Fixtures/Results

Churston staged the 10th round of the Devon PGA winter OOM series this Thursday. The golf course was presented in fantastic condition as usual, and Head Greenkeeper Kelvin Miller and his team, pulled out all the stops to make sure the Pros were able to compete. Several greens were close to saturation point, but high pin positions were found and the golf course remained playable.

OOM leader Barry Austin took full advantage of a favourable early start time to record another win, he played in a 2 ball at the start of the field and played the toughest part of the course in the dry, only having to put the waterproof jacket on at the 8th hole. He is playing great golf at the moment though, and he recorded 4 birdies to finish on a 2 under par 68, two of the birdies came on the most difficult holes no 3 and 6 both long par 4`s with the pins tucked in the corner of the greens. His shot of the day was a slinging draw to the 6th green from 200yds around some overhanging trees, this finished 25ft away and was followed by a successful birdie put.

Barry now looks a strong favourite to retain his OOM crown, and has established an important gap at the top of the rankings. He commented "The course was in great condition, and I suppose I had a bit of good fortune getting out early, and missing the worst of the weather on the front 9."

As the rain and wind picked up during the afternoon scoring became probably 2 shots harder, with the 5th and 6th holes playing very long. This meant that the 69 from the `back to form` Ashley Moon, was a really good effort, he has been working on some swing improvements over the last few months, and these now seem to be paying dividends. Only an over aggressive final approach on the 18, cost him a chance of sharing top spot on the day.

Christian Vine was third on level par 70 and he loves competing in the Devon events, when back home for the winter months from his summer base in Austria.

Nick Cook and the ever consistent Neil Holman were next on 72, with the ODOM now reaching its final stages the race to make the Devon Team and Matchplay top 16 is really hotting up. At the top of the table the big question is can Sean Mason, Chris Gill, or Neil Holman, apply enough pressure on leader Barry Austin in the final two events to challenge for the race to become Devon PGA No1.

Devon Captain Robin Goodey Downes Crediton, presented Churston Secretary with a cheque to boost their excellent junior programme at the club, and thanked the greenkeeping team and house staff, for all their efforts on the day.