The second week was all the way up in Newcastle at Longhirst Hall Golf Club. Again the weather seemed to be against us and the waterproofs were on. The first round was one of those days on the greens that I would like to forget. I shot 76 and went quickly to correct things on the putting greens. Round 2 and again the British summer was yet to arrive. I battled hard knowing that I needed a good score to make the cut. I was playing well and being patient making a few putts but needed a few more birdies in the last 4 holes to make the cut. I played them all perfectly and birdied them all finishing with a 67 to make the cut comfortably. Round 3 and the wind was very strong in the morning, it was bordering on the impossible for the front 9, I battled hard but was blown away and finished with a 77 and in 46th place.

Week three was across the Irish to sea to Galgorm Castle Golf Club. The course was in great shape and I was looking forward to playing some good golf. Round 1 started and we couldn’t escape the rain again but on the whole it was a nice day, I felt a tweak in my back in the gym in the morning but it seemed ok to play. I was playing well making a few putts until bogeys at my 15th and 17th holes set me back but I finished strongly with a birdie at the last for a 69 and in the top 15. Round 2 and my back was much worse than I thought. I sucked it up, took a painkiller and got on with it. I could not really hit it very far but could hit it straight. I battled to a 72 which was a good score with all things considering. Round 3 and the back was feeling better, so I was looking forward to climbing the leaderboard. I started slowly but made an eagle at the 9th before a solid back 9 with a birdie, birdie finish. I shot 68 and finished with a tie for 7th.

The final week away was at Fota Island Golf Club near Cork. The first round was played in what can only be described as a monsoon. I battled hard to a 73 which when I finished was in a tie for 10th but as the sun came out for the afternoon players I slipped down the leaderboard to a tie for 35th. My back was so painful after round 1 so I managed to seek out a physio to have a look. After a painful hour it seemed to be a bit better. Day 2 and the wind and rain came back just in time for my warm up. I wasn’t having much luck but it was the same for everyone in my side of the draw. I battled hard and wasn’t really putting my best but found my stroke just in time and birdied the last to make the cut on the mark. Round 3 and some sunshine at last. I started badly with a double bogey 7 which included a fresh air shot but battled the strong winds hitting lots of really solid shots and without holing any putts finished with a 74 and in a tie for 40th. I have some work to do on the greens as I am just not holing enough to compete at the top of the leaderboard. I am closing to playing very well indeed but two putts a round drop and all of a sudden I am in the top 10 not just making the cut

The second event of the season was at the glorious Burhill Golf Club in surrey. The course as always was in great condition and I was starting to play much better. The first round was cold and windy again but the sun was out at least. After a wobbly start on the 10th I settled in to my round thanks to some par saving putts and a long birdie putt dropping in from 40ft. I then made a complete mess of the 17th making a double bogey. I started the front 9 much better with 3 birdies before a bogey at the difficult 7th. I finished with a 71 which was nicely placed in the field.
Round 2 was again breezy but a bit warmer, I fancied a good low round to get me up to the leaders. I started brilliantly with 3 birdies in a row from the 3rd hole, then from nowhere I 4 putted the 6th and made double. Just as I was getting up some steam I threw it away again. I then had a mixed bag of birdies and bogeys, finishing with a round of 73. In both rounds I was up close to the lead before dropping back again but I was lying in 18th place with one round to go.
Round 3 and it was much tougher the wind had switched and was colder and stronger. This was going to help me to catch the leaders so I just needed to get a good start and put some pressure on them. I started with a birdie but bogeyed the 3rd and 9th before two birdied at 10 and 11 put me in a good position with a few to play. But again my erratic driving got me into trouble and I made another double bogey at the 15th. I finished with a closing 74 and finished 15th but it was an up and down week, lots of birdies but far too many bogeys. Work to be down on the range before the next event.

The third event was at the beautiful Bovey Castle Golf Club, it’s a low scoring week so I was looking forward to making some birdies. Round 1 and the weather was shocking to say the least wind and rain is not a good combination. I battled trough and was playing very well with 3 birdies and no bogeys on my card until I reached the 16th where I got confused with the wind and missed the green in the worst spot before trying and high risk shot and paid the penalty making a double. I finished with a 69 which should have been much better. Again I let a good round slip away.
Round 2 and again wind a rain greeted us, but I handled it ok on the first day so wasn’t too bothered. I started nicely again and was going well until the back 9 where for some reason my swing seemed to disappear and I didn’t know where it was going. I scrapped it round somehow before I hit two good shots into the last and made a birdie which I thought would definitely make the cut with conditions worsening. Sadly however I missed the cut by one again and was left to rue my shocking back 9. I played 27 holes and was inside the top 15 and from nowhere I missed the cut. Work to be done but I need to take the positives, my putting is much better and I am hitting a lot of good shots but seem to not be able to finish off my rounds. Just cut them out and I will be near the lead competing again.

Wychwood Park

I was looking forward to playing again after my 5th top 10 of the year last week. The course was a good one and I am playing my first stage of European Tour School there so was a good practice too.
Again it was windy, we are getting used to it playing on this tour. Round 1 started well with a good opening tee shot and from there it got worse, I made a scrambling par even though it was a par 5. Then I scrambled my way round to the 7th in level par some how as I had only hit 2 greens so far. Then my driver, the best part of my game deserted me, I hit it into a hazard on the 7th, a bunker on the 8th a lake on the 9th and the trees on the 10th. So from level par I was now back at 5 over par. It didn’t get much better from there but managed to scramble my way round and found a couple of birdies on the 16th and 18th to somehow finish on 3 over par 75. I was well off the pace and needed a good score in round 2.
Round 2 started well I was hitting the ball much better and had some birdie chances but didn’t take them which frustrated me as I needed a good start. Then the driver deserted me again, I hit it into a lake on the 15th skied it on the 16th and 18th. This putt me way off the pace again and turned in 4 over par and needing a miracle on the back 9. I didn’t play much better but holed a few putts to save me from embarrassment but it was still not pretty and I finished with a 78. I thought that my days of playing like this were over but it was a reminder to me that you can never master this game. I will be working hard for the next event. I just need a win and I will probably have enough to make the top 5 and get to the Challenge Tour next year.

My first event of the year after a good cold winter practicing hard was at Hayling Golf club near Portsmouth, on the Jamega Tour. It is a links course and playing in March I expected bad weather but what we got was even worse than I could have imagined. I was the last group out on the first day and it was bitterly cold from the start, then the rain came. I managed to battle the elements and posted a score of level par 71, which left me in 20th place as the leaders were all out early in the day.
The Second day didn’t get off to the greatest of starts as on the way to the course my car exhaust decided to fall off. Fortunately my Dad had taken the day off work to look after Freddie, so with some Michael Schumacher like driving he managed to get me to the golf club with 10 minutes to spare. As you can imagine a bogey at the first was on the cards from the preparation I had, had. The wind was the main factor on the second day, so anything around par would have been good. I battled hard and due to some good putting I got it round in two over par 73. With the wind get stronger (some said gusting up to 35mph) as the day went on the leaders fell back and I happily watched myself climb the leaderboard from the warmth of the clubhouse and finish in a tie for 3rd. A good start to the year.

Final Qualifying EuroPro Tour

My first event of the year on the EuroPro Tour was at Frilford Heath Golf Club near Oxford. Its an important event to do well in as it means you can plan you season a bit easier if you play well. My first round was on the Red course which has a Par of 73, I played pretty solid but was still very rusty and made a few errors to cancel out my good play and finished with a 1 over Par round of 74.
The second round was on the Blue course which has a Par of 71, I played much the same as the first day but cut out the errors and posted a 2 under par 69 which left me lying in 26th place going into the final round.
Round 3 was again over the Blue course again, I had a poor start to my round with bogeys at the first and second but recovered well to shoot a 1 under par 70 which finished in a tie for 12th and left me being able to plan my schedule as I please gaining the best tour card on offer.

Wensum Valley Golf Club

My first main tour event of the year was near Norwich at Wensum Valley Golf club. The weather was great and the course in good condition despite the bumpy greens due to a terrible winter. My first round was much the same as qualifying as I played solid but found it difficult to hole any putts but did manage not to miss that many which having spoke to many people after the round was the norm out on the course. I shot level par 72 which was a tie 30th. My second round started badly with a bogey at the first but I bounced back with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd. I played very nicely for the rest of the round but just couldn’t hole the putts and finished with a round of 2 under par 70. This left me flying up the leaderboard as others struggled and I was in a tie for 6th at the end of play. My final round was my first taste of being in contention in a EuroPro Tour event and playing in front of the cameras and a few spectators. I felt like a pro for the first time. I started well with 8 pars which had me closing on the leaders a bogey on the 9th was followed by birdies on the 13th, 14th and 16th to get me closer still but sadly chasing a few more birdies up the last two holes resulted in two bogeys and dropped me down to a tie for 10th. A good experience all round and I thought I handled myself pretty well.

Cumberwell Park Golf Club

Back to the Jamega Tour for my next event at Cumberwell Park Golf Club, I have played here for the last 3 years and the greens have always been excellent so I was looking forward to going back. The weather was nice again so a good score would be needed, sadly though I had one of those days where you can’t do a thing wrong from tee to green but when you get on them you look like a hacker again. I managed to get it round in 71 level par which left me in a tie for 25th.
After some practice on the putting green after my first round and the morning before I played I was confident again of putting well. Unfortunately I missed short putts on the first 3 holes which set the tone for the rest of the round and I finished with a very disappointing round of 78. Some time needed on the putting green after that display.

Burhill Golf Club

Back on the EuroPro Tour again for my next event and at a wonderful venue, Burhill Golf Club was presented in magnificent condition and the weather was perfect. The greens were perfect and on the second day after some rain to slow them down were measured at 12.7 on the stimpmeter. If you don’t know what this means then I will just say they were very, very fast. My first round started well with a birdie at the 4th and 5th, I managed to keep my round together despite no playing my best and did have a share of the lead at one point but two late bogeys left me back in a tie for 12th on 2 under par 70.
The second round was much the same as day one with me keeping my score together with some good work around the greens. Apart from a bad putt on my 18th hole I was happy to get in with at level par 72 and in a tie for 17th
Round 3 was sadly one to forget as my first 3 putt of the week came at the second hole and it was like that for the rest of the day with bad shots followed by bad putts and it added up to a 78 and left me in a tie for 43rd, not what I was looking for at the start of the week. It also dropped me down to 29th on the Order of Merit and with only the top 5 going through to the Challenge Tour I needed to start bucking my ideas up.

Longhirst Hall Golf Club

Next up was Longhirst Hall Golf Club near Morpeth, a Taste of Florida in the heart of Northumberland was the slogan. Not sure what part of Florida they have been to but it doesn’t look like this. Having said that the golf course wasn’t that bad as some of the players moaned, a little bit too much water as I found out was difficult for the high handicap amateurs to stay out of in the pro-am. Think the pro shop does great deals on lake balls if you fancy the trip up there. Anyway to the golf, The weather was shocking for the first two days so the scoring was high, I managed to battle my way round it two over 73 on the first day and was in a tie for 15th as the weather got worse throughout the day.
The second round was just as tough but players got used to the course a bit more and the scores were a little bit better, I managed to get round in 2 under par 69 which was the best round of the day which saw me climb the leaderboard and finish in a tie for 2nd place one shot off the lead going into the final round.
Round 3 started strangely as I was asked to do an interview before I went out to play, good experience and I suppose I better get used to it but not my cup of tea, I’m there to play golf so I will stick to that. It was good to be in contention and I felt really nervous on the first and hit a terrible drive and ended up making double bogey, nice start you plonker. I took it in my stride and battled round with lots of birdies and bogeys and probably should have won the tournament in normal play but I finished well with a birdie up the last to get into a playoff.
There were 3 of us in the playoff to start with but after a birdie from Stuart Archibald my friend who I share accommodation with most weeks and myself it was down to the two of us to battle it out for the win. Sadly on the 5th extra hole after both of us had chances to win a mistake from myself left the door open to Stuart and he took it well. All credit to him as he shot a course record 65 in the final round to catch the leaders. So close but so far.

Bovey Castle Golf Club

On to the next week after one day at home to do the washing and down to Bovey Castle Golf Club, a beautiful venue to play at in Exmoor National Park. The course was playing short with the dry weather so good scoring would be on the cards. I felt a bit worse for wear on the first day with a dodgy stomach, but battled my way round thanks to a very hot putter and found myself in the lead after a 5 under par 65. Beware the injured golfer.
The second day I woke up feeling better which was the only good news sadly, as I played poorly and dropped down the leaderboard after shooting 3 over par 73. Sadly for me this played me out of the tournament in terms of winning it but another top 10 was to play for.
Round 3 started well and managing to birdie every par 3 on the course I finished in a tie for 9th after a round of 67. All in all I was happy with another top 10 after last week to consolidate my position on the Order of Merit. Currently in 9th.

Open Regional Qualifying

My annual trip to Effingham Golf club for Regional Qualifying for the Open. I like the course and managed to play well with 3 birdies in the first 3 holes to set me up for qualifying well which I managed to do with a round of 70. Off to my favourite place in the world, St Andrews.

Galgorm Castle Golf Club

After my good round at Effingham they day before I had a 3.00am alarm call to get the first flight to Belfast Airport for my next event, so no time to celebrate qualifying. I was playing in the pro am so straight to the course for my tee time, after my first look at the course I liked it the greens were great and it suited my eye.
My first round was a steady affair finding the middle of the greens and keeping the mistakes off my card and I posted a bogey free 5 under par 67 to leave me in a tie for 7th. The leader had shot a fantastic round of 63 so worked to be done.
The second day was much the same weather wise but the golf was a bit scruffy and I made a bad error on the 16th involving a misplace rake in the bunker, but I shouldn’t have hit it in the bunker in the first place so it was my fault. A double bogey followed but I managed to birdie the last to shoot level par 72, sadly again my second round played me out of contention to win. It was disappointing to do this two weeks in a row.
Round 3 started badly as I was hitting it terrible on the range warming up, so just decided to hit the ball hard on the course as my bad shots come from having a lazy swing. This seemed to work as I stripe it down the first and made birdie. I then kept the moment up with regular birdies throughout the round and finished with a 6 under par 66. When I finished signing my card I looked at the leaderboard to see 7 other players tied on my score but they had a few holes left to play and for some reason most of them fell away and I finished in a tie foe 3rd with two others. This boosted me up the Order of Merit to 7th. On to St Andrews.

Open Final Qualifying

Final qualifying for the Open is always a good experience as a few European Tour and Challenge Tour players turn up as well as the best amateurs, so it’s a good mix of players. I was playing at Scotscraig Golf Club near Dundee, and having played my practice round in a very stiff wind (a gentle breeze the locals would say) I liked the course. It was 36 holes in one day for the first time this year and I haven’t done that since I turned pro so it would be a test of concentration.
The first round was played in very light winds nothing much to talk about to be honest, so scoring would be good. I started well with a chip in on the 2nd then holing a long putt on the 3rd, then followed another long putt on the 5th, I lost my way around the turn with a silly 3 putt and a poor drive which resulted in all my good work being thrown away, I bounced back straight away with another birdie on the 12th but didn’t take my chances coming in and finished with a 1 under par 69. The two leaders were at 4 under so I needed some more birdies and less mistakes for round 2.
Having grab my sandwich for lunch I was pretty much straight on the tee for round 2, I started solidly with 4 straight pars and with some good words from one of my playing partners caddy I was staying patient, think he wanted a job for the Open and his player wasn’t playing his best. Still after these kind words I started holing some putts and had 3 birdies in a row to be 4 under for the day, then the wind got up from nowhere and became an issue. I got unlucky on the 18th my 9th hole having started at the 10th, I got a massive flyer, this means when some grass get trapped between the club head and the ball so it comes off with no spin and goes much further than it should. This resulted in my ball flying about 190 yards with a 8 iron into a 15mph wind. I wish I hit it that far. Sadly my ball finished Out Of Bounds and I made a double bogey. A bogey followed at the 2nd and again I had let all my good work fritter away. I bounced back with a birdie at the 5th but as the were no leaderboards out on the course I had no idea how I was lying so as I was aiming to get to 4 under for the day I needed two more birdies from the last 4 holes. I attacked the flags but didn’t get the rewards on some shots and made to bogeys to put me back to level par for the tournament, playing my last hole I needed to make eagle to have any chance of making it and that’s what I did with a good drive and approach followed by a 20ft putt, my smile was back. I got in the scorers hut signed my card only to be told that I was one shot short of making it to the Open. It still hurts now as I write this down. One bloody shot.
Still when I got home I got the good news that I have been invited to play a Challenge Tour event at the end of July. All details of which will be posted here but you all will have probably heard the news from my Dad before I post it. Just kidding Dad, its great that you care.

My next event was on the 66 Pro Tour at a course nearby called Old Thorns. Another windy day and some bumpy greens kept the scoring high, I played pretty steady and shot a 75 I thought that it had no chance but when I came in and found out that 74 was the best score in I was naturally disappointed, a tie for 6th was were I ended up one shot behind the 5 man playoff.

Next it was back to the Jamega tour and a course called Studley Wood, which was presented in immaculate condition. The weather was good and so was the scoring, I was playing ok and shot a first round 1 under 72, this would be way off the pace unfortunately but still a chance for me to have another top 10, the wind got up on the second day which gave me a chance, I shot another 72 thanks to having 6 putts in the last 6 holes, I ended up finishing 16th gaining 15 places on the second day.

Up next was another Jamega event near Reading at a course called Caversham Heath. Which has greens that would make Augusta’s look flat. I shot a two under par 71 first round which was a good start. When I checked the internet later I was lying in 2nd place one shot off the lead. The weather was awful on the second day, so the scoring was not going to be as good, I was having a good battle with the overnight leader all day just a couple of mistakes costing me, in the end I shot a 3 over 76 and finished 4th. Looking back on it this is one that got away.

With confidence riding high I went to the next event on the Jamega Tour looking to end my winless streak. The course is a lovely member course called Mentmore Golf Club. The weather was perfect and the scoring good. I Shot a 7 under par 65 first round to be leading with 3 others and lots more in the chasing pack ready to pounce, the second day bought a bit more wind to make things a little bit tougher, the front 9 was the most eventful 9 holes I’ve ever played in, I had 4 birdies and no bogeys for a good front 9, Jason one of my playing partners had 5 birdies and a hole in one and my other playing partner Jack had 2 birdies and holed his 2nd shot on the par 4 5th hole. Starting the back 9 the was nothing separating us until the Jack and I had 3 more birdies on the 12th, 13th and 14th. I unfortunately made a mistake at the 15th leaving me one behind a birdie at the 16th wasn’t enough to close the gap so I was standing on the last tee one behind a tough 200 yard par 3 were I hit a poor shot and ended up making another bogey, leaving me shooting 6 under par 66 and finishing 2nd. I was disappointed not to win, another one that got away.

Next up was another 66 Pro Tour event at East Sussex National Country Club. I was still playing nicely so was looking forward to another good performance, I was playing solidly with 8 pars to start, I followed this with a bogey then two birdies to be one under par, I unfortunately made a couple of bogeys on the 14 th and 15 th to finish shooting one over 73. I didn’t really get the putter going which held me back from shooting a good score. I finished in 16th place. I have one more tournament left which I will post on here after I have played.