Mansell’s birdie run tames Dawlish

Four successive birdies on the front nine helped Ashley Mansell record his second win in three stages of the Titleist-FootJoy Assistants’ Sprint in his first season on the PGA in England and Wales (South West) circuit.

The Clevedon assistant, 24, carded two-under-par 67 over the impressive Dawlish Warren links on a pleasant sunny day to stretch his lead in the Order of Merit to 74 points.

He followed a bogey at the third with his two, three, three, two birdie run from the fifth to be out in 30 and he picked up another shot at the par-five 12^th.  His golden run stuttered with dropped shots at 15 and 17.

He won the opening leg in the four-event competition with the only sub-par round at Weston-super-Mare in his first outing. He followed with a share of fifth place at Cumberwell Park.

Giuseppe Licata (Bristol Golf Centre), the outstanding player in the Gloucester and Somerset PGA this winter, again showed his prowess with a one-under 68 to take second.  His steady round featured one birdie on the seventh going out and two at the 11^th and 12^th but he shed shots at the tenth and 16^th.

Toby Hunt (St Mellons), the Marstons West Region PGA Assistants’ champion, went out in two-over-par but eagled the par-five 11 to finish on par in third place.

Farrington Park’s assistant Alex Todd produced another consistent round with three birdies and four bogeys to share fourth on 70 with in-form James Ruth (China Fleet) who made birdies at the first, seventh and 12^th but suffered a costly double bogey at the 17^th.