Lowe takes the crown at Palace

Michael Lowe (Leatherhead) shot a masterful three-under-par round of 68 in tough conditions to win the Hampton Court Palace Pro-Am.

He holed his final par saving putt of eight feet to snatch victory and the winner’s cheque for £900 from the rest of the pack on two-under-par comprising Torie Blakemore (Merrist Wood), Daniel Coughlan (Wyke Green), Andrew Butterfield (Knole Park) and Dominic Toms (Cranfield Golf Academy) whose bogey on the last hole cost him dearly.

Lowe was not expecting to find himself on the winner’s podium with a score of three-under-par, as he explained, “I knew that final putt would be important, and make the difference financially, but I thought someone else would come in with four- or five-under to win.

“That said, we had a strong wind and very low temperatures for my first seven holes - and then the rain started! I couldn’t believe  it’s almost the end of May.”

With the temperature around five degrees, things were very uncomfortable for the players, but Lowe had the foresight to get his mate Charlie Lidyard caddying for him. “Having Charlie on the bag on a day like that was great,” he said, “as he looked after the clubs and kept the grips dry, while I just had to keep my hands in my pockets to keep them warm!”

Lowe was pleased with the way he played, but not the way he putted. “I got off to a great start with two birdies in the first three holes, and I drove the ninth only to three putt, so I should have been three-under at the turn. Then after a bogey on the 10^th, I bounced back with a birdie on the 11^th having driven into a greenside bunker, as I made a good shot out to get the birdie three.

Lowe continued, “At the 14^th with the wind behind and right, I hit my longest drive, needing just a wedge which I hit within ten foot and holed that for an eagle. But then the greens were getting very wet, and I misjudged my approach putt on the next hole and three putted, and nearly did the same on the 18^th.”

Lowe’s looking forward to the first 2013 Virgin Atlantic PGA South Order of Merit tournament, the Virgin Atlantic PGA Southern Open Championship at The Drift on June 3^rd and 4^th. “My goal this year is to try and get a start at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth next year, and I think my game is good enough when everything’s firing on all cylinders. But the putting will need a bit of attention over the next few days!”