Champions of Champions retrospective

As we continue to build up to the return of the Champion of Champions events this April and May, Dean Bailey charts the event’s history and speaks to some of the past champions

Ahead of this year’s Champion of Champions events, we’ve looked back through the history of the tournaments – journeying all the way back to the inaugural men’s event in 1968.

The first Champion of Champions, hosted by City of Newcastle, was won by Doug McClelland. The South Shields-based player, who went on to have a decorated professional career on the European Tour, remembers the buzz the tournament’s launch generated.

“The event was truly ground-breaking as it brought together a limited field from right across the North East,” said Doug. “It grew very quickly into the most important amateur event in the region.

“My win in 1968 – beating Robert Webster in a playoff – was one of my last as an amateur before I turned pro in 1969, shortly after defending the title at Tyneside. Beating the best players from across the region was a huge achievement and I’m very proud to have it on my golfing CV.”

A pair of victories for Whitley Bay’s Gordon Clark – Amateur Championship winner in 1964 and a Walker Cup player – followed, separated in 1970 by a victory for South Moor’s Roy Clark. In 1972, City of Newcastle’s David Moffat lifted the trophy at Arcot Hall. An England international, David recalls the competitiveness between players from Northumberland and Durham at the tournament. 

“It’s 50 years ago now, but I still remember the day – a blustery one at Arcot Hall,” said David. “I played with Harry Ashby, shot rounds of 73 and 66, and beat Harry to the title.

“Winning an event like the Champion of Champions was a tremendous honour because of the quality of the field. There were some hellishly good players in the 1960s and 1970s in the North East, as there are today, and the Champion of Champions has been won by some of the true greats over the years.”

In the 1970s, titles also went to players including David George (Whickham), Jack Ord (South Moor), Jackie Angus (Warkworth), Jimmy Hayes (Gosforth) – who would win again in 1984 – as well as Jimmy Thomas (Ravensworth) and Alnmouth’s Peter Deeble – the first back-to-back winner in 1979 and 1980.

The tournament was evenly split between the two counties in the 1980s with champions including Tyneside’s Neville Dunn in 1982, Seaton Carew’s Alex Robertson in 1986, and Arcot Hall’s Graham Pickup in 1989.

After a decade without a back-to-back winner, Prudhoe’s Shaun Philipson – another England international and one of Northumberland’s best ever amateur golfers – won the title in 1991 at Brancepeth Castle and 1992 at Newcastle United.

“For county golfers, the Champion of Champions was right up there with your county championship,” said Shaun. “The promotion in The Journal helped, as did the respect the players had for the tournament. My win at Brancepeth was my first big title and was a really important step in my career, it gave me the belief to win big events in the years that followed. 

“Following it up at Newcastle United in 1992, the year I won my first Northumberland County Championship, was a great feeling as the counties rarely competed together in strokeplay and very few people ever won it twice.”

Jimmy Dryden from South Shields would win the following year before Ravensworth’s Craig Kilgour won the event at Blyth in 1994.

“I remember the win well, it was a big month for me,” said Craig, who won the club championship at Ravensworth, the Carlisle Open and the Champion of Champions that month.

“It came at what would ultimately be the end of my elite amateur career as my golf fizzled out in 1995. Winning the champions was a big occasion, arguably the biggest of my golfing career, given the quality of the field.” 

After a gap year in 1995, Rothbury’s David Clark – now PGA professional at Morpeth and a regular winner on the NE/NW PGA circuit, lifted the trophy at Matfen Hall.

“I’d just turned 18 and winning the Champion of Champions was a huge deal,” said David. “The event always brought together a strong field and playing out of Rothbury, I imagine I was a bit of a shock winner. I certainly didn’t have huge belief in my golf at the time. I carried that hit of confidence forward, established myself in the county side and had two good seasons before turning pro at the end of 1997.” 

A win for Ponteland’s Rob Wiggins followed in 1997 before South Moor’s Jimmy Handy won the title in 1998 at his home club. 

“Winning a three-man playoff at my home club, birdieing the 16th and 17th, was a great way to add my name to the Champion of Champions trophy,” said Jimmy. “It’s certainly one of the highlights of my long golfing career. The event was always something every player looked forward to as soon as they qualified.”

Another future PGA professional would win in 1999 at Slaley Hall – Westerhope’s Michael Nesbit picking up his final win before turning pro.

“Back then, we had a thriving amateur scene in the region and it would get really competitive between the counties,” said Michael. “The field was deep and playing at Slaley Hall made it feel like a really big event. To be part of the history of such an important event in North East golf is brilliant.”

Michael would hold onto the trophy for eight years before the tournament was resurrected in 2007. 

Northumberland-based players dominated the early years of its return – Morpeth’s Sandy Twynholm winning in 2007 before Newcastle United’s Simon Lee won in 2008 at Slaley Hall.

“Getting to play a big event at Slaley Hall was always a highlight of the year,” said Simon. “Winning was a huge deal for me – certainly one of the biggest wins of my amateur career. To get it done on a tough golf course gave me a lot of confidence at the end of a difficult year and I kicked on to have one of my best years in 2009.”

Simon’s win was followed by City of Newcastle’s Phil Ridden – who won his first Champion of Champions at Slaley Hall in 2009 before recapturing the title in 2011 at Close House after Newbiggin’s Craig Penny lifted the trophy in 2010.

“It’s a great honour to be one of the few people to win it twice,” said Phil. “In 2009, I remember the big fuss was Bruce Grobbelaar playing. I’d been successful for a little while locally, but my expectations weren’t particularly high as while I enjoy the Hunting Course, it’s not a great match for my game. To win it and finish off a really successful year was a great feeling.

“The win at Close House, just a few months after the Colt Course opened, was a bit different. I was one of the favourites having had such a successful year – winning The Lagonda Trophy and a lot of scratch events that season. The story goes that I had 23 putts that day and while I don’t think the number was that low, I remember holing a lot.

“For me, the Champion of Champions isn’t all about the top county players. It’s also about the guys from some of the smaller clubs. Those players make the event special and it’s great it is back up and running with all the clubs in the region represented.”

Durham-based players then picked up the trophy in the final two years of The Journal’s stewardship of the event – Tyneside’s Ricky Lee and Brancepeth Castle’s Richard Aisbitt winning in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

While the men’s event would not be played for four years, Northern Golfer launched the Junior Champion of Champions in 2015 with Tyneside’s James Wilson winning his first of two titles.

“Winning an event on the scale of the Champion of Champions was a really important step in my junior golf,” said James. “It was nice to put my name on the map. To have those two titles to my name is something I’m very proud of.”

Wynyard’s Briony Bayles then captured the junior title in 2016 before Northern Golfer resurrected the men’s championship and launched the ladies event in 2017.

The first trio of events were hosted by Ramside Hall in 2017 with Tynemouth’s Stew Fell and Rebecca Ferguson winning the men’s and ladies titles respectively as Hexham’s Joseph Robson won the junior title.

“I can’t believe it’s been five years,” said Rebecca. “It was one of those days when everything went right and to win my first regional event, and be the first person to put their name on the trophy, was very special.”

“Winning the Champion of Champions was a huge occasion,” said Stew. “It’s my biggest win so far and stands out as some of the best golf I’ve ever played.”

In 2018, England internationals Rosie Belsham and Jess Baker won the junior and ladies titles respectively as Durham-based American James Glenn won the men’s title.

Garforth’s Josh Bassitt then became the first Yorkshire-based winner of the men’s event in 2019 as James Wilson won his second junior title and Whickham’s Faye Wheatley signalled her rising stardom with victory in the ladies’ event.

“The day was a battle in tough weather and I’m very proud of the way I stuck in and got over the line. To get back to winning golf tournaments was a great feeling after taking a break from the game after university. To win my first event outside club golf after three years was tremendous and I’m looking forward to returning to defend my title,” said Josh.

“To win and be on the cover of Northern Golfer was fantastic,” said Faye. “It really inspired me to work hard on my game and I’ve enjoyed playing in big tournaments around the country ever since.”

The 2022 Champion of Champions events are open to reigning club champions from clubs in Northumberland, Durham, Teesside, Cumbria, the Borders and North Yorkshire within Northern Golfer’s circulation. The men’s event will take place at Longhirst Hall on Saturday April 23 while the ladies and junior events will take place at George Washington on Bank Holiday Monday May 2. For more information and to enter go to
www.northerngolfer.co.uk/champion-of-champions-2022