Ton Up at Shirley Park

In a strong field of southern stars, Guy Woodman (East Berks) and Jordan Godwin (Barnehurst) proved impossible to catch, shooting four-under-par 67s on their way to winning the Shirley Park Centenary Pro-Am.

They edged out the three-under-par 68s of Craig Sutherland (Cherry Lodge) and former Order of Merit champion Andy Raitt (St. George’s Hill) to split the top prize. Richard Edginton (Royal Wimbledon) and Chris Gane (Lefthanded Golf at Silvermere) shared the next spot with solid 69s.

With three wins in three weeks and another in Europe, Woodman has not only found some handy mid-season form but is riding the crest of a wave to his advantage, jumping up to fourth in The PGA in England (South) Prize Money List 2014 behind some of the region’s brightest stars, Chris Gane, Jamie Harris (Nevill) and Benn Barham (PGolfCoaching@Pedham).

Godwin is also finding some useful form again with several top ten finishes in the last month after a dry spell on the leaderboard. However, starting at the first, Godwin still needed an eagle at the last hole to grab a share of top place. He opened with a birdie, made two more at the eighth and ninth to reach three-under, and then bogeyed the 10^th.

Another birdie at the 15^th was undone at the very next hole, but he put his best three shots of the round together at the 18^th to grab an eagle and jump into pole position with Woodman.

Starting at the 18^th, Woodman opened with a birdie, deuced the third and then got into a spot of bother at the par-five fourth with a bogey, but bounced back with a birdie at the fifth to be two-under again.

He grabbed another two birdies on the trot at the eighth and ninth to get to four-under, and with six pars in succession his birdie on the 16^th put him at the top on his own. However, a dropped shot at the short 17^th, his last hole, meant he was sharing top prize instead of taking it for himself.

Both players were pleased with their performances, and as Godwin commented: “Knowing Guy had a 67, I hit my best drive to leave a 118-yard gap wedge, hit it to 12 feet and made the putt! It’s a real boost with the PGA Surrey Open coming up.”

He continued: “I felt it’s been coming with some good results recently. I’ve been working hard on my putting with Ben Clayton and the averages have come right down, and I’m trying not to beat myself up when things don’t go to plan!”

Woodman reflected: “My 3D biomechanics programme is producing much better flexibility and thus consistency, and I’m doing an hour’s putting everyday making sure my eyes are well placed to see the line. I fancy my chances at Kingswood, where I hold the course record and I do like the course, but my main focus is on keeping my card for the Asian Tour in September.”