Father and son success in Suffolk

** John and Judy Pryor, owners of Ingrebourne Links, with Alan,l, and James Wood.

James Wood kept it in the family as he paired up with his father Alan to claim the Ingrebourne Valley PGA Autumn Classic title.

It was a first tournament success for the 20-year-old, who is set to start his third year as a PGA trainee.

Wood (Highgate) and his 21-handicap dad won by three points after two superb days of golf over the fabulous Aldeburgh and Thorpeness courses, close to the Suffolk coastline.

They held off James Taverner (Hendon) and one-handicapper Joe Finn, who were second on countback from David Griffiths (Oxhey Park) and scratch player Dominic Ronan.

The Wood duo led after the first day’s greensomes stableford, held at Aldeburgh. They began with a birdie (gross) and picked up another in amassing 43 points.

With the second day’s action taking on a better-ball format, they again scored well, adding a further 39 points to end with 82 in total. Under a shot-gun start, Wood jnr enjoyed a birdie hat-trick from the sixth to set them well on their way to victory.

James said: “It is my professional win and it’s a nice one. And it’s nice to win it with my dad as well – it makes it feel more special. I’m lost for words to win it with him – he is probably my best friend, as well.”

The pair had previously knocked on the door in this style of tournament – indeed they finished tied fifth in it a year ago. And Wood confirmed that it was a performance based on teamwork that brought the victory.

He added: “We played really well on the first day. I hit most of the drives – it was probably the best I’ve ever hit my driver – and he had little shots in and then we holed quite a few putts. The second day, dad get off to a pretty good start and I finished really strong.”

The 2014 PGA in England (East) schedule will conclude with Captain’s Day, sponsored by Lynx Golf, on October 6.