Southerndown duo set to star on the big stage

MIKE Jenkins and Glenn Howells emerged as the big winners in the Yellow Box Medal at Southerndown.

Not only did they finish first in divisions one and two of the event respectively, both men also qualified for other big competitions as a result.

Having both recorded net scores of 64, Howells, who plays off a handicap of 18, got the better of Jenkins on back nine countback to seal a place at the PGA National Pro-Am Championship.

Howells will now head to Frilford Heath in Oxfordshire on July 30 alongside Southerndown head professional John Peters with a place at the grand final at Mexico’s Moon Palace Golf Resort in December up for grabs.

Both seven-handicapper Jenkins and Howells also qualified in their respective divisions (category A for players with handicaps of 0-12 and category B for those 13-28) for the Welsh Individual Handicap Championship at Llandrindod Wells on September 9.

There had been a turnout of 92 for the Yellow Box Medal and the strong winds meant only six players carded scores below their handicaps. Mathew Ashong was runner-up to Jenkins in division one with a net 66 while Mike Hearne was third (67).

Ian Keen (68) was four shots behind Howells with Ed Miller (70) needing countback to see off Garry Hooper for third in division two.

Host club favourite Jack Bush used all his local knowledge to win the Morlais Castle Bowl last Sunday. His 36-hole score of 137 was made up of rounds of 70 and 67, the lowest scores in the morning and afternoon sessions.

They gave him a comfortable six-stroke winning margin over Neath's Craig Melding (143), who fired rounds of 75 and 68, with Radyr’s Chris O'Neill third on 146. Wenvoe Castle hosts the next Glamorgan County order of merit event, the Castle Trophy, on August 11.

A net round of 67 gave Michael Walters the DR Jenkins Cup at Pontardawe with Dan Rees (68) a close second. The Summer Cup went to Steffan Harries with a score of 40 points, one ahead of Danny Birch.

One shot was the difference between first and second in the Pennington Cup & Medal at Ashburnham as Susan Davies’s 80 was just good enough to beat Jayne Evans. Eleanor Roberts was third, one stroke further back.

There was another close finish in the Fred Cheeswright Cup with Aled Greville pipping Tim Priestland for first prize and Jonathan Houston edging David Callaghan for third on countback.

The Travellers Cup at Carmarthen had three worthy winners for each of the three handicap divisions. Len Davies (net 69), Ray Harley (70) and Nigel Randall (64) were top dogs in one, two and three respectively.

Susan Convery won the Ladies’ Golf Union of Wales event by two shots from Carole Fleetwood and Rebecca Robinson.

The trio of Clive Allman, Phil Jones and Len Thomas compiled a team score of 79 to take the Seniors’ Bowmaker Stableford at Derllys Court. Meirion Evans, Ian Robertson and Gerry Lewis had to settle for second with 76.

Results

Ashburnham

Pennington Cup and Medal; 1. S. Davies net 80, 2. J. Evans 81, 3. E. Roberts 82

Fred Cheeswright Cup; 1. A. Greville 40pts, 2. T. Priestland 39, 3. J. Houston 38

Carmarthen

Ladies GUW 9; 1. S. Convery net 75, 2. C. Fleetwood 77, 3. R. Robinson 77

Travellers Cup; (div one) 1. L. Davies net 69, 2. G. Jones 73, 3. E. Wheeler 73, (div two) 1. R. Harley 70, 2. N. Humble 70, 3. A. Fairlamb 71, (div three) 1. N. Randall 64, 2. A. Thomas 65, 3. G. Rees 66

Derllys Court

Seniors’ Bowmaker Stableford; 1. C. Allman, P. Jones & L. Thomas 79, 2. M. Evans, I. Robertson & G. Lewis 76, 3. F. Simons, J. Thomas & H. McSpadden 74

Langland Bay

Langland Bowl (first round); 1. J. Longden net 70, 2. R. Llewellyn 71, 3. A. Phillips 71

Morlais Castle

Morlais Bowl (36 holes); 1. J. Bush 137, 2. C. Melding 143, 3. C. O’Neill 146

Pontardawe

DR Jenkins Cup; 1. M. Walters net 67, 2. D. Rees 68

Summer Cup; 1. S. Harries 40pts, 2. D. Birch 39

Southerndown

Yellow Box Medal; (div one) 1. M. Jenkins net 64, 2. M. Ashong 66, 3. M. Hearne 67, (div two) 1. G. Howells 64, 2. I. Keen 68, 3. E. Miller 70