Gane and Blakemore find form at Farnham

Hot off his victory at Tandridge, Chris Gane shot 68 in the Farnham Charity Pro-Am to set another blistering target, but this time Torie Blakemore (Merrist Wood) was able to match it for a share of the top prize.

44 teams comprising the strongest field of the season so far came to Farnham to compete for one of the top prize funds, and raise money for The Alzheimers’ Society. Gane commented: “This is one of the highlights of the season where you really want to play well.”

With both players carding four-under-par, they shared the £1,000 and £800 winners and runner-up cheques. They edged Lee Cooper’s (Burgess Hill Golf Academy) 69 into third spot, and the 70s of David Callaway (Foxhills), Chris Rodgers (Drift) and Paul Newman (East Berks) into tied fourth.

Gane shot ten consecutive pars until he finally found the right gear and charged through the next three holes with birdies. Dropping a shot at the par-five 14^th by three putting after finding the wrong tier of the green, Gane found top gear again to birdie the 16^th and the 18^th and set the pace for the day.

Three hours after Gane had started, Blakemore opened with a bogey but immediately recovered with a birdie on the second. Two more at the seventh and the ninth saw him reach two-under-par at the turn, and another two at the 13^th and 17^th left him sharing pole position with Gane and one of the largest pro-am cheques of the schedule.

Gane reflected on his two wins on the trot. He said: “Tandridge showed I’m playing well, and the form’s continued here. Farnham was in terrific condition, and while it was annoying to three putt and drop a shot on the home run, with any luck it’ll help me stay focused when we go to the Drift for the Virgin Atlantic PGA Southern Open.”

Blakemore was delighted that he’d shot his first winning score of the season, as he remarked: “I’m really buoyed up now. Everything came nicely together today and proved to me that I’ve got the game to win.”