Warwickshire Golf
Tom Takes the Title
Tom Takes the Title for the Amateurs
George Allen - The Warwickshire Open – Wednesday 9th September 2015
Harborne Golf Club - The rivalry between amateurs and professionals is a long one and this years Warwickshire open was no different as once again the counties top professional and amateur players descended on Harborne to compete for the title.
The course was presented immaculately and with the flags placed devilishly on slopes, our players faced a stern test of golf.
Pre-tournament local favourite Jack South of Harborne, who recently graduated from university in Iowa and shot a new course record 64 the week prior to the event. Jack, clearly in good form, opened with a consistent 71 which placed him three shots behind heading into the afternoon round.
Another amateur in contention after the first round was this year’s Amateur Matchplay champion Liam Phipps. Liam opened with an impressive 69 that featured seven birdies, but a few errors due to tricky pin positions eluded him from what could have been a special opening round.
County veteran Tom Ibbertson of Coventry Hearsall dominated from tee to green, hitting 15 out of 18 greens in regulation to sit firmly in contention, also with an opening 69.
The professionals showed their class and bounced back with rounds of 71 from Ladbrook Park pro Ryan Burton, and a 70 from Robert Tovey of Stonebridge.
The rivalry seemed to shift further in the professionals favour when Jamie Carney of Robin Hood carded a morning low round of 68 which included three birdies and a single bogey on the 11th to take the morning lead.
However, young amateur Andy Hooper from Olton reached -5 at one point after eagling the par five 8th and following with birdies on the 9th and 10th holes. Unfortunately he couldn’t hold on to that score but having only taken 21 putts would still secure his own impressive 68 and tie after round one.
A bewildered Andy said after his round, ‘it was ridiculous to be honest, everything I looked at went in!’
Carney, a previous Warwickshire Open Champion, would head out in the afternoon looking for a second title to add to his collection. After nine it looked likely as he made the turn in level par but the 11th hole struck again and a costly double bogey six would see his chances slip away eventually signing for a 73.
The other morning leader, starting on the back nine, would go out in a disappointing four over par but with a determined resolve Hooper produced birdies at the 1st 4th and 9th to card a two over par 72, finishing level for the day.
Meanwhile, Liam had a more explosive start to his second round with three birdies in the first four but he couldn’t capitalise on the early lead and would shoot a 71 to tie for fourth place with Andy.
The birdies kept pouring in for Jack South too, as he made four birdies in an afternoon round that would see him return a two under par 68. This gave him a one under par total and a narrow one stroke lead until Pro Ryan Burton would also return an impressive 68 and share the lead with Jack at one under par. The Ladbrook pro’s closing round would secure his place as the leading professional, two clear of his nearest challengers Carney and Tovey.
With it all tied at the top of the leaderboard, a playoff looked promising but there was more drama still to unfold.
Tom Ibbertson appeared to falter early on after a three put bogey on the long 2nd green, not the ideal start he was looking for. Showing his experience Tom regrouped with a dart like approach to the par five 4th to set up a tap in eagle. More good golf from Tom saw him birdie the 10th and stretch his lead further but an untimely bogey on the 15th meant all was still to play for as he came down the closing stretch. Like Hooper, Tom decided to produce his own putting heroics, holing a monstrous 60ft putt for a birdie at the difficult 17th. A four at the last gave him another round of 69 and sealed the win.
An elated Tom modestly admitted after victory, ‘I didn’t think I had a chance of winning, I haven’t really been playing that much’
A thank you goes to everyone involved in running the event and congratulations to Tom you are the champion golfer for 2015.
All the results can be found at www.warwickshiregolf.com
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