Northumberland’s Phil Ridden has lifted his first County Championship title.
Ridden, from City of Newcastle Golf Club, beat Andrew Gibson in the 36-hole final at The Northumberland Golf Club having beaten county teammates Craig Penny and Alex Dixon en-route to the final.
“I’m proud to have finally got a County Championship title under my belt,” said Ridden.
“I wasn’t confident going into the week having struggled for form in the first half of the season but I put together some of my best golf of the year through the week – including in a couple of tough games against Craig and Alex.
“It’s a great feeling to get rid of the tag of the best player without a County Championship win.”
Ridden will now head to the Champion of Champions event at Woodhall Spa as well as representing his home club as part of the team for the English Club Championship at East Devon, both in September.
“We’ve got some big games coming up for the county as we look to finish off the league season, and I’m looking forward to representing the county and my home club in two of the biggest events of the year,” added Ridden.
