Cox secures Essendon win

Aaron Cox (Elsenham Golf & Lesiure) shot five-under-par to beat Jason Levermore (Little Channels Golf Centre) by a shot at Essendon County Club.

The Australian ace landed his first East region pro-am triumph, thanks to a bogey-free round that included an eagle.

Under a shotgun start Cox got underway from the eighth and only had to wait four holes before moving under par as a result of a two at the short 11th.

But it was at the par-5 18th that his victory bid really began to take shape. He recorded the day’s only eagle at the 489-yard hole to surge to three-under.

With the wind in his sails Cox also made further gains at the second and third before reeling off four straight pars to close out a top round of 68.

Levermore looked sure to mount a strong challenge after making an eagle of his own at the par-5 16th – his fourth hole of the day. He duly followed up with a birdie at the next to make the early running.

But he slipped back to two-under before birdies at the eighth and at the 12th – his closing hole – sae him seize second spot on his own.

Rob Coles (Maylands Golf & Country Club), Ian Taylor (Essendon), Ash Smith (East Herts) and David Salisbury (David Salisbury Golf) shared third spot on three-under-par.

Smith led the winning pro-am team on a total of 125 – two better than the quartets of Cox, Reece Francis (Abridge Golf & Country Club) and James Jankowski (JJ Golf).