UK Senior Golf Association
Bruckner Bags gold at Marvelous Moortown
At last! Sunny skies, warm temperatures, the lightest of breezes welcomes the UKSGA to Moortown. And the welcome from Secretary Peter and his team was just as warm. Early feedback was that this was one of the best venues of the year but it is a tough test of golf which was to prevent a runaway leader.
It was Les Bruckner who struck form and hit the front for round one with a 3 over par 74. He was closely followed by early starter Mark KIngsley and Rob Andrew just one shot back.
With a full field sunlight was the issue for the later starters but, with clear blue skies over Leeds, all groups managed to get round before the light was lost.
The field had reduced to 74 as we kicked off day two - more fallers than this year's Grand National. But with vital Race to ESGA points up for grabs it was game on for round two. The temperature dropped a degree or two early on and, whilst we managed to swerve the local fog, the thick cloud changed the look and feel of the ex Ryder Cup course.
The sun broke through as promised for the leading players just as they teed off for round two.
Round two brought better scoring. And a standout score early on came from Orsett's Jeffrey Bearman - 4 birdies formed part of a level par 71 round to make a substantial move up the leaderboard. This proved to be the best 18 hole score of the event. In the Masters section Bob Martin's 76 stood out - another move in the right direction. Meanwhile Jeremy Platt managed to cover the 419 yard par 4 18th hole in just two shots - 7 iron of the day for sure on his approach. This was to secure the crystal prize for the best 36 hole net score together with the 250 OOM points that go with it.
Ian Richardson (Hexham), having gone out in 2 under 34, look set to match Bearman until a bogey at the last sent him to a 1 over 72 but, nontheless, gave him a substantial move up the leaderboard to 2nd spot to take the Silver medal.
Les himself eagled the par 5 7th only to give both shots back at the 9th. But a solid 1 over par back 9 was enough to see him home as a clear winner by 4 shots. And congrats must also go to Mrs B for another very special shirt.
In all, four golfers had a 153 total behind Les so countback decided the minor positions. Mark Stokes' excellent second round 74 slipped him into Bronze medal position.
And although Mike Ready (also on 153) missed out on countback it did secure the crystal in the Super Senior Section
Bob Martin (Headingley) was over the moon to have - in his own words - " at last shot a good round in a UKSGA event". A five over par 76 gave him the Masters victory by two shots from Robert Walker (Crewe). But Robert did secure top spot in the 75+ ESGA ranking as his consolation.
For the full results click HERE.
And for the impact of all of this on the Race to ESGA rankings click HERE.
Next up - we are heading back to Woodhall Spa for the penultimate event of the season. Its currently full with a waiting list as usual as the leaders try to secure their European team spot for 2025.
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