The vastly experienced Grant Hamerton, from Brookdale Golf Club in Failsworth, set a benchmark early today that understandably proved to be beyond the reach of his fellow competitors.
Out at 8.10am at Swinton Park, Salford, in the North Region's qualifier for the Powerade PGA Assistants' Championship, the flagship event for Britain and Ireland's top assistants, former European Tour player Hamerton showed his class with a six-under 67, and won by two strokes from Hartlepool's Alex Scott and Adam Davison from Waterton Park in Wakefield.
Hamerton, who's 36, has known the highs and lows of his chosen profession (in fact, he opted out of the game six years ago to become a bricklayer's labourer), and returned to do his PGA training after speaking to Brookdale head pro, Tony Cuppello.
"I'd been on tour for three years, lost my players' card, regained it, lost it again, and fell out of love with the game".
But not before he'd chalked up some significant performances, chiefly a seventh place in the 2000 Scottish Open at Gleneagles (ahead of such stars as Sam Torrance, Henrik Stenson and Paul Lawrie), and a Challenge Tour win in the Luxembourg Open.
And on Wednesday he tees up at Mere, near Knutsford, in regional qualifying for The Open.
Hamerton's card yesterday boasted seven birdies and a solitary bogey("my putts were going in from all over the place"), but, as often happens, he chose to recall a shot that didn't result in a birdie.
"I hit a wedge at the par-four 15th from 120 yards that landed four feet away. Holing that meant I'd avoided two successive bogeys."
In contrast to the accomplishments of Hamerton, 19-year-old Alex Wrigley from Hartlepool is in his first year of training - but his pedigree includes being an English schools international player two years ago, after which he did two years at college studying for A-levels.
A round of six birdies and two bogeys at Swinton Park was a fine achievement, while Davison, who's also a keen footballer, five birdies and was heading for a flawless round till he dropped a shot at the 494-yard final hole.
22 June, 2009