Blainey leads the charge at Reigate Heath

Gregg Blainey (Bearwood Lakes) won the first Reigate Heath nine-hole pro-am with a score of one-under-par 33, nudging the new PGA in Sussex champion Guy Woodman (East Berks) and Lea Cooper (Burgess Hill Academy) into a tie for second place on level-par.

Celebrating its design, the novel nine-hole pro-am format was reinforced with a Nearest the Pin competition, letting the PGA Professionals demonstrate their prowess in front of a large crowd from a tee in front of the clubhouse down to the second green some 230 yards away.

Blainey took home both a cheque for £600 and the inspiration to play in more events and have a go at the European and Asian Tour schools. His last minute call to play turned into an unexpected pleasure, as he explained: “I got a call the day before and having never played Reigate Heath before, I wanted to see the ‘hidden gem’ that Peter Alliss talked about.”

He continued: “It’s like a mini Berkshire, beautiful heathland golf that really tests your course management skills, and fast greens that ask tough questions of your putting skills. I made two early birdies at the first and the fourth, dropped a shot putting off the green at the fifth, and then hung on through some particularly challenging holes to cope with the very demanding pin positions.”

Reigate Heath itself came in for a lot of praise from the professionals and amateurs, a point Woodman fully supported.

“I’d never played here,” he said, “but it blows away all those pre-conceived ideas about nine-hole courses – as today’s scoring underlined, it’s a very tough test. The day itself was super, and the barbecue and the Nearest the Pin competition were excellent innovations that set us up nicely for our afternoon round.”

European Senior Tour player Wraith Grant (Woodcote Park) led his amateurs to victory in the team event, while Cooper helped make the day for three Juniors when they each took home brand new gap wedges.

The Nearest the Pin competition was won by Woodman with a four iron to 10 feet, and even PGA Member club manager Scott Patience and PGA head professional Cliff Gough got in on the act, getting one of their three tee shots on the green to earn their amateur teams a pack of TaylorMade balls each.

Patience commented: “We set this up as a fun day for everybody, whatever their age or ability, and from the feedback from the pros, members and visitors it’s been a huge success. The nine-hole format suited everybody because it didn’t take all day, and the Nearest the Pin competition gave a lot of people the chance to see just how good some of the regions’ PGA Professionals can be.”