Four southern stars in complete alignment

James Ablett  (Lee-on-the-Solent), Glen Haynes  (Wildwood), Chris Gane  (Left Handed Golf Shop - pictured) and Ian Golding  (Banstead Downs) all shot rounds of two-under-par 69 to share victory at the Copthorne Pro-Am.

With the only other player to break par being the newly (re-)crowned PGA Surrey Open champion Richard Wallis (Walmer & Kingsdown), all four southern stars took home their £502 share of the winner’s prize fund.

Ablett made a bogey on the third and then fired off four birdies in six holes from the seventh, but his second bogey on the 17th that dropped him back to two-under-par brought a wry smile to his face when he saw the other cards coming in.

The next player to arrive at the top of the leaderboard was Haynes. Starting with four pars, he then went on a roller coaster ride that brought him four birdies and three bogeys between the fifth and the 16th. A birdie at the last hole turned a good card into a potentially winning result for Haynes, as he joined Ablett to see who would challenge them for pole position.

Within 30 minutes Gane (pictured) then laid his claim to the title. One-over-par at the turn, Gane got into his winning gear and birdied the 11th, 12th, 14th and 16th. However a bogey at the 15th meant that he too finished two-under-par and now three players were tied for the lead.

The three of them had to wait nearly an hour and a half to find out that Golding, who had been two-under-par at the turn and had then bogeyed the 14th, needed a birdie at the last to produce a four way tie. Sure enough, Golding produced the goods, holing his final putt of the day to grab his share of the lead and the winners’ cheques.

Ablett said: “It was nice to be the leader in the clubhouse even if it was only for about 20 minutes! But it’s my third win of the season, I’m fourth in the 2013 Money List, and I’ve made the top five in the last eight regional Pro-Ams. All I’ve got to do is make things happen in the Virgin Atlantic PGA South Order of Merit events.”

Having taken up a new position at the Chichester GC, Haynes was delighted with his first win of the season, commenting, “I’m busier than ever now with the coaching, but it’s great to prove to myself that I can still win!”