Nick in the Red

Nick Redfern (AIA Group) shot a cool and disciplined three-under-par 68 to win the second Rochester & Cobham Park Pro-Am.

Fresh off his recent seven-under-par victory in the Surbiton Pro-Am where he pipped Chris Gane (LefthandedGolf@Silvermere) to the money, Redfern picked up the winner’s cheque for £1,000.

One of only two players to break par, he finished two strokes ahead of his nearest rival for the title, Kyle Kelsall (Quin Direct) who shot a one-under-par 70.

Redfern explained his approach to the course management around Rochester & Cobham’s challenging layout, saying: “I played in the first event last year and had some feel for the course, but then I checked the results again and saw that only two players were under par.

“So I opted for a more conservative, non-aggressive approach with the intention of keeping the ball in business where the drives were concerned, and going for the middle of the green rather than for the pins, which were in some very tight positions.

“I also putted well, making several 10-15 feet putts for my five birdies, and made just two mistakes at the fourth and the 15^th when I missed the greens and took three to get down.

“The course was in great shape, although a little firey from the dry weather, and the wind was gusting as much as two to three clubs, so there was a mixture of luck as well as judgement compounded by needing on several holes to land the ball short and hope for the best, as you can’t control the bounce!

“Still, my approach paid off and it’s another good result, with four wins in as many weeks. I’m putting in a lot of hard work with my coach Greg Hughes (Petersfield) at the moment, so results like this are all proving that the extra effort’s worth it.”