Barnes head three wiser men
07/07/2017
Lee-on-the-Solent’s three musketeers, Jon Barnes, Russell Tate and Jack Coulbert, put their rivals to the sword in the Be Wiser Insurance PGA in Hants Open, hosted by Rowlands Castle Golf Club.
Jon Barnes won this major county event with rounds of 70 and 72 for a two-under par total of 142, one shot clear of morning leader Russell Tate, while Jack Coulbert tied for third place with amateur and local hero Billy McKenzie from the host club.
It was the third time the experienced PGA Professional had won the PGA in Hants Open and it followed his tying for first place in the Betchworth Park Pro-Am last month.
However it was Tate who set the early pace with a bogey-free first-round 68 that included birdies at the fourth, eighth, 14th and 17th holes. But he faded in the extreme afternoon heat, and after dropping three shots in two holes on the back nine, Barnes took advantage.
He virtually sealed victory with an eagle at the 17th and finished the second round on level par after a 70 in the morning, in which he also eagled the 15th. Like Tate, Coulbert found it hard going later in the day after putting himself in contention with a one-under- par 71.
As the PGA Assistant Professional to Barnes, Coulbert could have been in a position to force a play-off with his boss, but ran up four successive bogeys from the 14th to see his challenge evaporate.
Nevertheless it was a sterling effort from the Lee-on-the-Solent trio in what proved to be challenging and difficult conditions on a long and testing course.
