The father and son pairing of Mark and James Gamble, representing Charles Lawrence Tennis Courts, emerged victorious from this year’s SAPCA Open golf tournament on 6 June. A record entry of 58 golfers enjoyed a splendid day in the sunshine at Whittlebury Park in Northamptonshire, the revised format for the day and the change of date proving to be very popular with participants.
The winning pair’s joint Stableford score of 71 was enough to edge out the Exclusive Leisure team of Adam Brown and Graham Bright, who finished on 69. Third place went to Matt Young and Elliot Wilson of TGMS with a score of 66, and fourth prize was claimed by Scott Borman and Richard Darwin of the ECB, who scored 65.
This was the first SAPCA Open win for Charles Lawrence Tennis Courts, which is the sixteenth different name to be engraved on the trophy since the competition started in 2000. Harrod UK still lead the way with their hat trick of wins in 2012, 2015 and 2016.
Other prize winners, on the speciality holes, were:
- Nearest the pin in one: David Johnstone, Britannia Paints
- Nearest the pin in one: Jeff Heaver, Covair Structures
- Nearest the pin in two: Wayne Sexton, Fosse Contracts
- Longest drive: Robert Swatton, Fosse Contracts
As well as a competitive day on the course and the very welcome refreshments at the nineteenth hole afterwards, the members and guests enjoyed a convivial evening with the Golf Dinner in the clubhouse. After presenting the prizes and the trophy, Golf Chairman Wayne Sexton expressed his delight at the success of the day, especially with the number of people that had taken part. He said: “We want to build on the success of this year’s golf day, and with your support we can continue to make sure we all enjoy the day and make one or two new contacts. So spread the word about what a great day it was and hopefully we’ll have enough players for a shot gun start next year, which will also mean more time to network and socialise.”
Complimentary golf balls were given to all the participants, thanks to the generosity of SAPCA member company Sekisui Alveo.
The SAPCA Open 2019 will be held on Thursday 13 June 2019, at the Marriott Forest of Arden Hotel & Country Club.
Photographs from the 2018 event can be viewed by clicking [here]