Fixtures/Results

34 of Devon's top professionals met at Dawlish Warren Golf Club this Thursday to contest the ninth of their winter OOM medals. The golf course which had suffered some of the worst of the winter weather, was in remarkable condition with tees and greens a joy to play on. Dawlish, although a relatively short golf course by modern standards, presents an exacting challenge to even the best players.

The days Event was sponsored by Cobra Golf, with an increasing number of the players using this company`s equipment, their support was very much welcomed.

First impressions when looking at the card can lead players into thinking that scoring should be easy. This is rarely the case, and on the day, although the weather conditions were very kind, a combination of exceptionally testing pin positions and the numerous hazards, which line the tight fairways made scoring quite difficult.

The course was reduced to 17 holes due to the waterlogged 7th fairway and players played from the seventh tee to the 8th green, course planners did not work on this hole!!

Leading scores on the day, were brought in by the vastly experienced Gary Milne, Head Pro at Exeter Golf and Country Club, and his assistant Chris Gill, who dominated West Region golf last season.

Milne who has only played three rounds of golf this winter, was delighted to enter the winners enclosure. Teaching and running his golf shop business at Exeter leave him little time to dust down the clubs, but when he does play, he feels that he now has so much confidence in his golf swing, that he can almost immediately get into the groove. His shot of the day was a seven iron to ten feet on the testing 17th hole which was followed by a successful birdie putt. He commented "I drove the ball really well all day, and perhaps left three or four shots out on the golf course due to some rustiness around the greens."

Chris Gill who had really `pushed himself` over the last twelve months, is always the `player to beat` in Devon events. His long game which many observers feel is of tour standard, was again superb. The key round Dawlish is often the middle holes, two long par fours followed by two par fives. Gill managed to make four fours on these holes and added birdies on 14 and 15 which formed the heart of his round. His only blemishes were three very short missed putts, and he felt that if his putter had been hot it could have been a very low round.

Tied in third place, were a large group of players which included the other Exeter assistant Mark Taylor. Could it be that the excellent practice and short game facilities at Exeter, are helping these players maintain good form through the difficult winter months.

Also in third place were experienced RND Head Pro Iain Parker, who has found a new level of consistency this season, Nick Cook from Elfordleigh who is a very underrated competitor, and Sean Mason who has just returned from an impressive win in a 45 team pro AM in Portugal where he beat a strong field by 8 shots, and finally Barry Austin from Downes Crediton. Barry with his tied third place has now just `muscled` his way to the top of the Order of Merit, he has leapfrogged Okehampton's Ashley Moon and now holds a slender 3 point lead at the top.

The Order of Merit, with three events remaining is now really hotting up. The race for top spot still looks like a race between Moon and Austin, but they may now be looking over their shoulders at a number of players who still feel they may have a chance. With 21 points available for a win a couple of low scores from the players in the chasing pack, could make the final standings very interesting.

The race to make the top ten prized spots to represent Devon in their Ryder Cup style matches next season has become even more competitive, with two big names just out of the top ten this also looks likely to go right down to the wire.

Next season the Devon professionals will not only be taking on Cornwall their old adversaries, they have arranged a new challenge against the Gloucester and Somerset PGA. This match looks certain to pit former county amateur players against each other for the first time in a professional team format.

The match has been arranged for Monday 30th March at England's oldest golf course, Royal North Devon.

New Devon PGA Captain Andy Norman from the Golf Company, thanked everybody at Dawlish Warren for making them so welcome, particularly golf co-coordinator Robin Goodey and the Head Greenkeeper who pulled out all the stops to have the golf course in great condition. He also presented the club with a cheque for £65 to help with their Junior Coaching programme at the club.