Barham retains PGA Southern Pros crown
14/09/2015
Shooting a 14-under-par total of 202 over three rounds at Kings Hill, Benn Barham (PGolfCoaching@Pedham) has won the Samsung PGA Southern Professional Championship, successfully defending his 2014 title into the bargain.
Barham’s three rounds of 68, 67, 67 around the magnificent heathland course, underlined his trademark consistency with just two bogeys in the 54 holes.
Taking home the trophy and the £3,000 winner’s cheque, Barham’s gritty performance edged out Craig Cowper (Surrey Downs), the leader over the first two rounds. His new course record 10-under-par 62 set the early pace at Kings Hill, and second place earned him £2,000.
Lefthanded Golf at Silvermere’s and new The PGA in Surrey Champion Chris Gane, shot a second round of 64 that propelled him up the leaderboard into an eventual third place for £1,400.
After two solid rounds Barham was five off the lead and wasn’t expecting to overtake Cowper, who was 14-under-par going into the final round. As he commented, “Frustratingly, I was struggling with my putting on what were some of the best surfaces we’ve played on this year. But I stuck at it, and fortunately for me no-one shot the lights out in the third round!”
Cowper’s disappointment was palpable, having set a new course record 62 and followed it up with a solid 68, only to shoot 73 in his last round. As he put it, “It was ‘one of those days’, shooting that 62.”
He continued, “I had 25 putts, and misjudging my approach to the final green that ended in a bogey was the only error, while two other very makeable birdie putts went begging.” As his caddie and sponsor Peter Townson said, “Considering how much teaching Craig’s now doing, overall it was a good result!”
Boosting Barham’s rewards even further, the Kings Hill PGA Southern Professional Championship Pro-Am ended in tie between him and Littlestone’s Charlie Wilson on 68 for £500 each.
Duncan Kelso, owner of what many now regard as the best inland course in Kent with its mixture of heathland and links-style of design by David Williams, explained the greens’ excellence came from a change of policy four years ago, “Course Manager Barry Bradshaw fine hollow-tines, dresses, irons and re-dresses every month, maximising Kings Hill’s natural advantage of being greensand-based.” The players’ feedback and high praise has certainly reinforced Kelso’s point.
Kelso continued, “I’m delighted that the Kings Hill course - its design, its greens and the excellent condition of its fairways and dry turf - now attracts serious attention and high praise from some of the best players in the UK, and we’re all looking forward to seeing more top class golf being played here.”
With two events left, the Keith MacDonald PGA South Match Play, which only Ablett is still contending, and the Farnham Finale OOM on October 8th and 9th, the leadership of the 2015 Virgin Atlantic PGA South Order of Merit now looks like a straight shoot-out between Barham and Ablett, albeit with third placed Chris Gane in hot pursuit.
