Milestone win for James

James Cooper registered his first victory as a professional with success alongside amateur Gary Borthwick in the Carlsberg Marston’s PGA Autumn Classic.

Newton Green Golf Club-based Cooper, who’s about to start his third year as a trainee, registered the milestone victory after he and his playing partner delivered two fine days’ work.

The pair hit the front in the first round, courtesy of a whopping 44 points after the opening greensomes Stableford at Felixstowe Ferry Golf Club.

That was enough to ensure a handy four-point cushion going into the second day’s better-ball at Woodbridge Golf Club.

And while Cooper and Borthwick weren’t quite able to hit the heights of their first round, they still collected a solid 38 points.

It left them on a total of 82, two clear of joint runners-up Phil Abbott (Whipsnade Park) and partner Dan Loria who piled up 45 points under better-ball terms, as well as two other pairings.

Cooper, 22, said: “In the greensomes we got 11 shots and played to them. The holes we didn’t get shots on, we just made sure we got two points and did nothing stupid.”

On day two the key hole for the winning duo was the par-4 10th, stroke index No.1 at Woodbridge. That was where delivery driver Borthwick – receiving 19 strokes – really came up with the goods.

Cooper explained: “Gary made gross par but got two shots, so that was a nice four-pointer. His drive actually ended up in some rabbit scrapes and he took a drop, knocked it just short of the green and two-putted. He holed out from about eight foot.”

Cooper came into the tournament after a top-15 finish at the start of September in an Order of Merit event at Colne Valley. He’d also made the last-four in the Suffolk PGA match play championship and qualified in fourth at Nazeing for the Coca-Cola PGA Assistants’ Championship early in the season.

He said: “It’s my second full year as a pro and my first win. I’ve come close a couple of times this year – it’s nice to get the job done with a good mate.”

In second, alongside the Abbott-Loria combination, were Suzanne Dickens (Thorpe Wood) and Huw West, as well as Matt Cousens (Top Golf Game centre) and Simon Marchesi.

Caption - Amateur Gary Borthwick (l) and PGA trainee James Cooper are all smiles after taking top spot in the Carlsberg Marston’s PGA Autumn Classic.

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