Last-gasp glory for Ian

Ian Ellis (Great Yarmouth & Caister) underlined his love for the Ely City Pro-Am with a fourth victory at the Cambridgeshire course.

Ellis holds the record for the lowest round at Ely, firing a 10-under-par 62 when he won there in 2011. 

He didn’t quite replicate such a scoring spree this time around but still shone with a fabulous five-under total.

In a thrilling finish, Ellis needed to make a birdie at the 432-yard 18th, which was playing tough with rain and pouring wind in his face.

Indeed, there hadn’t been a three at the demanding par-4 all day, but the Norfolk ace arrowed a superb 5-iron into 10 feet before making a downhill putt to clinch the victory.

After his latest Ely triumph, Ellis said: “I’m really pleased with that...I should move here!

“I’ve been struggling to score...here, I putted a lot better and that kind of made the difference. I holed one from about 40 foot on the first for birdie and 30 foot on 11.

“It was nice to birdie the last as well...a little downhiller from left to right for birdie.

And the win notches up my confidence a little bit. That’s three straight rounds in the 60s.”

James Mynott, once a junior member at Ely City, finished second. The St Ives PGA trainee shot a flawless four-under-par 68 – all of his birdies coming on the inward nine.

Phil Abbott (John O’Gaunt), a further three strokes back, was the only other player in the field to break par on a squally day.