Heathland win for Yarham & Palfrey
There was a sensational finish to the 2018 Heathland Classic where the last few holes were decisive in determining who was going to be crowned the eventual winners.
The 3 day pairs event held at the areas three premier courses opened this year at Lindrick. With the greens running fast with a gusting wind the leading score of 44 pts from Dean Whitehouse & John Richardson (Sandhill GC/Hickleton GC) was enough to give them a narrow one point first leg lead from Howley Hall GC’s Martin Smith & Glen Arnison and Mark Duffin & Bernie Clark (Burghley Park GC/Sleaford GC).
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The next day was at Notts where the wind had strengthened significantly and points were not going to be surrendered easily by the course which is due to stage the final Open Qualification stage shortly. An admirable 42 pts from Gainsborough GC’s Jeremy Hague & Jonathan Stokes were the winners on the day with James Hartle & Sam Knight (Ladbroke Park GC/Sutton Coldfield GC) and the Smith Arnison partnership again in the prizes with 41 pts.
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Going in to the final day Smith and Arnison held the overall lead, a healthy 4 points ahead of Whitehouse & Richardson, with a host of teams a further 5 points adrift. Both the favourites went out together in reverse leaderboard order in what threatened to be a title deciding shootout unless the chasing pack could produce something exceptional.
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A glorious day greeted the players at Sherwood Forest where conditions were almost perfect. The 4th hole gave all the players an early chance of winning £5,000 for a Hole in One but after a few early shouts sadly there were no takers for the suitcase full of cash.
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Back with the main prize it was outsiders Mark Yarham & Andrew Palfrey who set the pace with an incredible 47 points in a round that contained 11 net birdies and no dropped shots to put them on 124 pts overall and into first place.
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As the later starters completed their rounds the nervous wait continued as a number of contenders failed to challenge their total. Hague & Stokes were left to regret a couple of bogies on the front nine but recovered brilliantly to post 46 points. Overall they were behind Yarham & Palfrey only on countback with one score left to be recorded.
But the overnight leaders and favourites Smith & Arnison struggled on Sherwood’s demanding back nine managing only 17 points to come up with 38 pts, agonisingly one short of the leaders with a total score of 123 pts.
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So in what was a very tense and thrilling climax to the 54 hole event, the 2018 Heathland Classic Trophy went to the members from Burghley Park GC & Knole GC, Mark Yarham (5 handicap) and pal Andrew Palfrey (8 handicap) with rounds of 40, 37 and 47 to give them a winning total of 124 to take home various goodies including a Ping Tour bag and over £500 worth of vouchers each.
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Tournament Director Luke Allen said “the courses were in first class conditions, the greens were all very fast and true and the windy weather made things a real challenge. The standard of play was exceptional, some great scores and the atmosphere at the awards ceremony was just fantastic. The final day 47 points certainly was a surprise but in this format a big number is always possible and teams are always in there with a chance. The spirit from the competitors has been really positive all week and I’m sure everyone enjoyed the challenge. Congratulations to the winners and hopefully the rest will try again next year.
Entries open in November http://heathlandgolfclassic.
