Portelli triumphs at Saffron Walden

Glen Portelli (Old Fold Manor) fired five birdies and an eagle to shoot 65 and win the Saffron Walden Pro-Am by two shots.

The Hertfordshire golfer’s group was the first to finish and his bogey-free seven-under-par score was always going to be extremely hard to match.

It was a largely stress-free day for Portelli who rolled home a nice putt to pick up a stroke at the opening hole.

The highlight of his round came at the par five tenth where he hit an imperious 2-iron to 20 feet, allowing him to convert for an eagle. 

Nick Cains (Swaffham) shot five-under to take second place on his own, while Ben Talbott (Marriott Hanbury Manor) and James Jankowski (IGC London) were a further stroke back in a tie for fourth.

Portelli, who also led the victorious team, said: “It’s nice to win again. The front nine I pretty much holed everything I needed to and then on the back nine I started actually hitting it a bit better, which just made it easy to finish a score off. I didn’t really get under pressure at all.”

Earlier in the week, Chris Grant (Garon Park Golf Complex) and Paul Hetherington (Great Hadham Golf and Country Club) both shot one-under-par 71 s to tie at the top at The Grove Pro-Am. Chris Cutchie (Colchester) took third place, one stroke back.