Rodgers notches up another victory

Christopher Rodgers (Drift) shot an unmatchable four-under-par 67 to win the Sittingbourne & Milton Regis Pro-Am by two strokes from Peter Appleyard (Redlibbets).

Picking up £900 for his performance, over the past month Rodgers’ last seven starts have produced six top-five finishes with two wins.

Having played out in Asia and Japan for the last 10 years, Rodgers is now back in the UK training for his PGA qualification, as he explained: “I’m getting used to playing over here again, and I’m really enjoying meeting up with the other PGA Professionals like Chris Gane and Benn Barham who I used to play with a lot on tour.”

Rodgers continued: “This year my golf’s getting better as the weather’s improved, but you wouldn’t have known that from my first hole (16^th) yesterday. I drove in to a bunker, my next shot caught the lip and went back over my head, and I had to hole a 15 footer to make a bogey, all of which led me to comment to my partners that it looked like it was going to be a long day!”

Rodgers’ day got a whole lot better at the 18^th where he made a birdie. Two holes later, he made two more birdies on the trot at the second and third, and while he three-putted the two-tiered green at the fourth for a bogey, he was soon back on the birdie trail with two more birdies at the fifth and seventh to reach three-under-par.

A run of pars followed with one more birdie at the 13^th but as Rodgers pointed out: “I was playing this course for the first time, and there were two or three shorter par fours that if I’d known it, I could have had a crack at. But my game from 10 yards in was pretty good and I’m a pretty straight driver, so with the great weather and a course in good shape, I enjoyed the opportunities that came my way.”

Having decided to play in Asia three weeks ago when the Virgin Atlantic Little Red PGA Southern Open was being played at his home course, the Drift, Rodgers commented: “I’d done quite well in the previous Order of Merit event and it’s easy with hindsight to say I should have stayed here to play on a course which I know well, but I’m now focusing on a top three placing in the 2014 Order of Merit series, and I’m certainly looking forward to the PGA Surrey Open at Kingswood.”