Durham golfing history was made in the county’s Northern Counties League match against Yorkshire at Hallowes.
Late changes to the squad saw Castle Eden father and son Stuart and Chris Brown take part in the match, and compete together in the morning foursomes. It’s believed to be the first time a father and son has represented Durham in the same side.
The Browns narrowly lost their foursomes clash 1 down, and while Stuart was beaten 2&1 in the anchor singles match, Chris picked up a singles point to take home to Castle Eden.
“I’ve been asking around to see if a father and son have played together, not just for Durham, but for any of the other Northern Counties,” said 57-year-old Stuart. “It looks as if it hasn’t happened before.
“I was over the moon when Chris was called up. I made my debut against Yorkshire when I was 29. Now Chris has made his debut against them at the age of 31… you could say we’re both late developers!
“It was brilliant when he won his singles and it was great to play together in the foursomes,” added Stuart.
Yorkshire won the foursomes 5-1 with Tom Harbord and Will Marshall picking up Durham’s point. While there were singles wins for Will Skipp, Will Marshall, Adam Charlton and Chris, Yorkshire completed a convincing 13-5 victory overall.
Meanwhile, Northumberland gained a creditable 9-9 tie in their clash with Cumbria at Brampton.
Having trailed 3.5-2.5 after the foursomes following wins for Mark Wharton & Joseph Robson and Morgan Blythe & Cameron Thoburn and a half for Harrison Sewell & James Conn, there were singles wins for Gary Donnison, county champion Stew Fell, Craig Penny, Phil Ridden, Mark and Morgan while James earned a vital half in the anchor match to tie the game.
