Northern regional final results
Northern regional winners - view all photographs from this region.
Formby Ladies’ pair lead PING championship qualifiers at Ilkley
Lancashire’s Elsbeth Pierce made a winning choice when she interrupted a holiday to play in a regional final of ELGA’s new competition, the PING Ladies' Four Ball Better Ball Tournament of England.
Elsbeth and her partner, Deborah Porter, won the Northern qualifier at Ilkley in Yorkshire, returning a net score of six-under par 67.
The Formby Ladies’ players 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. The qualifiers, who scored net 71 or better, all won a pair of ECCO shoes and a PING Collection shirt.
Elsbeth, who plays off eight, was so determined to compete that she left her family golfing holiday in Wales and drove for five hours to Ilkley. “We loved the format,” she said afterwards. “It’s like serving at tennis because you get two chances. We think it’s a competition for everyone.”
Deborah, a six-handicapper who plays with PING clubs, added: “We’ve had a fab time, everything has been great from start to finish and we’ve made new friends.”
Among those who will be joining them at Gainsborough are mother and daughter, Doreen and Janet Nesbitt of Heworth, Durham, who scored net 68.
Janet, who plays off seven and first took up golf to please her mum, is hoping to change her clubs. “I’m looking forward to going to Gainsborough and seeing how the clubs are made and visiting the custom fitting centre,” she said.
Hartlepool pair Chris Williamson and Natalie Crute also scored 68. “It’s all just been brilliant,” said 19-year-old Natalie, who has been playing golf for just 18 months and is already down to 12 handicap.
She’s got a PING driver, three-wood and hybrid club in her bag and she added: “I have really enjoyed today. It’s what I hoped to be doing when I took up golf.”
Yet another pair on 68 were the “big guns” from Brough: Erica Hardaker, the ladies’ captain, and Carole Waights, the ladies’ secretary and junior organiser.
Carole, who took up golf in 2001, is another confirmed PING enthusiast. “I went to the PING fitting centre as soon as I got a 36 handicap and now I’m down to 18.”
Among the other qualifiers were Carolyn Kirk and Elaine Hulley from The York who finished on three-under 70. Carolyn, who plays off four, is one of ELGA’s team of USGA course raters and is a prominent player in English seniors’ golf.
“The format is excellent and we’ve had great fun, giving it a whack and seeing what happened!” she laughed. Carolyn has used PING clubs for about 10 years and enjoyed the opportunity at the regional final to see the latest clubs and the range of ECCO shoes.
Two more regional finals are yet to be played. Midland division: Trentham Golf Club, Staffordshire, on August 30. South-West division: Woodbury Park Golf Club, Devon, on September 19. The South-East qualifer at Langley Park was the first to take place.