Jones lifts Tankard

David Jones was hot on the greens in the Ulster finals of the PGA Tankard competition as he topped the professionals’ leaderboard, at Dunmurry, with a fighting fiver-under-par 65.

The Bushfoot Club pro posted a neat, clean card of five birdies and 13 pars. Jones steered a drive and lob wedge to 15 feet at the fifth hole and rolled home the putt for birdie three. He pencilled in another three at the par four eighth after holing from 20 feet and turned in two-under-33.

Another 20-footer disappeared into the hole at the long 13th after Jones reached the surface with a drive and three wood and he backed that up by getting up-and-down from a greenside bunker at 14. The short 16th gave the pro winner his fifth birdie, again he holed from 20 feet after rifling a seven iron to the green, for an inward 32 and a round of 65.

Nett amateur winner was Banbridge 11-handicapper who handed in 39 points while Lurgan two-handicapper Philip Shaw took the gross prize with a regulation 70.

It took calculations to sort out the ladies’ top prizes with Alison Algeo, who plays off 29 at Royal Portrush, taking the best nett award, on the back nine, after sharing 37 points with Diane Nickels, a Mount Ober 11-handicapper. Algeo came home in 20 points, four ahead of Nickels. Best gross went to City of Derry five-handicapper Vivienne Houston on 26 points.