AUSSIES LEAD TIGHT ASHES BATTLE AT MOONAH
 England
trail Australia by two points after a tightly fought first
day of The Ashes at Moonah Links in Victoria. The Aussies
lead the old enemy 8 ½ - 6 ½ with ten final
day singles matches to come on The Open course.
The first day’s action was played over the Legends
course in near perfect conditions for just the second staging
of this international event.
Looking to reverse the 11-4 setback of a year ago, England
set the pace in the women's contests and denied the hosts
any success throughout the opening four matches.
Naomi Edwards narrowly defeated local Clare Choi while Liz
Bennett recorded a 2up victory over Riversdale Cup winner
Julia Boland. However, Kristie Smith and Stephanie Na held
on to record halves for the Australian side.
The Australian men started the fightback with a 3&2 win
by Scott Arnold over English champion Daniel Willett but Steve
Uzzell scored another point for England with a 2 hole success
over Matthew Griffin.
But Matt Jager edged past Chris Wood by one hole while Hampshire’s
Sam Hutsby was on the wrong end of a 6&5 blitzing against
Rohan Blizard.
Former Czech Amateur champion Neil Chaudhuri (pictured left
- photo courtesy of Tom Ward)beat Tim Stewart 3&2 but
the Aussies went into lunch on level terms when Daniel Beckmann
posted a solid 5 and 4 win over Dale Whitnell.
In the afternoon foursomes, England let the opportunity of
holding Australia slip, putting up a brave fight before a
slight collapse late in the day allowed the Aussies to take
their two-point advantage into the final round of singles
matches.
The foursomes began well for Australia with a commanding
victory for Smith and Na over Parker and Bennett in the opening
match but Edwards and Jennings steadied the English ship with
a hard earned half in the second pairing.
At that stage the England men looked to be making amends
for their earlier performances with Hutsby and Wood outclassing
their opponents in the fourth match. But a disappointing finish
gifted the Aussies a two-point advantage heading into the
final morning.
Blizard and Stewart, the last two Australian Amateur champions,
were too strong for Willett and Uzzell despite being pushed
all the way to the 18th, while the all-Victorian duo of Beckmann
and Griffin came out on top against Chaudhuri and Whitnell.
Day 1 Results (England players first):
Singles matches:
Naomi Edwards beat Clare Choi 1 hole
Florentina Parker halved with Kristie Smith
Kerry Smith halved with Stephanie Na
Liz Bennett bt Julia Boland 2 holes
Daniel Willet lost to Scott Arnold 3&2
Steve Uzzell bt Matt Griffin 2 holes
Chris Wood lost to Matt Jager 1 hole
Sam Hutsby lost to Rohan Blizard 6&5
Neil Chaudhuri bt Tim Stewart 3 & 2
Dale Whitnell lost to Daniel Beckmann 5&4
Foursomes:
Parker & Bennett lost to K Smith & Na 6&4
Jennings & Edwards halved with Choi & Boland
Willett & Uzzell lost to Blizard & Stewart 1 hole
Wood & Hutsby bt Arnold & Jager 5&4
Chaudhuri & Whitnell lost to Beckmann & Griffin 1hole
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