Seniors Strokeplay Championships
Prestbury’s Martin Keates made a superb up and down at the last to win the 36-hole Cheshire Seniors Strokeplay Championship at Bromborough Golf Club.
On a superbly presented and challenging course, the first day’s pace was set by Iain Bartholomew (Prestbury) with 72, followed by Ian Quirk (Lymm) on 74.
In round two, Guy Hindle (Warrington) had the best individual score of 72, but his opening round of 85 kept him out of the title race.
The 2020 champion Keates ended up with a 151 total, finishing one ahead of Eastham Lodge’s Paul Knight and two clear of Ian Gemmell (Stockport) and Bartholomew.
New champion Keates outlined his route to the championship:
“Even though I have struggled at Bromborough in the past, with the help of Matt Nixon at Sandiway, my game has been turning round and I have always felt that the course should suit me, and I therefore thought I could put in a decent performance, without any thought of winning of course, which requires many stars to align.
“On this occasion I happened to hit the best pitch shot of my life on the 36th hole, from near the practice chipping green, for a tap-in par.
“I would like to thank Bromborough for presenting a very well-conditioned course and creating a tremendous test, as well as all the county officials and volunteers for putting on a very well-run championship.”
Gross and Nett Prize Winners
The Gross Age Band prizes went to:
- Paul Knight (55-59): 152
- Ian Quirk (60-64): 155
- Ian Gemmell (65 and over): 153
The Nett winners were:
- Chris Turner (Portal, 55-59): 145
- Jonathan Crickmore (Walton Hall, 60-64): 146
- Brian Newman (Bromborough, 65 and over): 144
Special Moments and Thanks
Day one provided more thrills with aces from Peter Young (Didsbury) and Stephen Brown (Warrington).
They were presented with a county cap for Peter and a county shirt for Stephen by CUGC President Roy Claxton.
Claxton also praised Bromborough Golf Club for their efforts on and off the course and acknowledged the CUGC members for staging an excellent competition.
He presented Bromborough captain Graham Swaby with a county plaque for the club to display in the clubhouse.
Graham Swaby said:
“A big thank you again to the CUGC for allowing Bromborough to host the event and also to all of the volunteers over the course of two days as without their help these events don’t happen.”
