Licata and Mansell share victory at Worlebury

Giuseppe Licata continued his dominant form to claim his seventh top-two finish in his last eight Gloucester and Somerset PGA medals with victory at Worlebury.

It was the Chipping Sodbury teaching professional’s fourth win and this time he shared top spot with Clevedon assistant Ashley Mansell as they both navigated the Somerset course in two-under-par scores of 68, compiled in very different ways.

Mansell had the smoother ride of the two on a bright but breezy December day in far warmer temperatures than in the previous week’s event at Forest Hills. He carded five birdies, marred by a bogey and a double bogey. It was his first win of the season.

Licata, on the other hand, produced a mixed bag in a rollercoaster round. He even survived a quadruple bogey eight at the 14^th when he drove out of bounds and then encountered tree trouble to take him over par.

But he bounced back in superb fashion with birdies at the 15th, 17th and 18th to claim his share of the winners’ prize money. He started with a birdie two at the second, another followed at the fifth sandwiched by a pair of dropped shots.

Then he landed two eagles. The first came when he drove the green at the seventh and turned at two under par. Then he started for home bogey-birdie-bogey ahead of his second eagle at the short par 4 13th.

With six birdies and two eagles he claimed the birdie sweep as well. He also extended his lead over Cirencester’s Ed Goodwin in the Total Triumph Order of Merit.

Goodwin was the only other player to break par on 69 to take third one shot ahead of Enmore Park amateur Matt Kippen.  

Robin Goodey (Chipping Sodbury), Daryl Kelley (Filton), Paul Barrington (Inplay Golf), George Ryall (Burnham and Berrow) and Ian Brown (Newent) shared fifth on 71.