Consistency sees Young claim Cumberwell crown
Mark Young carded rounds of 65, 65, and 67 to win the Cumberwell Park Championship, his second win on the Hotelplanner.com PGA Europro Tour in two weeks.
Young, of Longridge Golf Club, was the overnight leader heading into the final round and battled through a tricky opening nine holes on the final day in Wiltshire. He faced tough competition from a pack of Cumberwell professionals including Steve Surry and Will Brown, as well as teen amateur James Cooper who finished second, tied fourth, and third respectively. Young said: “I’m over the moon with this win, it has put one foot in the door for the Challenge Tour next season which was the target at the start of this season. “I was hitting some pretty good shots on the front nine but wasn’t able to take advantage of those scoring chances; my putter was stone cold. “I hung in there as I knew there was going to be some scoring holes on the back nine; I’m delighted with the birdie on 17 which gave me the cushion I needed coming up the final hole.” Despite a slow start, the good work made in earlier rounds provided enough buffer for Young, who never dropped out of the lead, only sharing it with Brown and Cooper on one occasion. The win cements Young at the top of the Order of Merit after six events and moves him halfway to the coveted £250,000 four-win bonus on offer this season on the Europro Tour. Highlights of the Cumberwell Park Championship will air on Sky Sports Golf on Tuesday, July 10. The Chartered Institute of Building’s annual golf day returned to Bath Golf Club. Over £1,300 was raised thanks to the generosity of sponsors Cotswold Home, who donated prizes. Funds went to the Dorothy House Hospice Care in Winsley and the Forever Friends Appeal at the Royal United Hospital in Bath. Thanks also went to Bath Golf Club, Martin Lang and Ali James of Cumberwell Park, Travis Perkins Builders Merchants, E&H Drylining, Bradfords Building Supplies and Martin Warman of Mack Fruit of Bristol, who all provided auction items. A field of 48 played the challenging course in fine but windy weather, with George Matthews (George Matthews Interiors) and John Fricker of Cotswold Homes coming out on top with a score of 44. Second were Matt Bollen and Martin Lang, whose 43 was one better than Mark Musselwhite of M+W Group with Tim King of Opus International. ■ BATH APPROACH Ex-pigeon racer Terry Selway soared to new heights by reaching the top of the table after his defeat of previous Division 1 leader Colin Lee. Lee played marginally the better on the front nine to earn a one-hole lead, but coming back Selway seized the initiative, outplaying his opponent with some excellent golf to win five of the next six holes and ease home on the 15th. Bob Mcgregor achieved his first league win of the season after a very close contest with the impressive Terry Gleeson, who made a great effort to get back into the match after a disastrous start. Nick Parker leapfrogged promotion rival Craig Jones after gaining an eventually comfortable win that puts him in second place in Division Two. Brian Allen made a last-ditch comeback in a rollercoaster match to defeat Graham Whatley, after Whatley had made a splendid recovery early on the back nine. Roger Randall made a miraculous recovery to share the points with John Sercombe when all seemed lost, and Sercombe’s improved form continued with a comprehensive win over Tiger Lewis, who had no answer to his consistency. Invincible Ingrid Doherty maintained her unbeaten record with a convincing win over Brian Lambern to put her seven points clear at the top. Graham Whatley won through to the KO Cup quarter-finals on the final hole after a keenly fought contest against Danny Peel. Mike Fear gave little away as he progressed smoothly into the last eight at the expense of John Vowles, who couldn’t afford to be three down after four holes. Dennis Crombie achieved his best round of the season that helped him overcome the in-form George Thurston and reach the quarter-finals. In the League Cup, Reg Morris qualified for the quarter finals with a hard earned win over Brian Lambern, who stubbornly kept in the match until the 16th. ■ Lansdown The Bogey Bowl was a tight affair as Pete Gerry, three-up against the course, pushed Kevin Cox into second place on countback. Ken Mitchell was just one hole back in third. On the same day the higher handicappers played for the Junior Bowl which was won by Mark Bees with a nett 67 to beat Lee Ricketts by two shots. In the ladies’ section their Bogey Bowl winner, Margaret Ruxton, was also three-up to pip new member Kathleen Platt by just one hole. The honours in the latest midweek stableford went to Mike Webb with 40. The winner of the top division was Andy Lee but only on countback from Steve Book as both scored 38. Chris Sparkes took Division 2 with 35, just one point ahead of Andy Marshall, while second place in Division 3 behind Webb went to Richard Britton’s 40. The Glass Cup - a mixed foursomes event - has been taken by Amelia and Malcolm Brown with a nett 72, which put them two shots clear of Laura Leach and Dave Whyte. The seniors’ third medal of the year was won by Malcolm Hudson with a nett 61, sure to attract the attention of the handicap committee. Mike Phillips was second with a nett 69 and Malcolm Payne a further shot adrift. Only countback could separate the top three in club pro James Lee’s latest competition. Graham Belsten won out, followed by Graham Morrice and Ian Shone. Roland Jenkins and Chris Sparkes were just a further point adrift.