Bedfordshire County Golf
Ryan Craig
Ryan Craig (Dunstable Downs) has enjoyed a fantastic return to amateur county golf in 2024, with the highlight being his individual performance at the South East Group (SEG) flagship event, the ‘6-man’. The championship is a 36-hole strokeplay qualifier event which sees the best 66 men, selected from 11 counties across the SE of England, competing to determine the winning county who then goes on to represent the SEG in the England Golf Final. The format is the best 5 from 6 scores per team from each of the morning and afternoon rounds to decide the winning county. There is also an individual prize which sees the individual winner over 36 holes qualify directly for the Brabazon Trophy the following year. This year saw the event held at Dyke Golf Club, Brighton on Sat 13 July and Ryan made a sublime start with an opening 67 (-5) to see him just one back on the lead after the morning round, with team-mate Scott Armitage also in contention (with a 68). In the afternoon Ryan kept his nerve and held off some very strong opposition and a return of 69 saw him finish one shot ahead of the field with a total of 136 (-8). His club colleague Rob Sutton also finished in the top 20 with a 143 (-1) total, to lead Bedfordshire to a creditable 6th place finish ahead of the likes of Sussex, Hertfordshire and Kent.
And it was with Rob Sutton that Ryan pursued another competition as they represented their home club in the very prestigious London Amateur Foursomes, an event open to all clubs within a 40-mile radius of Charing Cross, which this year comprised 64 teams, with 6 rounds of knockout golf, over 3 days at Moor Park in October to decide the winners. The Dunstable pairing overcame the likes of Pedham Place, Burhill and Wentworth before beating Roehampton in the semi-final. The final saw a matchup with Walton Heath and, notwithstanding some excellent golf, Ryan and Rob had to settle for the runners up prize following a 3&2 loss, but another excellent performance in such a high calibre field. Ryan has also been prolific with his performances for Bedfordshire in the SEG League matches securing 5 from 8 points across foursomes and singles formats, and also representing the county in its best run for some time at the Eastern InterCounty Foursomes (at Seacroft, over 2 days) finishing 5th out of the 9 counties, with Ryan again making a key contribution, notably on the second day where he picked up maximum points from 4 matches in partnering another county stalwart and Dunstable Downs member, Paul Kenna.
The County would like to recognise what a great season Ryan has enjoyed, thank him for his service and wish him well for 2025 (especially in the Brabazon Trophy!)
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