Route 66 as Callaway takes Seve Pro-Am title

Despite the driving rain, David Callaway (Milford) shot a brilliant six-under-par 66 around Foxhills to win the Seve Ballesteros Foundation Pro-Am, supported by EGF International.

Callaway’s superb display of four birdies and an eagle was just enough to edge out four players on five-under-par, the newly-crowned PGA Kent Open champion Matt Ford (C+K Group), European Tour player Andrew Marshall, Andrew Cloke (Bishopswood) and James Ablett (Lee-on-the-Solent).

Other highlights of this special day included a show by top golfing artist and trick-shot legend Jeremy Dale with his incredible array of different ways to hit a golf ball. Dale also gave every competitor the chance to ‘Beat the Pro’ off a high tee on the 10th. At the evening dinner, Talksport’s Georgie Bingham and Bob ‘the Cat’ Bevan MBE took on the auctioneering and helped the assembled guests raise an amazing £35,000 for the Seve Ballesteros Foundation’s target charity, Cancer Research.

A total of 26 teams took on the Foxhills challenge for a fabulous array of prizes sponsored by Nike Golf, Callaway, Taylor Made and some fine trophies from Burridge’s. As a club that has raised nearly £2,000 for the Seve Ballesteros Foundation, it was fitting that Dereham GC’s team was in the prizes, while the team led by Chris Gane (lefthandedgolf.co.uk) from Drew Smith Ltd proved victorious.

While the Pro-Am’s format encouraged all the players to go for it, rain for the majority of the round made the playing conditions significantly more difficult. Despite the adverse weather, the strong PGA field showed its calibre with a further six players shooting four-under-par and another eight carding three-under-par.

With the PGA Cup coming up next week, Callaway was delighted with his form. He said: “I’ve been working hard with my coach, Foxhills’ own Head PGA Professional, Paul Creamer, on my game, and I was especially pleased with my long game, reaching three of the par fives in two for two-putt birdies. The long game felt really good, and helped me make lots of opportunities to score.

“The short game was solid as well, with some good putts for birdies on tricky slopes, made trickier with the rain that we all had to contend with as well. I’ve had a good summer so far, and this result was the ideal boost for the PGA Cup at Slaley Hall.”