhurst (Huddersfield), I Powell (Hebden Bridge), S Bridges (West End), G McLean (Meltham), C Ingham (West End), F Greaves (West End), B Tupman (Huddersfield), D Stocchero (Huddersfield), D Stafford (Todmorden), B Crowther (Dewsbury), J Bower (Meltham).