Two holes-in-one, 13 rounds in 60s, and a playoff made for a fantastic four days of golf in the Durham County Strokeplay Championship at Castle Eden, where Seaham’s David Patterson emerged victorious in a playoff with Thomas Harbord.
David, who turned 50 this summer and won the title for the first time in 2007, had a spell as a professional before returning to the amateur ranks.
“I’ve finished second, third, fourth and fifth, but I’ve been working away quite a lot over the last few years and have just been playing a couple of times a week,” said David. “People say that when you get to 50, your game drops off a bit, but not for me. Since I turned 50 on June 20, I haven’t lost a team game and now I’ve won this.”
David, who played out of Castle Eden as a youngster, opened up with a four under-par round of 66, adding a second round 69 to lead comfortably from South Shields duo Ben Willis (68-72) and David Kelly (68-73), and Castle Eden-based Thomas (70-71).
Thomas emerged from the chasing pack with a third round 67 as David slipped with a 73, leaving both players tied on 208.
The final round was nip and tuck with neither player able to edge clear enough to relax. Thomas’ eagle at the par five 14th looked to be crucial, but a bogey at 17 and par at the last – as David made bogey on 18 – saw the pair head back out for a three-hole playoff.
David made a solid par at the first as Thomas’ drive went right and he dropped a shot. At the short sixth, David pitched in for a birdie two before Thomas three-putted to be three behind. Another solid par at 17 was then enough for David to take the crown.
Meanwhile, George Washington’s Duran Gunn made a hole-in-one at the 175-yard sixth during the event, a feat matched by Heworth’s Will Marshall at the 175-yard ninth hole.
