Fun in the sun for Nic and Matt

Sheringham captain Les Mitchell (left) and Royal Cromer captain Mick Baxter flank the Summer Classic winners Nic Cains and Matt Strudwick

Nic Cains (Swaffham) and amateur Matt Strudwick doubled up well to land a one-shot victory in the Summer Classic.

The PGA trainee, 24, and four-handicapper Strudwick put together Stableford scores of 37 and 45 to record a tally of 82 points over back-to-back days at Royal Cromer and Sheringham.

That was enough to see them pip the combinations of Sam Jones (Sundridge Park) and Gavin McFadyen and Simon Sheppard (Bishop’s Stortford) and Andy Hardie.

Cains and Strudwick were in the mix after the first day, tied for fifth and three points off the overnight leaders Danny Poulter (Heacham Manor) and Richard Saunders.

But under a shotgun start on day two, Cains produced a putting master-class in glorious conditions, befitting of the tournament title.

After teeing off at the second hole, he made a string of putts to score six-under-par with his own ball, while Strudwick played a key hand as well.

The Royal Norwich greenkeeper chipped in on the fifth for a par-net-birdie. And he also came up with a clutch putt from around 12 feet for par on 17 that maintained momentum for the Norfolk duo late in the round.

Cains said: “The first-day greensomes was good fun. Matt kept it in play all the way round. I lost a few balls but we made some good scores.

“The second-day better-ball I fired six-under, so that was nice. Everything I looked at went in.

“I was hitting it quite close most of the way round and took some chances when I didn’t get it quite close enough.

“We got off to a really good start – I think we were five-under through five, both contributing.

“It’s nice to win and good to do it with one of my good mates. It’s the most enjoyable win of my career so far.

“It’s a great event and the courses were in great condition. And I don’t think we could have played them on two calmer days.”

The victory came as a real tonic for Cains who had to pull out of a recent Order of Merit event at Bentley with a wrist problem.

He added: “I’ve been struggling a little bit with an injury the last few weeks, so it’s nice to have played pain-free and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”