Duo shake off burst pipe ordeal to clinch final place

Scott McGovern (right) with amateur partner Callum Gaughan.

Normanton Golf Club duo Scott McGovern and Callum Gaughan sealed a place in the Lombard Trophy Final - despite having to deal with an overnight burst water pipe at their hotel.

The Wakefield pair received an unwanted soaking as they prepared for their regional qualifying round at Sandiway Golf Club in Northwich.

Both players had their clothing drenched as they woke up to an inch of water on the floor - and they had to get replacement garments at the professional’s shop before they could tee off.

It was as bad a preparation for the event as the Yorkshiremen could have had - yet they put their problems behind them to win by two shots after carding a nine under par round of 61 to beat Peter Allan and Nick Bradshaw (Ashton-in-Makerfield Golf Club) into second spot at the Cheshire venue.


That means they will be heading to Portugal for the £41,000 National Pro-Am grand final which will be played at the Vila Sol resort between September 21-22.

By co-incidence, amateur player and five handicapper Gaughan will be holidaying at the same venue just two weeks beforehand.

But final year Assistant Professional McGovern admitted he did not think it would be their day after their hotel nightmare.

“We came over the previous night and stayed in a hotel but the pipes burst during the night, the water seeped underneath the door and ruined all our clothes, the room was under an inch of water,” he explained.

“So we had to hire clothes from the pro shop. We thought our luck was out for the day. I’d woken up at 7.15 and stepped into a puddle of water!”

However, they then went on to produce a winning round which saw them finish strongly with five successive birdies.

“Callum played the best round I’ve ever seen him have. I play a lot of golf with him and he must have been under par on his own. We felt that nothing more could go wrong and it all worked out in the end,” added McGovern, who had never played in the Lombard Trophy before this.

Gaughan, a 22-year-old student, is hoping to turn professional himself in the future.

And he admitted he will be able to do some homework on the Vila Sol venue.

“I always try and beat Scott anyway so I was just trying to match him on each hole, it was an advantage that we know one another,” he explained.

“But I’ll be holidaying in Portugal two weeks before the final - and at the same place as we’ll be playing, so I’ll be able to have a practice. That was arranged a year ago so it’s a real co-incidence.”