Classic joy for old pals Ian and Liam

05/07/2023

Ian Taylor (East Herts) and amateur playing partner Liam Parfitt proved to be the dream team as they struck gold in the PGA in England, East’s Summer Classic.

The duo dovetailed to winning effect over the two-day tournament staged at Royal Cromer Golf Club and Sheringham Golf Club in north Norfolk.

Taylor and East Herts member Parfitt surged into a share of the lead after the opening day’s greensomes play at Royal Cromer. There were no less than nine birdies on the card as they piled up 42 points to sit alongside Craig Butler (Sprowston Manor) and Tony De’ath.

Pictured: Liam Parfitt (left) and professional playing partner Ian Taylor enjoy that winning feeling after finishing in top spot at The PGA in England (East) Summer Classic

The pair – with Parfitt playing off a handicap index of 11.4 – couldn’t quite repeat the same scoring heroics in round two’s better-ball at Sheringham.

But their tally of 36 points left them on a total of 78, one clear of no less than five other combinations.

The key moment down the stretch came when Taylor made birdie on the 17th after fizzing in a gap wedge from just over 100 yards to a couple of feet. A rock-solid par on the last was enough to close out the victory.

Taylor said: “Liam has been a good friend of mine since when I turned pro. I reckon we’ve played the Summer Classic 12 times over the last 15 years and I’m really happy to win. It’s such a great event, we love the golf courses.

“Day one was really steady. We didn’t do anything amazing but we just played really solid. We holed the birdie putts we needed to. Day two, we were okay – it was really gusty out there. We just worked well as a team.”

The biggest move on day two came from Simon Sheppard (Bishop’s Stortford) and playing partner Andy Hardie, but their 41-point haul was not quite enough to rein in Taylor and Parfitt.