MICHAEL Bedford followed up his victory in the Cheshire County Championship at his home club Prestbury last weekend when he won the Bromborough Bowl by a shot from Ashton-on-Mersey’s Ollie Smith.

It was his second success in the Mitsushiba Northern Order of Merit after winning the Ashton Trophy at St Annes Old Links last year.

Bedford, 20, opened up with a 69 which included an eagle at the 327-yard fourth. A second round 71 was just enough to hold off Smith who leapfrogged merit defender Mark Young, from Longridge, into second place 55 points behind Formby Hall’s Tommy Fleetwood.

Chorley’s Andrew Palmer finished third, seven off the pace.

DETAILS: 140 Michael Bedford (Prestbury) 69 71; 141 Ollie Smith (Ashton-on-Mersey) 70 71; 147 Andrew Palmer (Chorley) 72 75; 148 Henry Tomlinson (Royal Lytham) 73 75; 149 Mark Geddes (Prenton) 73 76, Sam Roberts (Llanymynech) 73 76; 150 Gareth Bradley (Bramhall) 76 74, Kyle Evans (Prenton) 74 76, Curtis Dean (St Annes Old Links) 72 78; 152 Sean Towndrow (S&A) 78 74, Jamie Guy (Bromborough) 78 74, Paul Knight (Eastham Lodge) 74 78.

FULL NORTHERN ORDER OF MERIT TABLE:
Tommy Fleetwood, Formby Hall = 300
Ollie Smith, Ashton-on-Mersey = 245
Mark Young, Longridge = 230
Carl Thompson, Manchester = 210
John Carroll, Huyton & Prescot = 200
James Robinson, S&A = 165
James Wilson, Formby = 150
Charles Ford, Kirby Muxloe = 150
Zac Harrison, Preston = 150
Thomas Winn, Morecambe = 150
Jay McGarvey, Whitefield = 150
Ian Kenwright, Haydock Park = 150
David Hurd, Leasowe = 150
Michael Bedford, Prestbury = 150
Adam Wills, Sandiway = 115
Michael Hearn, Chorley = 100
Marcus Mohr, Hawarden = 100
Bob Bardsley, Denton = 100
Oliver Pantoja, Ashton-on-Mersey= 100
Gareth Hastie, Dunscar = 95
Roger Smithies, Manchester = 75
Chris Kneen, Castletown = 75
Andrew Palmer, Chorley = 75
Mark Rabone, S&A = 60
Richie Blundell, Hillside = 60
Andrew Addison, Ashton-in-Makerfield = 60
David Simpson, Penrith = 60
Colin Brown, Bromborough = 60
Henry Tomlinson, Royal Lytham = 60
Paul McFerran, Childwall = 55
Jonathan Corke, Rowany = 50
Will Jones, Oswestry = 50
David Marshall, The Worcestshire = 50
Stephen Jopson, Carlisle = 50
Nick Jackson, Chorley = 50
Martin Thomas, Royal Liverpool = 50
Craig Connell, Ashton & Lea = 50
Mark Geddes, Prenton = 50
Richard Pickard, Mere = 45
Mark Millhouse, Bolton = 45
Sean Nicholls, Shaw Hill = 45
Mike Kelly, Ashton-under-Lyne = 45
Ashley Sage, Sandiway = 45
Kyle Hughes, Formby Hall = 45
Sam Roberts, Llanymynech = 45
Kevin Reilly, S&A = 40
Richard Kilshaw, Hillside = 40
Declan Dixon, Fairhaven = 40
Graham Jackson, Manchester = 40
Luke Hignall, Prenton = 40
Paul Kinnear, Formby Hall = 40
Gareth Bradley, Bramhall = 40
David Smethurst, Formby = 35
Paul Lowey, Rowany = 30
Kristian Taylor, Formby = 30
Simon Coumbe, Pontefract = 30
Michael Downs, San Roque = 30
Reece Cranfield, Haigh Hall = 30
Mike Howarth, Penwortham = 30
Chris Cuthbert, Prestwich = 30
Brian McCann, Morecambe = 30
Ken Hudson, Hart Common = 30
Kyle Evans, Prenton = 30
Jonathan Harrison, S&A = 25
Anthony Bolton, Formby = 25
Ewan Patterson, St Annes Old Links = 25
Chris Rabbich, R&A = 25
Chris Bracewell, Ashton & Lea = 25
Curtis Dean, St Annes Old Links = 25
Drew Molloy, Hillside = 20
Tim Cooper, Marriott Worsley Park = 20
Matthew Galley, Morecambe = 20
Tom Stewart, St Annes Old Links = 20
Steve Benton, South Staffs = 20
Daryl Callister, Mount Murray = 20
Sean Towndrow, S&A = 20
Anthony Stirling, Formby = 15
Anthony Holden, Preston = 15
Gareth Clark, Manchester = 15
Paul Jones, Royal Birkdale = 15
Chris Harrison, Sandiway = 15
Jamie Guy, Bromborough = 15
Kevin Kean, Ashton-on-Mersey = 10
Gavin Nesbit, Boldon = 10
Paul Armstrong, Penwortham = 10
Daniel Sefton, Lancaster = 10
David Peel, Stockport = 10
Sean Blinkhorn, Leigh = 10
Paul Knight, Eastham Lodge = 10

Tom ends 16 under to win by eight shots in Suffolk!

Tom Haylock romped to victory in The Stoke by Nayland Championship 2009, shooting a final round 65 to win by eight strokes at 16 under.

Haylock (Ground Construction Ltd) began the day tied for the lead at nine under and followed a solid level opening three holes with birdies at four, six and eight to move to 12 under. He showed no signs of nerves on the back nine either; with four more birdies seeing him shoot 65 for a comprehensive victory. The 45/1 pre-tournament shot with Sky Bet dropped just two shots in the three rounds, both on the front nine on the opening day, and his round matches Antonio Sobrinho’s eight shot win in 2003 as the biggest margin of victory in the Tour’s history, and takes Haylock into fourth spot on the Order of Merit.

Chris Gaunt endured a topsy-turvy round that eventually saw him rather fall into second place. The Australian parred just four holes in his final round and a bogey at the last saw him finish on level par for the day, eight under for the tournament. It appeared that had ruined Gaunt’s chances of sole possession of runners-up spot, but James Ruebotham (Welwyn Garden City GC) – who began the day tied for the lead with Haylock – never got of the traps and found himself at eight under for the tournament at the last, where he dropped a shot to finish in a five-way tie for third.

Jamie Moul (Stoke by Nayland) shot a two under 70 to join Ruebotham in third, along with Scott Jamieson, Matthew Ford (Marriot Tudor Park) and Nicky Harris (Whitefield GC) who won at Stoke by Nayland last year and follows his runners-up finish at Bovey Castle with a third place in Suffolk.

Steve Surry (Cumberwell Park) was one stroke behind overnight after a blistering nine under 63 in his second round, but it was a frustrating day for the 27 year-old, who was level until dropping a shot at the eighth and a double bogey at 13 prevented him from finishing higher than tied eighth, along with Mark Kerr (Golf Fit Ltd/Bathgate GC) and Elliot Saltman (Aegon) who carded a final round of 68.

The next event on the PGA EuroPro tour is the Motocaddy Masters at The Players Club in Bristol, beginning on July 14.

FINAL SCORES FROM THE STOKE BY NAYLAND CHAMPIONSHIP 2009
1 Tom Haylock 68, 67, 65 -16 200 £10,000
2 Chris Gaunt 71, 65, 72 -8 208 £5,000
=3 Jamie Moul 71, 68, 70 -7 209 £1,560
=3 Scott Jamieson 70, 69, 70 -7 209 £1,560
=3 Matthew Ford 68, 70, 71 -7 209 £1,560
=3 Nick Harris 68, 70, 71 -7 209 £1,560
=3 James Ruebotham 71, 64, 74 -7 209 £1,560

Pair 7/2 for the win – Moul 28/1 to close gap on home course

Tom Haylock and James Ruebotham share the lead in The Stoke by Nayland Championship 2009 at nine under par – but official bookmakers Sky Bet are wary of Steve Surry.

Order of Merit leader Surry (Cumberwell Park) is one stroke behind the leading pair and joins Haylock (Ground Construction Ltd) at 7/2 to win the tournament, which concludes tomorrow (Thursday July 2). Surry carded a magnificent nine under 63 to follow his one over opening round, while Ruebotham (Welwyn Garden City GC) is 9/2 for victory after a round of 64 to share the lead.

Australian Chris Gaunt and Scotsman Mark Kerr (Golf Fit Ltd/Bathgate GC) are also eight under going into the final round and are 5/1 and 20/1 for victory respectively, while Kieran Staunton (Woodcote Park – 10/1) and Jeremy Kavanagh (Stoke Park – 20/1) are two shots behind at seven under.

Nicky Harris (Whitefield GC, six under) won at Stoke by Nayland last year and is 18/1 to repeat that success while Jamie Moul (Stoke by Nayland) is four shots off the lead and 28/1 to lift the trophy on home soil.

To view the full market click here: http://www.skybet.com/skybet?action=GoEvClass&id=34&aff=4527&EPT_Website

Duo tied at nine under – Surry shoots 63 to move one stroke behind

The final day of The Stoke by Nayland Championship 2009 promises to be an exciting one – with Tom Haylock and James Ruebotham tied for the lead after a fine day of scoring at the PGA EuroPro Tour event in Suffolk.

Ruebotham (Welwyn Garden City GC) fired the second best round of the day – an eight under 64 – to share the lead, starting with three birdies and an eagle in his first five holes and picking up three more shots in a faultless round.

Since dropping a shot on the eighth in his opening round, Haylock (Ground Construction Ltd) has avoided any blemishes – ending his opening round four under par and shooting a 67 in his second round to progress to nine under.

Surry (Cumberwell Park) fired out of the blocks, birdying the first five holes in order to blank out his opening round 73. A sixth birdie at the eighth was followed by a dropped shot at the ninth to see him go out at four under for the tournament – but the 27 year-old was not finished there and continued his charge up the leaderboard with four birdies on his back nine to shoot a fantastic nine under round-of-the-day 63.

Australian Chris Gaunt joins Surry at eight under after a fine round of his own. A 71 on the opening day meant he began the second round at one under, but he soon made inroads into catching the leaders with five birdies on the front nine and two on the back contributing to a 65. Mark Kerr (Saffron Walden) was in the penultimate trio to finish and made it a chasing pack of three one stroke behind the leaders with his second 68 of the tournament.

Gaunt and Surry could’ve been joined by overnight co-leader Kieran Staunton (Woodcote Park) who moved to eight under from beginning the day at five under but a bogey at 18 means he is two shots behind along with Jeremy Kavanagh (Stoke Park) carded a 67 to move to seven under.

Matthew Ford (Marriott Tudor Park), Lorne Kelly (Pro Dream USA) and Nicky Harris (Whitefield GC) – who won here in 2008 – all posted rounds of 70 to follow opening rounds of 68 to move to six under.

Craig Housden (Channels) shared the overnight lead with Staunton but a treble bogey at the tenth means he is eight shots off the lead at one under.

Fifty-seven players made the cut at one over and the final round will begin at 8am, with the leading duo of Haylock and Ruebotham teeing off at 12.30pm. Live scoring is available on the final round by visiting www.europrotour.com and clicking on the Score Updates link on the homepage.

NICK Sargent became the second PGA North Region player to break a course record in successive days.

The Eastham Lodge professional lowered the Old Padeswood mark by a shot with an eight-under-par 64 in the Flintshire pro-am, rolling in an eagle at the eighth hole and seven birdies as he won by a shot from Rhuddlan’s Matthew Davies.

The previous day, Bridlington Links assistant Alex Belt carded a record seven-under 61 in the Werneth pro-am.

DETAILS: 64 Nick Sargent (Eastham Lodge); 65 Matthew Davies (Rhuddlan); 66 David Shacklady (Mossock Hall); 67 Chris Sands (Skycaddie UK), 68 Barry Taylor (Houghwood).

Duo tied five under after opening round in Suffolk

Craig Housden and Kieran Staunton lead The Stoke by Nayland Championship 2009 on the PGA EuroPro Tour after shooting five under opening rounds of 67 at the Suffolk venue.

Both men started their rounds on the back nine, and Staunton (Woodcote Park) fired down the front nine after going through the back level – with birdies at the first three holes followed by two more to end on five under. Housden (Channels) picked up four birdies before dropping a shot at the 18th to go out four under and could’ve have lead on his own with a 66 had he not dropped a shot on the ninth.

Four players trail the leading pair by one stroke after a scorching day on the Gainsborough course. Lorne Kelly (Pro Dream USA) started on the back nine and recovered from a double bogey at the 13th to shoot 68, while Barrie Trainor (South County) roared to four under after five with two birdies and an eagle and recorded pars at every remaining hole in his round of four under.

Paul O’Hanlon (Curragh) was one over after 11 holes but three birdies and an eagle in the five holes from there put him in the group on four under, the final member of the quartet being Mark Kerr (Golf Fit Ltd/Bathgate GC) who will rue a dropped shot at 17.

Peter O’Keeffe will feel he should be right up with the leaders, sitting at five under with four holes to play but two bogeys means he joins Lee Harper (Archerfield Links) in registering a three under par round of 69.

A clutch of players at two under will be hoping to improve on their rounds of 70 in Wednesday’s second round – Jon Wetton, Peter Finch, Paul Dwyer (Clitheroe), Scott Jamieson, George Cowan (Westerhope), Jeremy Kavanagh (Stoke Park) and Daniel Perrett (Clevedon/Purple Golf) all sit three shots behind, with Challenge Tour regular Jamie Moul (Stoke by Nayland) one under par on his home course.

The second round of The Stoke by Nayland Championship 2009 begins at 7.30am on Wednesday morning, with live scoring available at www.europrotour.com via the Score Updates link, where you can find the full first round leaderboard.

MONEY LIST LEADER FAVOURITE – MOUL 22/1 ON HOME COURSE!

Stoke by Nayland hosts the PGA EuroPro Tour this week and Order of Merit leader Steve Surry is the 14/1 favourite with Sky Bet to win the Colchester event, which begins on Tuesday.

It’s the fifth event of the summer and Surry (Cumberwell Park) is looking for his second win to strengthen his position ahead of Daniel Brooks (Mill Hill) who misses out this week. Sky Bet are still offering 20/1 that Surry wins three or more events on this year’s Tour.

Sky Bet’s John Rhodes said: “An excellent field is assembled this week, with Order of Merit leader Steve Surry once again topping the betting at 14/1. An interesting one for me is local pro Jamie Moul (Stoke by Nayland – 22/1) who has been plying his trade on the Challenge Tour recently, and Nicky Harris (Whitefield GC – 28/1) after his second place in the last event at Bovey Castle will look forward to returning to a course he won on last year on the EuroPro Tour.”

Elsewhere in the betting, Chris Gaunt is third favourite at 25/1, currently sits in 20th spot on the Australian Tour, with his brother – Tour regular Daniel – a 28/1 shot. Prince’s winner Scott Jamieson is also 25/1 ahead of a talented bunch at 28/1 – Chris Rodgers heads this group, currently in the top 30 on the Asian Tour, and is joined by Elliot Saltman (Aegon), Simon Lilly, Steven Tiley (Royal Cinque Ports), Graeme Clark (Doncaster), Paul Dwyer and the aforementioned Harris.

To view the full market and place a bet on the Stoke by Nayland event and the Tour in general, click here: http://www.skybet.com/skybet?action=GoEvClass&id=34&aff=4527&EPT_Website

The tournament kicks off on Tuesday morning with live scoring available from www.europrotour.com

ALEX Belt refused to buckle under the heat as he blitzed the course record with a sizzling seven-under-par 61 in the Werneth centenary pro-am.

The reigning PGA North Region champion from Bridlington Links conjured up eight birdies after the old mark of 63 had been equalled twice earlier in the day.

Warrington-born Paul Carman, a long-time professional at Huddersfield, was first to post the score followed by former European Tour player Neil Cheetham who is attached to Sheffield club Dore & Totley.

Belt, winner of the Ryder Cup Wales 2010 Welsh Open Young Professional title in April, was among 19 out of the 39-strong field to beat par.

And sharing fourth place on 64 with Lee Park’s Chris Crowder was ex-Tour player turned tournament official Neal Briggs who represents Styal.

WILL Barnes celebrated his selection to the Great Britain and Ireland PGA Cup team with a maiden victory in the North Region following his move from the Midlands. And he achieved it in his adopted home town of Lancaster where he fired a six-under-par 65 at Ashton Hall to deny host club assistant Jon Salisbury by a shot.

Barnes, 33, originally from Lichfield who completed his training at the Belfry, recently took a teaching role at Garstang Golf Club, north of Preston, and is head of junior coaching and development for local schools.

He arrived in the area with an impressive record, having won several collegiate events while studying in South Carolina before returning home in 1999 where was one of the leading players in the Midland Region, competing in the European Team Championship in Spain last year.

“I lost my ranking when I came here but I’ve been invited to the Spirotech Manchester Open and Leeds Cup. Otherwise, my playing opportunities are limited,” he said.

“I just have to be patient,” he added after entering his own team at Lancaster and beat fellow PGA Cup rookie Barry Taylor, an assistant at Houghwood, by three shots.

The pair will line up against America at The Carrick on Loch Lomond on September 18-20 where Barnes will renew acquaintanceship with former Northenden professional and 1994 North Region champion Paul Wesselingh from Kedleston Park who is making his six successive appearance.

Meanwhile, all three are in the Open Championship local qualifying field on July 6-7.

Surry still 4/1 money list favourite ahead of Stoke by Nayland showdown!

Daniel Brooks has been cut from 33/1 to 13/2 to top the 2009 PGA EuroPro Tour Order of Merit after his fine victory at the Sureshot GPS International Open at Bovey Castle last week.

Brooks (Mill Hill) finished two shots clear at eight under par to pick up the £10,000 winner’s cheque and moved into second spot in the money list as a result. He is right on the tail of leader Steve Surry (Cumberwell Park), who is 4/1 to fight off all challengers and finish top of the pile.

Scotsmen Jack Doherty (North Gailes) and Elliot Saltman (Aegon) occupy fourth and fifth spot are both 10/1 to prevail along with Paul Dwyer, while Scott Jamieson is 14/1 and Simon Lilly is a 16/1 shot.

Stoke by Nayland hosts the next event on the Tour from Tuesday June 30, and the winner of that event last year, Nicky Harris (Whitefield GC), is 20/1 in the Order of Merit market, with Chris Hanson (Crosland Heath) 25/1 – click here to view the full market at Sky Bet: http://www.skybet.com/skybet?action=GoEvClass&id=34&aff=4527&EPT_Website

The Tour returns to the Suffolk venue for the seventh year in a row for the fifth event on this year’s calendar. Danny Nickless, operations manager of the Tour said: “Stoke by Nayland is an integral part of the PGA EuroPro Tour – from hosting pre-qualifying to setting the players a stern test next week. The opening events of the summer have been played to a fine standard and I know the winner here will have to play very well to get the better of the Gainsborough course.”

With a solid start to the summer on the Challenge Tour, Jamie Moul plays his home course while Chris Rodgers currently sits in the top 30 on the Asian Tour. Chris Gaunt – brother of Tour regular Daniel – is in 20th spot on the Australian Tour and also takes part at Stoke by Nayland.

“We are really pleased to be hosting the PGA EuroPro Tour again,” said Tamara Unwin, director of Stoke by Nayland Hotel, Golf Club and Spa. “The course is looking fantastic – our green staff as usual have done a brilliant job, and we are looking forward to another few days of exciting golf here at Stoke by Nayland. Everyone is welcome to come along and watch these excellent young players – which will include our prodigy Moul - as well as the Pro-Am event on Sunday which will feature a few well-known sporting personalities.”

Brooks will be further buoyed after topping regional qualifying for The Open Championship at Old Ford Manor with a round of 67. Brooks will be joined by a number of EuroPro Tour players at the final local qualifying event on July 6-7 at three courses in Scotland, with Tom Haylock and Elliot Saltman among those to make it through.