Els reigns supreme at Cuddington
13/07/2016
Nico Els (Professional Golf Tuition Breaks) shot a fabulous six-under-par 65 to win the Cuddington Pro-Am and take home another winner’s cheque, this time for £1,500.
In one of the biggest club Pro-Ams in the south, Els’s performance outclassed the rest of a strong field on a day when the wind was blowing and the greens were firm and fast. He finished three shots ahead of his nearest rivals, early leaders Andy Raitt (St. George’s Hill) and Tim Spence (The Golf College) who both shot cards of 68 to take home £950 each.
Starting at the 10th, Els made a very strong opening burst of three birdies on the trot and added another on the 17th. A three putt on the 18th green was his only blemish, reaching the turn in three-under-par.
On the back nine, Els added three more birdies at the second, fourth and ninth to finish on 65, completing a round that saw him hit all bar two greens in regulation, peppering the pins for his seven birdies.
Raitt, who only the day before had won the Dartford Pro-Am, produced a bogey-free round with three birdies, while Spence dropped just the one shot in his round, making all four of his birdies and the one bogey on the front nine. Raitt also led his amateur team to victory in the team event, pipping Spence’s team on a countback.
Els was very pleased with his performance, commenting, “I’ve been working very hard with my coach Norman Cilliers on getting much more consistent in my rotation, and it really came together today. The conditions were pretty tough, but my golf from tee to green and on the green was good, and it felt great to get it all working together.”
Els continued, “Paul Schunter and his team did a fantastic job on getting the course into really excellent shape, and the club laid on a marvellous Pro-Am as usual. I’ll be hoping to keep up this sort of form at a few more events over the summer, especially the next one at Bearwood Lakes and at The Oxfordshire in the Titleist & FootJoy PGA Professional Championship.”
The next event and one which Els and the rest of the southern stars are looking forward to as one of the major highlights of the season, is the Westcoast Pro-Am at Bearwood Lakes, while the PGA Surrey Open Championship at Kingswood at the end of July will be a great opportunity to pick up some valuable points in the Virgin Atlantic PGA South Order of Merit.
