First start, first win for Calvin
29/09/2021
Rookie PGA professional Calvin Sherwood tasted success in his first ever PGA tournament as he and amateur partner David Hughes triumphed in the Autumn Classic.
Sherwood – attached to Woodbridge Golf Club – joined the PGA earlier this year and is about to embark on the association’s foundation degree programme.
The trainee, 27, decided to precede his studies by teaming up with Hughes over two days at Felixstowe Ferry and Woodbridge.
It proved a wise decision as the pair amassed a bumper tally of 83 Stableford points to prevail in fairly comfortable fashion.
Sherwood and Hughes trailed by six points after the opening day’s greensomes format at Felixstowe Ferry. Ryan Pudney (Mundesley) and Richard Plummer held the overnight lead with a clutch of other duos in hot pursuit.
But nobody could match the home club combination of Sherwood and Hughes on the second day as they stormed to 46 points, playing under better-ball rules.
Hughes, whose handicap index figure is 7.9, was in superb form, registering two gross birdies. And Sherwood came up with plenty of classy moments of his own, not least an up and down from a bunker on the short par-4 closing hole for another birdie.
That ensured they finished four points clear at the summit with Andrew Robinson (Felixstowe Ferry) and Amanda Norman as their nearest pursuers.
Sherwood, from Lowestoft, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled…it’s a surprise. We felt like we deserved maybe a little prize, but coming in we actually appreciated how well we did play. It’s just a lovely feeling – I can’t stop smiling!
“I think we were quite tactical off the tee in the greensomes. On the holes where we could possibly attack, he would go first. And if he hit a ball in play, I’d then attack. If not, I’d just try and be more sensible in my approach.
“On holes where you couldn’t really make a difference, we just went for it anyway and it panned out pretty well.
“On the first day, I putted well and chipped really well – and then on the second day David was amazing. He was really good off the tee and had a couple of four-pointers.”
Robinson and Norman totted up 43 points of their own to land second spot outright. In a share for third a point further point back on 78 were Adam Pike (Brampton Park) and Paul Farrance, alongside Pudney and Plummer.
