GARETH Jones is unlikely to forget his victory in the Mansell Finishes Winter Series final in a hurry.
The Sandiway assistant professional staged an astonishing display of scoring at St Annes Old Links which saw him race to eight-under-par after the first seven holes. And that included three eagles in a row from the fourth!
“It must be a record,” said the 27-year-old Welsh player. “I have never heard of anyone doing that before, either in the region of anywhere else.”
Jones started his round at the 18th, which he birdied, then picked up another shot at the third before his eagle blitz. “I chipped in for the first one then holed short putts for the other two,” he added.
His one bogey at the seventh was understandably attributed to a brief lapse in concentration as he posted a seven-under-par 65 to win by one from fellow Welshman Andrew Barnett, Swinton Park’s David Smith and Will Barnes from Garstang.
Jones, who studied in Arizona and joined the paid ranks six years ago with a plus two handicap, also won a Mansell event at Hillside in 2008.
But last season was his most memorable, finishing runner-up to Simon Edwards after a play-off in the Welsh Professional Championship at Harlech then went on to represent his country in the European Team Championship in Portugal.
“I’d like to play more but I have to mix it with teaching and working in the shop of Sandiway,” he said.
Houghwood assistant Barry Taylor clinched the Order of Merit thanks to two wins in the six-strong series.
Yorkshire’s Adrian Ambler was runner-up with Haigh Hall teaching professional Craig Corrigan third.
DETAILS: 65 Gareth Jones (Sandiway); 66 David Smith (Swinton Park), Will Barnes (Garstang), Andrew Barnett (North Wales DR); 67 Darren Hopwood (Penwortham), Graham Cox (Davenport).
0 comments:
Post a Comment