Alnmouth Golf Club’s Joseph Henderson picked up the biggest win of his golf career to-date in the Northern Golfer Men’s Champion of Champions at Longhirst Hall.
A member of Foxton as well as Alnwick, Joseph led the field in the first Champion of Champions event since 2019, following the Covid pandemic. The event brought together men’s club champions crowned in 2021 from across the region and saw Joseph lead the field with a one under-par round of 72 on the Dawson Course.
“It’s a fantastic feeling to be able to say I’m the Champion of Champions,” said the plus-two handicapper. “I’ve had a few ups and downs on the golf course recently, so to start 2022 with a win in such a big event is a great feeling.
“While I’ve won back-to-back club championships at Foxton, I’ve struggled with my game in-between as I’ve learned how to combine golf and family time with my son and daughter.
“Following a winter off, I’ve put a few hours in, going back to things I’ve worked on with Andy Paisley, and that has paid off. I came here thinking I could play well but questioned if I could win. Picking up this trophy gives me a lot of confidence and I’ll be going into events now knowing I’m capable of winning.”
Joseph’s closing stretch of six consecutive pars gave him the win over City of Newcastle’s Andrew Minnikin on countback as the pair finished one shot clear of Heworth’s Will Marshall. Luke Bassam (Hartlepool) and Ponteland’s Russell Hayhope completed the top five with one over-par rounds as Gary Donnison (Gosforth), Stephen Brooks (Blyth), Cameron Thorburn (Westerhope), Craig Penny (Newbiggin) and Paul Caldicott (Northumberland) finished in the top 10.
Following an opening birdie four, Joseph bogeyed the par four second and continued the pattern of birdies and bogeys until he reached the par five sixth – where an eagle broke the run. His first pars followed on the next three holes as he reached the turn at three under-par.
A bogey at 10 was followed by another at the par three 12th before Joseph finished with six pars in gusty winds.
“The eagle on six was a big highlight,” added Joseph. “I was also really happy with the way I finished – my short game definitely helped me get across the line.
“There’s some good events to look forward to in Northumberland and some travelling this summer. I’d like to keep pushing on and see where I can get to in the next few months.”
Dean Bailey, editor of Northern Golfer, said: “A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the return of the Men’s Champion of Champions event such a success. We can’t thank the team at Longhirst enough for putting on a fantastic event on the golf course and in the clubhouse; Dan Hase from Northern Ball Markers for supplying this year’s prizes; Brewin Dolphin for their continued partnership; and all the players who took part.”
To view the leaderboard, go to www.golfgenius.com, select Sign In, enter the GGID (UJPUCH), and click on Results.
The Junior and Ladies Champion of Champions at George Washington followed the men’s event shortly after this edition went to print. We’ll have the full story from those in our June edition.
