Hampshire’s Stuart Archibald secured his second Logan Trophy title as the only player to shoot under-par at Rockliffe Hall – as several players from our region went close in the national mid-amateur event.
Test Valley-based Stuart posted rounds of 73, 72 and 69 to win by five shots and add the title to his victory in 2022 at Liphook.
“To play in any England Golf championship is an honour and I’m delighted to win another trophy, it’s a great achievement,” he said. “My iron play was really solid, and my putting was probably as good as it ever has been. That was always my Achilles heel before, but I putted lovely on the back-nine and that was enough to get it done.
“The wind was really tough on the first two days. One of the strengths of my game has always been my distance control and playing pin-high golf, and to get it to some of the plateaus where some of the pins were was tough. I think everyone struggled, it created some challenges with putting and also keeping the ball in play.
“I’d like to dedicate this win to my partner Ashley and daughter Sofia – we’re expecting another child in December – so whether I play next year will depend on whether I’m allowed to leave the house after that!
“I hope I can play at Hadley Wood, and the following year it’s at my old club Blackmoor, so I’ll definitely be looking to come back and win there too.
“I’m going to celebrate the win by driving up to Edinburgh for work at the Scottish Open, so no playing for a few days, and then I’ll be off to The Open in Ireland so hopefully I can enjoy a Guinness or two there!”
The first two days of the Logan Trophy saw 40mph winds make scoring tricky before a calm final day, until heavy showers hit the leading groups.
James Glenn’s five under-par back nine on day two saw the Bishop Auckland golfer join Stuart in the final pairing on the last day, and both enjoyed good front nines with Stuart making birdies on five, six and seven to stretch his lead at the top. Bogeys on the back nine all but ended James’ hopes, while Stuart held his nerve to birdie 12, 15 and 17 to seal victory.
Chester-le-Street’s Kevin Suggett had the round of the tournament on the final day as he produced a bogey-free 67 to finish second – while South Shields’ Martin McCririck finished in a tie for third alongside James and John Sadler (Bromborough) on four over-par.
Meanwhile, Mark Wharton (Newcastle United) and Sean Heads (Hexham) finished in a tie for seventh place – and Ryan Riley (Wynyard) and Michael Henson (Rockliffe Hall) also finished in the top 10.
