David Corben won the Logan Trophy by two shots on an entertaining final day at Enville Golf Club.
David Corben won the Logan Trophy, presented by Virgin Wines, by two shots on a thrilling final day of action at Enville Golf Club.
Corben (Hindhead GC) held his nerve on the final couple of holes to ensure his six-under through 54 holes was enough to see off Craig Simmons (Shifnal GC) and Martin Young (Brokenhurst Manor GC) who both finished four-under.
After the first day's play, Corben enjoyed a two-shot lead as just four shots separated 24 players at the top of the leaderboard, but he extended his advantage to four shots heading into the last round courtesy of six birdies on Day Two.
Following the storms on the Saturday, many players had to finish their second round in the early hours of Sunday to try and make the cut, most notably Luke Rogers (Kidderminster), who made a stunning albatross on the first hole on Saturday afternoon after his driver and nine-iron combination. It was his second albatross in a year after acing a par-4 on his home course.
The final round commenced at 9.30am on Sunday and several players enjoyed remarkable starts with Simmons shooting five-under through the front nine after an eagle and three birdies.
Paul McMullen (Frilford Heath) notched four birdies on the front nine while Steve Capper (Royal Liverpool) bagged two eagles in the opening three holes, catapulting them up the leaderboard in the early stages of the day.
Simmons marched on to shoot a six-under round, joining Young as joint-clubhouse leader on four-under overall, while Corben had dropped a shot out in the field.
Drama unfolded on the 17th as Corben had to hit a provisional ball after seeing his first head into the long grass, while last year’s winner Stuart Archibald (Test Valley), playing alongside Corben in the final group, was just two shots behind.
Corben found his original ball to recover a brilliant par while Archibald’s second shot got snagged in the grass before he hit a bunker, effectively ending his chances of retaining his title.
Corben hit sand off the tee on the final hole but composed himself to recover par while Archibald slipped into fourth place. Young finished third with Simmons second on countback, and Paul McMullen finished in fifth after his impressive day.
The 2008 Brabazon Trophy winner Steven Uzzell (Hornsea) finished sixth as only six players of the 143 field finished under par.