Berrington goes to school at Golf College
25/06/2014
Piers Berrington, an amateur who is harbouring hopes of becoming a PGA Professional, fired a seven-under-par total of 129 to win The Golf College Challenge, shading out the efforts of Alexander MacGregor (Addington Court), the only other player to break par round the challenging Lindfield course.
As the leading professional MacGregor took home a useful £550, but in a field that included several other seasoned professionals such as Jordan Godwin and recent winner Chris Rodgers (Drift), Berrington made it all look very easy as he notched two sub-par rounds on his home track.
Tim Spence, one of The Golf College tutor, commented: “The dry conditions made the course more difficult in the afternoon, so Piers’ round of 64 while leading was very impressive.
“He was a four handicap 18 months ago when he joined The Golf College and has worked very hard under our guidance, getting down to scratch.
“Piers played well in Spain at Bonmont, and qualified for the Surrey Amateur knockout stage. His performance in the tournament will certainly push some of the others to raise their game.
“His result rounded off a great few days for The Golf College, as one of our scratch players Lauren Horsford won the Henry Cooper Junior Classic and her colleague Lizzie Prior off plus one came third.”
His morning round contained just one dropped shot at the ninth and four birdies for a three-under-par 65 and pole position on the leader board. While most of his colleagues were carding rounds well over par, Berrington’s afternoon performance went one better with a flawless 64 including an early eagle and two birdies.
As the only other player to break par, MacGregor’s one-under-par 67 in the morning left him with a lot to do in the afternoon to catch his rival. He got to three-under-par by the fourth, but bogeys at the ninth and 12th undid the good work and while he then made birdies at the 13th and 17th, Berrington was out of sight.
As a two time winner in 2014 himself, Spence said: “Piers is certainly a real prospect for the future. The course set the same paper for everyone, and he passed with flying colours.”
A member at Kingswood, Berrington is also playing in PGA Surrey Open at Kingswood at end of July.
Spence continued: “Many of the players said that Lindfield was in terrific condition. It was very encouraging to see some seasoned campaigners rub shoulders with our students. They really appreciate PGA Professionals coming to this event, and it’s a huge boost for all of our students as they train for their own futures in the golf industry.”
The stage is now nicely set in the race for the PGA South Assistants & Trainees Order of Merit, with the third event, the Assistants & Trainees Championship, being held at the Drift GC on September 4.
