Ablett blows away field at Mid Kent

Lee-on-the-Solent’s James Ablett scored another runaway victory, shooting a five-under-par 65 to take the Mid Kent Pro-Am title by four shots from Benn Barham (PGolfCoaching@Pedham).

In a strong field full of past winners, these two were the only players to break par, and another hot performance from Ablett means he’s bagged his fifth title this year and added another £1,000 winner’s cheque to his 2015 earnings.

The Mid Kent course was in its usual top condition, with the weather playing fair all day with sunshine, the wind though made so many of the Mid Kent holes problematic with cross wind shots to some tricky pins.

Adding to the fun and games is the tradition of the pro-am teams being almost all members, so many of them have got to know their professional counterparts over the years, and the 18^th green by the clubhouse means the finish becomes something of a stadium for the players who all know each other.

With his last win barely a week ago where he delivered a stunning eight-under-par 64 at Farnham to win by six shots, Ablett’s bogey free four-under-par score on Mid Kent’s front nine was in complete contrast to his closest rivals. Barham was fighting to stay level, and the trio of Jordan Godwin (Barnehurst) who tied for third with Chris Croucher (East Sussex National) and Russell Buxton (Hassocks) were all finding it equally tough.

Barham’s birdie at the 10^th was spoilt with an uncharacteristic double bogey at the 12^th, but he redeemed the damage with birdies at the 16^th and 17^th to finish on one-under-par. Ablett, meanwhile, dropped a shot at the 13^th, but two more birdies at the 15^th and 17^th took him even further out of reach, finishing on 65.

Commenting on his continuing form, Ablett said: “It’s not that I’m doing anything special, I’m just doing what I’m doing and I try to keep on doing it. The swing doesn’t feel 100% confident, but I’m not hitting any destructive shots and that keeps me in business.

“That said, I’ve gone back to the way I used to putt with a longer back stroke so that I’m rolling the ball more or less deadweight for length, rather than trying to be any more aggressive. And that’s delivering more putts that are dropping.”