Pestell ‘two’ good at Ingrebourne

Picture: Ingrebourne Valley chairman John Pryor and his wife Judy present the winner’s trophy to Andrew Pestell. Also pictured, far left, is Ingrebourne’s general manager Dominic Eagle.  

Andrew Pestell (Chelmsford) made it back-to-back Order of Merit wins with a two-shot success at Ingrebourne Links Golf and Country Club.

Pestell, 39, followed up his victory in the East Anglian Open with a flawless five-under-par performance in the Ingrebourne Links Championship.

He was the only player in the field not to drop a stroke over the testing par-74 North Course.

His nearest two rivals with respective scores of 71 were Mark Talbott (Thorpe Hall) and Aaron Cox (Golf World Stansted).

Pestell was quickly out of the blocks with two birdies in the opening three holes. He moved to four-under-par by the turn before picking up a further stroke at the par-5 last.

He said: “The front nine was very solid and I didn’t really make any mistakes. The back nine I was a little out of synch but I got through a couple of sticky spells.

“I just stuck with it and probably the two best shots I hit all day were on the 18th – a 3-wood off the tee and a 5-wood straight at the stick. 

“It’s one of my better seasons for a long time. There’s still room for a lot of improvement but my bad shots now are not even near the ballpark where they were even last year and the years before. They’re in play.’

Pestell’s latest win moves him into fifth spot on the Order of Merit, which is still led by Jason Levermore, who tied for seventh.

With two tournaments left both players are eager to finish in the top-three and book their respective spots for the PGA Play-Offs in Turkey this November.

Pestell added: “I want that top three. The more I keep doing what I’m doing the closer I’m getting to it.”

Luke Goddard (Hendon) has moved into second spot on the Order of Merit, one place ahead of Glen Portelli (Old Fold Manor).  The 2016 and 2017 winner Rob Coles (Maylands Golf & Country Club) is in fourth.

The next Order of Merit event is the East Region Championship, which will be played at Bishop’s Stortford on September 5-6.