Devon Features

Devon Professional Championship

Monday 10th September 2007
Royal North Devon Golf Club

Player	AM	PM	Total
C Gill	72	68	140
J Langmead	72	69	141
P Hendriksen	74	68	142
A Moon	77	70	147
S Mason	73	76	149
B Austin	71	79	150
J Bee	77	75	152
N Holman	78	74	152
A Norman	75	78	153
L Eastwood	77	76	153
M Taylor	78	75	153
D Curl	77	79	156
R Goodey	81	76	157
D Wood	80	77	157
D Hendrikson	83	80	163
D Jeffs	85	78	163
T McSherry	84	80	164
J Martin	84	82	166

Chris Gill
Devon Professionl
Champion 2007

The Devon Professionals Championship was contested at England's oldest and most historic golf course Royal North Devon on Monday.

The golf course provided a suitable test for some of the West Country's top professionals, the field included West Region Champion Chris Gill, West Region Order of Merit winner Sean Mason and West Region OOM runner up Barry Austin. The strong field found a true links test very different to the conditions most Pro's encounter day in day out in the West Region. The stiff breeze and extremely testing pin positions added to the challenge.

Scoring on the day showed that once the professional's had adapted to the fast running conditions scoring for the top players improved in the afternoon round.

Winning professional on the day was Exeter's in form Chris Gill. Chris, who was attached to Royal North Devon for about a year early in his career loves links golf and counts Royal North Devon as one of his favourites places in golf.

He felt that his tee to green game throughout the day was in his own words, "a little bit scrappy" but he more than made up for a slightly off colour long game, with tremendous work on and around the greens. His putting was superb and he holded more than his fair share of ten to fifteen footers, and throughout the day never missed one short range effort.

In his afternoon round he knew that his closest challenger, Exminster's Jon Langmead had posted a formidable three under par target. Chris stood on the 17th tee knowing that he needed a birdie to force a playoff he smashed two great shots pin high on the 555 yard 17th and chipped stone dead for a birdie. With the bit firmly between his teeth he smashed a drive to within 30 yards of the 414 yard 18th green and wedged to 8 feet. The putt which won him his first Devon Pro's title never looked anywhere else. What a finnish!!

A disappointed Langmead looked on from the clubhouse window. Gill has proved this season that there has been a changing of the guard. Langmead is still a huge force in Devon golf but can no longer claim to Devon's number one player. Jon commented "that his life now is so much busier with a young family and a busy work life, as Director of Golf at Exminster, he has lost some of his formidable competitive focus." On the day Jon had struck the ball superbly from tee to green, and felt that he had rolled the ball well on the greens without holing his fair share of birdie putts, which his excellent iron shots had set up.

In third place was Paul Hendrikson from Fingle Glen. Paul has a superb all round game and has made considerable progress again this season, in his attempts to reach his goal of playing on the European Tour. His opening round of 74 left him just too much to do but his afternoon 68 matched the best score of the day.

The event superbly organised by David Taylor in his final event as Devon Alliance Secretary was a great success. The winner Chris Gill thanked everybody at Royal North Devon for their efforts in preparing the golf course and in his winner's speech said that he was very proud to become Devon Professional Golf's number one player.

With Devon players now dominating the scene in the West Country, and Pro events within the county going from strength to strength, these are great days for the county at professional level.