Ablett flies round Wildwood

After coming so close in the Tylney Park Classic, James Ablett (Lee-on-the-Solent) shot a nine-under-par 135 to take the Wildwood Invitational Pro-Am title, sponsored by Messier-Bugatti-Dowty and ATC Lasham.

Over two days and in blustery conditions, Ablett’s perfomance around Wildwood was just enough to edge out the first round leader Jamie Harris (Nevill), a shot further back, and take the £777 winner’s cheque.

Ablett’s first round of 66 left him right behind Harris whose seven-under-par 65 was the lowest round of the event. In the final round, Ablett got straight down to business, starting on the second with a birdie and making another at the fourth to reach eight-under-par for the event.

A bogey on the ninth didn’t help Ablett’s cause, but a double bogey at the short 12th could have been disastrous. Back to five-under-par, Ablett needed to find some inspiration, and it came at the 14th with a birdie three.

Right back in the mood, Ablett fired off another birdie at the 15th, and then he made two more at the 17th and 18th to get to nine-under, with a par down his last hole to head the leaderboard.

Harris made four birdies in the second round, but three uncharacteristic bogeys left him carding a one-under-par 71 for second spot. However, it was good enough to keep Guy Woodman (East Berks) and Ian Campbell (Caversham Heath) in third place with totals of 137.

Ablett was delighted with his golf, as he commented: “The coaching I had prior to the Tylney Park Classic has really sharpened up my game, and the final round score of 64 there, and the 66 and 69 here are proof I’m really enjoying the way I’m hitting the ball now. 

“In view of the changing wind we had to contend with, the scores here were generally pretty good, and the course was in great condition. Winning here at Wildwood over two rounds has certainly boosted my confidence and my chances for having a crack at the Wildwood Invitational OOM tournament next week.”

Ablett lies in fifth place currently behind overall leader Richard Wallis (Walmer & Kingsdown) in the 2013 Virgin Atlantic PGA South Order of Merit, but things could change dramatically in the battle for one of the top three places with the next three players well in reach with another good performance.