Hetherington dominates La Manga pro-am

Paul Hetherington was the star of The PGA in England (East) Overseas pro-am, which was played over the North and South courses at La Manga.

The Great Hadham pro’s score of 12-over-par for three rounds left him eight shots ahead of runner-up Steve Smith of Urban Golf. Third place went to Matt Stables of North Weald at 22-over-par.

All three rounds were played in glorious sunshine although the combination of lightning fast greens and a strong breeze led to some high scoring.

Hetherington held the overall lead from after the first round although Smith was best on the second day with his round of 77.

Hetherington’s pro-am team of Carmine Di-Salvo, Colin MacNaughton and Carl Billings scored 83 Stableford points on their final round on the South course to run out as convincing nine-point winners.

After the first two rounds on the North course they trailed by seven points to Stables with amateurs Glen Langenberg, John Doe and Gordon Campbell.

The third-placed team was James Jones (The Hertfordshire Golf and Country Club), Richard Magill, James Alexander-Ross and Sam Dodinson 11 points off the pace.