Treble Top at West Hill

Leatherhead’s Michael Lowe showed he’s right back in form, picking up his second win in succession in a tie with Anthony Tarchetti (Prince’s) and David Copsey (DCGS Poult Wood), after all three shot one-under-par 68s at the West Hill Pro-Am.

Splitting one of the schedule’s biggest pro-am prize funds, each took home £1,108, with runners up, Paul Simpson (West Berks) and Andrew Butterfield (Knole Park), on even par for £605 each, while £450 went to each of the third-placed players Daniel Young (Woldingham), Ian Golding (Banstead Downs) and recent Sandmartins Pro-Am winner Guy Woodman (Longball Inc).

First prize for consistency went to Tarchetti, now back playing again having been hospitalised for a while. His card had just the one bogey and two birdies, which as he put it was: “A super card considering it’s my first time out for two months! The course was awesome, but the pin placements made things tricky, so I was well happy to play this well and make some good putts for my 68.”

First away at 7.45am, Lowe’s card had two bogeys in his front nine due to three putting, and three birdies. Reaching the turn in even par, he finished in great style with a birdie three to set the mark at one-under-par.

He didn’t mind waiting to see the final results as he was still reflecting on his nine iron out of the heather and the 25 foot putt from off the fringe, after missing almost all of his other birdie opportunities from shorter distances. He commented: “That’s so typical isn’t it?! You miss all the makeable ones and then hole one like that out of the blue!”

The other good news was that his trip to a London hospital for a check-up straight after the event proved he’s fully fit once more: “I’m practicing hard again which I wasn’t able to do last year, and it makes all the difference. My game’s in the shape it was at the end of 2013 when I won at Wildwood, so I’m looking forward to rest of the season and I’ll see how things go from here.”

David Copsey’s first win in 2015 was an altogether different matter, with four bogeys and five birdies. Starting at the 10^th, he was one-under-par at the turn despite three birdies. After a bogey birdie run at the first and second, another dropped shot at the sixth put him back on par, but his terrific birdie two at his final hole, the short ninth, meant he shared the winners’ podium with Tarchetti and Lowe.

All eyes are on now on the next highlight of the southern season, the JDRF Pro-Am Golf Tournament at Stoke Park where the PGA South’s Professionals will join up with teams to help raise as much as possible for the Type 1 Diabetes charity.