Warwickshire Golf
JACKSON CUTS MASONS LEAD
(Left: Morgan Jackson, Middle: Karl Mason, Right: Presentation by Bob Harrison - President, Morgan Jackson - Winner, Stuart Bloxham - County Captain)
Five finalists attended the Par 3 Order of Merit Final on Sunday to take on the challenge of Nailcote Hall.
The rules of this round were the same all the others in that Stableford scoring off scratch was used, due to the difficulty of the course compared with Marston Lakes there was a 5 point "bonus" on offer to add to this rounds score.
Then two find our Winner the Stableford Points would be added together for each players best 2 rounds.
Coming into the final Karl Mason held the lead with Stuart Bloxham trailing by 3, Morgan Jackson and Neville Gardner both trailing by 4 points. Anthony Gascoigne had put in a good performance in round 1 of 38 points so needed a solid round to join the leaders.
The course played is usual tricky self, testing every players ability to save par from any greens that were missed. A perfect place to practice the all important short game.
Both Bloxham and Jackson took a few holes to get going with Morgan sitting 3 over par after 4 holes and Bloxham 2 over after 5. But Mason continued the form that got him to the top of the pack, and was 1 under after 6.
Then all changed over the next few holes where Jackson fired off 4 birdies in a row to reach 1 under and Mason dropped a shot (only his 2nd bogey in 43 holes!) to go back to level par. Bloxham also managed to creep back up to Level par and finished his round with 36 points plus the 5 point bonus giving him an impressive total of 79 points.
Gardner returned another 36 point round to his total leaving him on 73. Gascoigne returned 30 points giving him a total of 68 points for his 2 rounds played.
Standing on the 18th Tee, Mason remained 1 point ahead of Jackson and Bloxham a further point back. From their tee shots Jackson hit his shot to what looked like inches, Bloxham hit the green in regulation and Mason hit his shot inches short of the green and found the pond.
Mason being forced to take a drop and hit his pitch back over the pond hit a fantastic pitch to a couple of foot and probable bogey. Bloxham made a par returning 36 points plus his bonus giving a grand total of 79 points.
Jackson had his birdie putt to win the order of merit outright, but the ball lipped round the hole and stayed above ground. Both tapped in their putts and were left tied on 80 points each.
A sudden death play off was formulated and both players went back to play the tough 9th/18th Hole. The same water hazard must have been playing on both players minds when they each missed the green and into the Oak on the right of the green. Mason played first and hit a good pitch to 5 foot, and Jackson then hit his to 2 foot of the hole.
Masons par putt slide by the side of the cup and Jackson calmly tapped his putt in for par and to win the Par 3 Order of Merit.
It was a fantastic mornings golf played in great spirit. County Captain Stuart Bloxham commented, "The Par 3 Order of Merit is perfect for honing your short game skills with the added pressure of having a card in your hand. This series will return bigger and better for inclusion the next seasons coaching program and we hope more players will see the benefit of attending these events."
Well done Morgan and some excellent play by Karl Mason and Stuart Bloxham making the competition very tight right to the end.
SCORE DETAILS FOR NAILCOTE HALL
Matt Nixon
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