Gloucestershire Golf Union

Gloucestershire Golf Union County Championships 2008 

1^st Round

The 92^nd county Men’s 72-hole Championship took place on 24^th/25^th May at the stunning Kendleshire Golf Course in Bristol. The course was set up to be fast & difficult to test the skills of the County elite golfers. A 30 mph wind made it even more difficult for the players and it was proving a real test to keep the ball on the golf course.

The defending Champion, Ollie Glaze (Kendleshire) was an early starter & set the pace with an excellent 1^st round score of 75. Andy Hale (Chipping Sodbury) one of the hot favourites found the links to his liking to come home with a very good 71 closely followed by his County team mate, Ross Langdon who also recorded a 71.

A resurgent Dave Wood (Chipping Sodbury) playing in his 1^st County Championship for several years showed he has not lost his great love of the game & recorded a terrific 73. Shaun Thornhill (Broadway) showed the youngsters that the over 35s are still a threat by also bringing in a fine 73. At the end of the field England Boys squad internationals Adam Carson (Long Ashton) & Chris Lloyd (Kendleshire) opened up with very respectable 75s & Chris Evans (Kendleshire) got himself into contention with a well constructed 74.

2^nd Round

If anything the wind increased in the afternoon for the 2^nd round but the better players showed great resolve in battling the elements & the difficult but fair golf course. Tim Clink the County Captain was relieved to see his main 1^st team squad returning the best of the second round scores with selection for South West Week coming at the end of the tournament. Great scores from Ollie Glaze (71), Rich Carter (Lansdown) 73, Paul Ryder (Filton) 73 pushed them up the leader board with Andy Hale, Adam Carson & Ross Langdon moving to the top of the leader board with good 74s. The round of the day was saved for the last player on the course when Chris Lloyd became the first in the tournament to break the 70 barrier with a stunning 69 to lead the field on the 1^st day. The leading 30 players plus ties qualified for the 2^nd days 36 holes. The Team event over 36 holes (Winterbotham Cup) was won by Kendleshire A Team of Glaze/Evans/Lloyd with 289 from Chipping Sodbury A Team of Hale/Riddell/Wood on 294.

3^rd Round

The start of the second day began in driving rain for the early starters. The Kendleshire’s Green-Staff and the County Referees & supporters just about kept the course open with greens & fairways starting to flood badly, it was great credit to them that the event was able to continue. The players needed full concentration & much skill to keep going in the horrific conditions & they showed how resilient they can be with some great scoring. Ross Langdon & Chris Evans both carded 75s to lead in the clubhouse. Adam Carson (73) & Rich Carter (72) briefly took over the lead but a magnificent 69 by Ollie Glaze put him 4 shots clear of the field with one round to play. Overnight leader Chris Lloyd slipped up with a 77 to finish 7 shots behind the leader.

4^th Round

At last the rain stopped before the start of the final round & conditions eased for the players. The top 5 or 6 players still had a chance to catch Glaze but only if he relaxed too much on his 4 stroke lead. Carter, Langdon & Lloyd all felt they had a chance of becoming County Champion if they played to their full capability. Hale, Carter & Wood returned very good 72s & it was getting obvious that with conditions getting better that a good score could narrow the gap with the leader. News of a birdie run by Chris Lloyd filtered back to the clubhouse & many spectators were starting to gather at the closing holes. Lloyd finished in style with a best of the weekend score of 67 (4 under) but Ollie Glaze kept his cool to return another 69 & finish 4 shots clear of Lloyd to retain the title he won at Broadway last year becoming the first player to retain the coveted trophy since Gary Wolstenholme in 1994.

Chris Lloyd won the new trophy for the highest placed junior in the tournament presented by Liz Scott the widow of Peter Scott, (Gloucester) Past County President (1996) & Past Championship Chairman.

Glaze will now represent Gloucestershire at the Champion of Champions tournament at Woodhall Spa in September

92nd County Championships at Kendleshire Golf Club 24th and 25th May 2008
Forename	Surname	HCP	Saturday		Total	Sunday		Total	Total
Ollie	Glaze (K)	-1	75	71	146	69	69	138	284	1st
Chris	Lloyd (K)	-1	75	69	144	77	67	144	288	2nd
Rich	Carter (La)	0	74	73	147	72	72	144	291	3rd
Ross	Langdon (G)	-1	71	74	145	75	73	148	293	4th
Andy	Hale (CS)	0	71	74	145	78	72	150	295	5th
Adam	Carson (LA)	0	75	74	149	73	73	146	295	6th
Dave	Wood (CS)	-1	73	76	149	78	72	150	299
Chris	Evans (K)	0	74	78	152	75	75	150	302