Cusworth Conquers Sand Moor
We returned to Sand Moor for another event blessed with glorious sunshine, strong winds and superb greens. The conditions proved a real challenge, making scoring difficult and setting up a tightly contested day.
With some makeable holes early in the round, the initial scoring was strong, with a number of the field under par in the early stages. However, it wasn’t long before the course began to bite back! Lightning-fast greens combined with the strong winds made controlling the ball incredibly difficult and resulted in plenty of dropped shots.
The first nearest the pin came at the 8th, where a huge crosswind made attacking the back pin particularly tricky. The ever-reliable Greg Robertson produced a fantastic tee shot to knock Jamie Tinsley off the board and take the honours.
The back nine played predominantly into the wind and scores began to tumble. Rob Jobbins, Neil Yeadon and Michael Goodare were all playing solid golf, but it was last year’s Champion, David Cusworth, who began to establish a lead over the field.
With the leaderboard still capable of changing dramatically, the 17th provided the final nearest the pin challenge of the day. Remarkably, it produced exactly the same result as the 8th, with Greg once again beating Jamie to claim his second nearest the pin win of the day.
As the early starters began to gather on the balcony for some well-deserved drinks, the event was still very much in the balance. Just one shot separated 2nd and 5th, with Neil Yeadon eventually securing second spot with 32 points.
But it was David Cusworth who took the honours, producing a superb 37 points in difficult conditions and putting himself firmly back in the running to retain his Order of Merit title.
