Griffin and White prove to be the real deal

London entrepreneur John Griffin dealt the competition a huge blow as he and PGA Professional Murray White took a commanding lead in the PGA Super 60s Championship at Thorpeness.

Griffin, left, a freeman of the city of London, is used to high-stakes encounters having traded large businesses and even been invited to meet the Queen.

And he showed his calm yet competitive nature when rallying on the back nine alongside White, PGA Professional at Watford club Penfold Park, a spell during which they secured an impressive six birdies and claimed a commanding lead.

Their nine-under-par round of 61 left them five shots ahead of their nearest rivals John Hudson and Peter Hewing (Rivenhall Oaks), and Stephen Rolley and Stuart Holmes (Worthing), both of whom carded solid four-under-par 66s to tie in second place.

As play closed at the half-way point of the £10,000, 36-hole betterball contest the duo, who are friends of more than 35 years, looked good value for their lead.

That was no mean feat in a field containing names such as former Tour stalwart Maurice Bembridge and ex-Ryder Cup player Lionel Platts

Even sheet lightening and downpours as they holed out on the 18^th green failed to dampen their day, and they reached the clubhouse just as a suspension was called which delayed proceedings for a total of two hours.

Griffin and White will now aim to maintain their lead during Friday’s final round, although both players refused to get carried away as they assessed their chances ahead of the final day.

“We played well today and gelled together really well,” Griffin said.

“The day has been really good. We’ve played some good golf alongside some amazing people on a great course. What more could you ask for?

“We have the lead now, and we just need to go out there tomorrow and do exactly the same all over again.”

White explained: “We spoke about not making any mistakes off the tee before we arrived here, and I think that’s been our main strength.

“I only hit two drivers all day, and the idea behind that is that we wanted to be as accurate as possible off the tee.

“John was very good all the way round, he played well and was determined to do well.

“I brought him here knowing how competitive he is, I knew he would want to go there and win – it’s those traits that have allowed him to enjoy such a successful career.”

Second-placed Hudson was delighted after he and Hewing’s round landed them a chance to compete at the top of the leaderboard.

A five-time Open Championship player, Hudson is best known for being the only person to shoot two consecutive holes-in-one in a major professional tournament.

And despite not carding an ace at Thorpeness, the Berkshire-born pro was optimistic heading into day two.

“We dovetailed well today and ended up with a really good score,” he said.

“It was what we hoped for but to be honest we came in here on the back of very little preparation, we just wanted to enjoy it.

“We’ve certainly done that and that’s the aim again for tomorrow. We’re looking forward to getting back out on the course again in the morning.”