Midlands regional final results
Midlands regional winners - view all photographs from this region.
Penn pair lead PING qualifiers at Trentham
Staffordshire’s Ann Rafferty and Jackie Swan staged a grandstand finish to win the Midland regional final of ELGA’s new competition, the PING Ladies' Four Ball Better Ball Tournament of England.
They holed out from off the green on the 18th for a birdie and a one-shot win in the qualifier at Trentham Golf Club.
The pair, from Penn, returned a six-under net 67 and lead 12 pairs from the event who all won places in the grand final of the competition. This will be held on October 18 at PING’s flagship golf course at Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. All the qualifiers won a pair of ECCO shoes and a PING Collection shirt.
Their win was the cue for a quick shopping trip. Jackie, who plays off 11, said: “We didn’t think we stood a chance and I hadn’t even brought a change of clothes with me. After we’d been clubhouse leaders for a while we decided to go shopping and I bought a new outfit for the presentation!”
Now, she’s looking forward to the final and the opportunity to visit PING’s factory and custom fitting centre. “I’ve got G2 woods and I want to upgrade them,” she said.
Among the other qualifiers were Anne Fern and Marie Pritchard from Beau Desert who scored net 69 after demonstrating quick powers of recovery. “We both nobbled the ball 100 yards off the first tee,” laughed Marie, who plays off 13. “But despite that Anne ended up with a par while I saved myself for the back nine.
“We dovetailed well together and we loved the format. We’ve had a great time getting this far, it’s been fantastic,” she added.
A group on 70 included Debbie Warren and Sharon Coleman from Kings Norton. “This is a big event for us and we’ve practised for it,” said Debbie, whose favourite club is her PING driver. Sharon, meanwhile, has always admired the pink ECCO Goretex golf shoe and was delighted to win a pair.
Ingestre Park’s Corinne Tooth and Amanda Evans both broke through the pain barrier to score 70. Corinne was suffering from toothache while Amanda had an abcess but they grabbed the chance to play after a late minute cancellation moved them off the reserve list and into the field.
Gainsborough has happy memories for Corinne for it was there that she won the Abraham Trophy in the competition for England’s most improved girl golfers.
St Neots’ golfers Rosemary Farrow and Paula Parker shot 71 to reach the final. Paula, who plays off five, is a member of the Cambs & Hunts team which has reached this month’s County Finals. “It’s been a great day,” she said. “The golf course is superb, the hospitality is excellent and it’s a very good club members’ competition.”
Five pairs were tied on the cut-off score of 72 and three groups qualified for the final after a countback. The successful pairs included Whittington Heath’s Sue Spencer, a four handicap Staffordshire player who birdied the 18th, and Patricia Davies, off 15.