POWERADE PGA ASSISTANTS CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS AND SCORES
FROM THE PGA WEBSITE
A quartet of players found the right notes to be in perfect harmony at the top of the leaderboard after the opening round of the Powerade PGA Assistants' Championship in association with FootJoy at East Sussex National.
Tournament first-timers Glyn Bateman (Eastbourne Golf Park), Paul Newman (East Berkshire) and Cennydd Mills (Ridgeway) plus St Mellion's Jack Stevenson, who is making a second successive appearance, carded a one-under-par 71 to draw first blood over the testing East Course.
They were the only players in the 120-strong field to shoot under-par in the £30,000 event, which carries a top prize of £5,000 and entry into the end-of-season Titleist PGA Play-Offs in Turkey, which offers the leading finishers European and Challenge Tour starts.
The early starters of Bateman, Newman and Stevenson, who could draw on having the played the course before, were the major beneficiaries of going out in the morning as the wind picked up in the afternoon.
Bateman, who has lived in the county all his life apart from three years to study in the US, admitted his knowledge of the course assisted him in setting the clubhouse target.
"I've played the course a lot and it normally gets the better of me but I am learning how to play it," said the 28-year-old first year assistant, who stood at four-under-par at one stage only to let his grip slip over his closing holes.
"In the pro-am, I played probably the best I have all year. I was quite confident that if I could keep that going I could shoot under par.
"I played great, was really solid and really happy with the way I hit the ball. I worked on my putting late last night hoping it was going to go well today as it's been a bit ropey recently, and it worked out as I holed out anything from within six feet, apart from one."
Cornishman Stevenson, who finished tied 18th last year, quickly joined Bateman and put his improvement on 12 months ago down to St Mellion head PGA professional Darren Gass.
"I'm lucky that my head pro at St Mellion, Darren Gass, is really good as he helps out with my coaching," he said.
"I've been working with him on my game which has paid dividends as I've been putting some good scores in.
"I'm definitely happy with my score. I played last year and had a steady start for a couple of rounds of 74 so it's nice to get under par."
Newman, winner of the South Region qualifier over the course just a month ago and from the same club as last year's champion Guy Woodman, showed a dogged spirit to join the leaders after a disastrous start, having started on the 10th.
He said: "I was really pleased with my score. I started off really badly as I was three-over through six holes but I managed to get a late eagle on the seventh, which gave me some confidence to roll the putter.
"It was a bit of a grind over my front nine but I managed to get it back in the end. It was tough out there with the wind.
"Having won the qualifier here I knew, despite the slow start, that I could make birdies, which I did late on. I just need a quicker start really."
Late finisher Mills, another to have tried his luck on the PGA Europro Tour and Challenge Tour, admitted turning his back on playing full-time to undergo his PGA training has improved his game - despite the constraints on his time.
He said: "I've been playing alright and I am just trying to enjoy it. I got bogged down trying to play too hard and playing full-time. It's a breath of fresh air this year.
"I came into the tournament playing decent but it is still all down to how you do on the day. I've not been able to practise as much as I would like due to work and studying so my form is a bit hit and miss.
"Today was a case of staying patient and plodding along. I could've been a couple more under but I just missed a few putts coming in, but I made a good par on the last so I was happy to come in under par."
Three players sit at level par, Birmingham-based Adam Norman, Christopher Cutchie (Colchester) and Malcolm Isaacs (Nairn Dunbar.)
Last year's runner-up Kevin Harper (Sidmouth), who qualified for the tournament at East Sussex National, found the going tougher as he posted a four-over-par 76 to lie in a share of 32nd place.
The top 40 and ties will make the cut for Friday's final round.
TO VIEW THE SCORES IN THE POWERADE PGA ASSISTANTS CHAMPIONSHIP
CLICK HERE
A quartet of players found the right notes to be in perfect harmony at the top of the leaderboard after the opening round of the Powerade PGA Assistants' Championship in association with FootJoy at East Sussex National.
Tournament first-timers Glyn Bateman (Eastbourne Golf Park), Paul Newman (East Berkshire) and Cennydd Mills (Ridgeway) plus St Mellion's Jack Stevenson, who is making a second successive appearance, carded a one-under-par 71 to draw first blood over the testing East Course.
They were the only players in the 120-strong field to shoot under-par in the £30,000 event, which carries a top prize of £5,000 and entry into the end-of-season Titleist PGA Play-Offs in Turkey, which offers the leading finishers European and Challenge Tour starts.
The early starters of Bateman, Newman and Stevenson, who could draw on having the played the course before, were the major beneficiaries of going out in the morning as the wind picked up in the afternoon.
Bateman, who has lived in the county all his life apart from three years to study in the US, admitted his knowledge of the course assisted him in setting the clubhouse target.
"I've played the course a lot and it normally gets the better of me but I am learning how to play it," said the 28-year-old first year assistant, who stood at four-under-par at one stage only to let his grip slip over his closing holes.
"In the pro-am, I played probably the best I have all year. I was quite confident that if I could keep that going I could shoot under par.
"I played great, was really solid and really happy with the way I hit the ball. I worked on my putting late last night hoping it was going to go well today as it's been a bit ropey recently, and it worked out as I holed out anything from within six feet, apart from one."
Cornishman Stevenson, who finished tied 18th last year, quickly joined Bateman and put his improvement on 12 months ago down to St Mellion head PGA professional Darren Gass.
"I'm lucky that my head pro at St Mellion, Darren Gass, is really good as he helps out with my coaching," he said.
"I've been working with him on my game which has paid dividends as I've been putting some good scores in.
"I'm definitely happy with my score. I played last year and had a steady start for a couple of rounds of 74 so it's nice to get under par."
Newman, winner of the South Region qualifier over the course just a month ago and from the same club as last year's champion Guy Woodman, showed a dogged spirit to join the leaders after a disastrous start, having started on the 10th.
He said: "I was really pleased with my score. I started off really badly as I was three-over through six holes but I managed to get a late eagle on the seventh, which gave me some confidence to roll the putter.
"It was a bit of a grind over my front nine but I managed to get it back in the end. It was tough out there with the wind.
"Having won the qualifier here I knew, despite the slow start, that I could make birdies, which I did late on. I just need a quicker start really."
Late finisher Mills, another to have tried his luck on the PGA Europro Tour and Challenge Tour, admitted turning his back on playing full-time to undergo his PGA training has improved his game - despite the constraints on his time.
He said: "I've been playing alright and I am just trying to enjoy it. I got bogged down trying to play too hard and playing full-time. It's a breath of fresh air this year.
"I came into the tournament playing decent but it is still all down to how you do on the day. I've not been able to practise as much as I would like due to work and studying so my form is a bit hit and miss.
"Today was a case of staying patient and plodding along. I could've been a couple more under but I just missed a few putts coming in, but I made a good par on the last so I was happy to come in under par."
Three players sit at level par, Birmingham-based Adam Norman, Christopher Cutchie (Colchester) and Malcolm Isaacs (Nairn Dunbar.)
Last year's runner-up Kevin Harper (Sidmouth), who qualified for the tournament at East Sussex National, found the going tougher as he posted a four-over-par 76 to lie in a share of 32nd place.
The top 40 and ties will make the cut for Friday's final round.
TO VIEW THE SCORES IN THE POWERADE PGA ASSISTANTS CHAMPIONSHIP
CLICK HERE
Labels: PRO GOLF
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Thursday, August 11, 2011
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