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Aisbitt equals course record to lead Logan Trophy at Northumberland Durham
champion Richard Aisbitt shot five-under par 67 today to equal the
course record at the Northumberland Golf Club and take the first round
lead in the Logan Trophy.
He’s
a stroke ahead of past champion, Martin Young from Hampshire, while
three other players beat par in the bright and breezy conditions. They
include Northumberland county captain Andrew Minnikin who is a member of
the host club.
Among
the spectators at the first tee was George Logan, who presented the
trophy for the English men’s open mid-amateur championship in 1988 and
is a past president of both Northumberland and the English Golf Union,
now England Golf.
Richard
Aisbitt (Brancepath Castle) set off in great style with birdies on the
first three holes, rolling in putts of between 10 and 25ft. “It got a
bit harder as I made my way round the course,” he said – but his card
told another story.
He
had only one bogey – on the short fifth, where he missed the green,
before amassing three more birdies.
“The course was playing beautifully
and I think yesterday’s rain helped because you could throw the ball up
and get a bit of spin.”
Aisbitt
(image © Leaderboard Photography), who has now won the Durham title
three times, was Northern boys’ champion twice and a member of England
training squads. He had a brief spell in professional ranks before
reverting to amateur status.
 He’s
being chased by Hampshire’s Martin Young (pictured right) who won the
Logan in 2006 and is seeking his second win this week. Next year, the
championship will be played at his home course of Brockenhurst Manor in
Hampshire and he’d love to be defending the title.
“It would be a dream come
true,” he said.
He made a
spectacular start and was six-under par after eight holes, having eagled
the third and birdied the fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth.“The start was unbelievable,” said Young, who holed a 50-footer on the third, a 20-footer on the next and a 10-footer on the fourth. He slowed down a little in the middle of the round, with three bogeys in four holes, but another birdie on the 15th helped him to 68.
“It’s
a good start, it’s something to move on from,” said Young, who is a
past winner of the Lagonda Trophy and the Hampshire Salver.
He also
played in last year’s inaugural Concession Cup, which is contested by
teams of mid-amateurs and seniors from GB&I and the USA.
Northumberland
captain Andrew Minnikin has opted to play in the Logan over his own
county championship, despite leading the qualifiers for the matchplay
stages. “Knowing George so well meant this was always going to be the
one,” said Minnikin, who has previously won the county title.
He
is enjoying a very good season, having won three county events and made
it through to final qualifying for The Open. He underlined his form
today, playing at the end of the field in the increasingly breezy
conditions, and with the added pressure of being at home.
“I
got off to a slow start but birdied two of the last four holes to make
it a nice respectable round,” he said. “It was tough having a late tee
time and being at home, knowing there was a score to be had.”
Meanwhile
defending champion Martin Foulkes (Worksop) made a disappointing start,
reaching the turn in six-over before battling back in one-under for a
total of 77.
Sweden’s
Daniel Sandman made short work of the 171-yard seventh, where he had a
hole-in one using an eight-iron. He hunted for the ball behind the green
before looking in the cup to discover he had had his fourth ace, three
of them in competition. Sandman is part of a three-man Swedish squad
taking part in the championship.
Click here for full scores
Lyndsey Hewison Press Officer England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 07825 752 193 |
Labels: Amateur Men
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Friday, July 03, 2015
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