Monday, September 13, 2010

The Likely Lads from Lancashire ... Formby trio's s

success

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION
The teenage trio from Formby kept their nerve and their overnight lead to win the 36-hole English Champion Club Tournament, supported by Powakaddy, at Woodbridge in sunny Suffolk and add to Lancashire’s growing list of successes in 2010.
Paul Kinnear, Mark Duncalf and James Bolton compiled an aggregate of 428, eight over par, for a two-shot victory over Moor Park from Hertfordshire with Somerset Champions Farrington two strokes further back on 432.
Not only did the Formby lads collect the trophy and the title but they each collected an electric trolley, while the Moor Park threesome went home with golf bags, all courtesy of Powerkaddy.
“We are delighted to win,” said Duncalf. “This means a lot. To win any EGU Championship is great and this provides a fine end to the season.”

The Formby team, with a collective age of 51 and a total handicap of plus three, led by a shot overnight from Moor Park, Teignmouth from Devon and Nottinghamshire Champions Notts from Hollinwell.

They were out early in round two, before their main rivals, and set a sound target thanks to a level-par 70 from 16 year old Kinnear, 71 from Duncalf and 74 from Bolton. Then they waited anxiously for more than three hours to see if anyone could catch them. No one did but Moor Park, a team with bags of experience in Douglas Cameron and John Ambridge, backed by English Boy Champion Callum Shinkwin, came close.

However, the Hertfordshire trio, looking to emulate their 1998 triumph, came up short despite 70s from Cameron and Shinkwin, while Ambridge posted an uncharacteristic 76.

“We thought if we could shoot around level par we would be in with a chance,” added Duncalf. “After nine holes we didn’t think we were in it but as the other scores came in things just turned around. This is a team game and it’s important to get off to a good start, which we did. We were one under par through nine holes but we knew Moor Park were our biggest danger.”

Farrington’s third place owed much to a brilliant 66, the best return of the weekend, from Tom Small, playing in his first EGU event. The 21 year old Somerset county player was out in 32 and said his success was down to his accurate wedge play and putting.

“I didn’t get frustrated when things weren’t going well which is easy to do on a course like this,” he confirmed.

While Notts stayed in the hunt to the end, taking fourth place on 433, Teignmouth failed to maintain their challenge, finishing in joint tenth place on 442 after a second day 228.

So the title goes to Lancashire for the first time and boosts the Red Rose County’s achievement this year which has seen them collect the Schools Team Championship with Lancaster, the English Amateur through Tommy Fleetwood, the Men’s Seniors title thanks to Alan Squires, and they still have the County Championship to contest.

Little wonder Kinnear remarked: “There are good golfers in Lancashire,” Few would argue with that.

For final scores and championship commentary visit the Championships section of the EGU website www.englishgolfunion.org.

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