The NCG Top 100s: England County Championship has come to an end, and the North West Coast has been voted as the best region in the country!
We have just published our new and updated NCG Top 100s: England list, which celebrates the best individual courses in the land.
Over the last five weeks, we have introduced a team element that brings golf and cricket together somewhat – hence the name for our competition between these great regions of England.
It isn’t just counties either, like the County Championship… We have also included franchises like of London and Manchester, to bring a feel of The Hundred to it as well. Maybe it all reminds you a little bit of LIV too?
The most important part of this fun project, though, was: you!
We didn’t make any of the decisions when it comes to the winners of this tournament – you did…
How does the NCG Top 100s: England County Championship work?
We have divided the country into 20 different regions – some of which you will already know well for their golfing excellence. Others, perhaps, will be less familiar to you.
Starting with 20 regions, we have put eight into a knockout round to get us to a last 16.
For the purposes of this decision, we looked at the courses that made the NCG Top 100s: England list.
Those with the fewest courses in the list, with the tie-breaker of the lowest average position, have been put into those places. The top four regions, with the most courses and the tie-breaker of the highest average position, will play the four winners of the knockout round.
Here was the original draw for our England County Championship:
We haven’t had a say in who wins this knockout tournament between the regions of England. That has all been down to you.
Over the last five weeks, we have been posting polls on our social media channels for you to vote on, and we now have our winner.
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How did the North West Coast take victory?
With three Open Championship venues – Royal Lytham, Royal Liverpool and Royal Birkdale – the North West Coast had an advantage over all bar one region in the competition.
The other region that could boast three Open hosts – Kent – was knocked out in the semi-finals by Surrey, with the North West Coast then taking on Surrey in the final. It was a cruise to victory – the northern region taking the win with more than 65% of the vote across the NCG social platforms.
That was actually the closest contest the North West Coast faced throughout the competition. After coming in at the last 16 stage, the Minor Counties were dispatched with 90% of the vote.
In both the quarters against Devon and the semis against Yorkshire, the North West Coast continued its dominance, with around 85% of the vote in both match-ups.
Take a look at the final bracket for the competition:
How did the rest of the competition run?
Semi Finals
Kent – thanks to its big three at the top of the order – Royal St George’s, Royal Cinque Ports and Prince’s – had eased through to the semi-final stage of the competition. However, it was Surrey – with its 12-course portfolio – that took down the southeastern county. With the likes of The Addington, Hankley Common and Walton Heath – with its Old Course and New Course – Surrey took almost 60% of the vote across our social platforms to make it through to the final.
The triumvirate of Royal Lytham, Royal Liverpool and Royal Birkdale have made the North West Coast a tough opponent throughout the competition. They took on the mighty Yorkshire (with two courses in the top 20), in a proper northern derby. It was the North West Coast that cruised to victory, though, with almost 85% of the vote!
Quarter Finals
Berkshire took on Surrey in the first quarter final contest. Sitting next to each other, these two regions made for the closest tie (geographically). Surrey took the win, with two-thirds of the vote across our social platforms.
The big three at the top of the Kent order were too much for the capital city, with London – our last remaining ‘The Hundred’-style franchise – suffering a heavy defeat. Thanks to its three Open Championship venues – Royal St George’s, Royal Cinque Ports and Prince’s – Kent took more than 81% of the vote!
Talking of a big three, the pace attack of Lytham, Hoylake and Birkdale make the North West Coast a tough opponent. That proved the case as the region took 85% of the vote to knock Devon out and to make it into the last four!
Yorkshire took on the East Midlands – the home of England Golf (Woodhall Spa) – in the last of the quarter finals! It was the northern region that took the win to set up a derby clash with the North West, as Yorkshire claimed just shy of 60% of the vote.
Round of 16
The big hitters came into the competition in the round of 16, with the likes of Surrey, Yorkshire, Kent and Sussex all making their first appearances.
The opening tie of the round saw Berkshire and Suffolk go head-to-head. It turned out to be an easy win for Berkshire, claiming more than 82% of the vote across our social media platforms thanks to its pair of 36-hole venues.
There was an even bigger win in the second tie of the last 16, with Surrey claiming an 85.4% share of the vote in their all-southern contest with Hampshire. The 12-venue line-up had too much firepower!
Devon took the tightest victory of the competition to date in their last 16 tie. 52.3% of the vote was all the southwest region earned, but it was enough to take the win over Sussex to advance to the quarter finals.
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There was a solid win for one of our ‘The Hundred-style franchises in the last 16, as London took 63.6% of the vote in their battle with the West Midlands.
Having three Open Championship venues seems to help! Kent defeated the North East with more than 70% of the vote, with the North West Coast also taking a resounding victory over the Minor Counties, claiming almost 90% of the vote across our social platforms.
Staying in the north, Yorkshire booked its place in the last eight of the competition thanks to a comfortable win over England’s southwestern most county – Cornwall. The northern region took 61.4% of the vote, thanks to some big-hitting batters!
Dorset and the East Midlands did battle is the last contest of the round of 16. It was the latter that took victory, but it was close, sneaking across the line in a last-over chase! The East Midlands claimed 53% of the vote across our social platforms.
Knockout Round
The opening day saw Cumbria take on Hampshire for a place in the next round, and it was the south coast region that took the victory. It was a narrow win, with Hampshire claiming 56.2% of the vote across our social platforms!
Thanks to its big hitters, Cornwall scored a comfortable victory over Manchester. The southwestern county secured an incredible 82.6% of the vote to move through to the last 16.
The closest tie of the round was between Norfolk and the North East. It was the latter that advances to the round of 16, thanks to a 52.4% share of the vote across our social media accounts.
The last tie of the week saw Hertfordshire take on the Minor Counties (those courses not in any specific region). It was the Minor Counties that took the win, with a 57.1% share of the vote, moving through to the next round.
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Now have your say
What do you make of the NCG Top 100s: England County Championship? Let us know your thoughts!
Make sure you stay in the loop by following the NCG Top 100s social media pages, including X, Instagram and Facebook, with new polls being added every day!
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