Els Edges Victory at The Richmond

Nico Els (Professional Golf Tuition Breaks) produced his best golf so far this year to win The Richmond Pro-Am with a classy five-under-par 65 and bag the £1,000 winner’s cheque.

Reflecting on his first victory of the season, a delighted Els said: “Obviously the hot weather’s made every course a bit shorter with firm, dry and fast fairways, so there was a lot of positional play with irons off the tee to make sure I stayed in business. The greens were gorgeous, fast but true and I made the most of the opportunities that came my way.”

With just two bogeys on his card, five birdies - two of them deuces - and an eagle ensured Els edged out the 66s of Sussex duo of Lea Cooper (Tilegate Forest) and Mark Fairhall (Mid Sussex) by a stroke, leaving each with a consolation £700 cheque.

Two-under at the turn, Els went on a roller coaster run from the 11th of birdie, bogey, eagle, bogey, before sealing the deal with birdies at the 16th and 17th to card his 65.

Els just missed out on a full sweep, finishing with his amateurs as the runners up in the team event to Gary Gilligan’s team from Lingfield Park Golf Club.