James tames Bishop’s Stortford field

James Watts (Kingsway Golf Centre) won a high-quality renewal of the Marston’s Beer East Trainees Championship over 36 holes at Bishop’s Stortford.

Watts, 30, was second in the national PGA Assistants’ Championship at Farleigh last month. On that occasion he suffered an untimely triple bogey at the penultimate hole.

But he gained considerable consolation with this regional triumph, finishing on five-under par to beat Lloyd Kennedy (Chelmsford) and Luke Goddard (Hendon) by a shot.

The former Challenge Tour golfer made six birdies in the morning and was the joint halfway leader along with his playing partner Craig Housden (Little Channels Golf Centre) after both signed for opening rounds of three-under-par 68. Goddard and Adam Pike (Brampton Park) were a further stroke back.

Watts was more solid than spectacular in the afternoon as he collected a couple of further birdies alongside 16 pars in an error-free second round.

The big mover was Kennedy, who surged into contention with four birdies in his opening seven holes. That lifted the ex-European Tour player from level to four-under but he wasn’t able to make further inroads.

One-time Walker Cup golfer Goddard also got himself right into the mix with an eagle at his third hole of the afternoon. But his closing nine was a mix of birdies and bogies, ultimately leaving him one short of Watts.

Housden’s second-round 71 saw him slip to fourth, while Mason Papple (Stock Brook Manor Golf & Country Club) was fifth. Pike and Nathan Day (Millbrook) were tied for sixth at level par for their 36 holes.

A delighted Watts said: “It’s certainly a good one to tick off.

“I played pretty solidly all day but I holed a few more putts in the morning.

“I was three-under at lunch and knew I just had to keep going forward – you can never relax.

“In the afternoon I managed to clean up the bogies but didn’t quite get as many birdies. All in all, though, it was a good day.

“With it being my first year in the region, I’m still finding my feet and my aims at the start of the season were, really, the Order of Merits. But I entered the Trainees’ Championship as I saw that I was eligible.

“The magnitude of the event I was unsure about at the start of the day but looking at the trophy there’s some good names on there so I’m very proud to win this one.”