Victory breaks age barrier at Waterlooville

Seasoned PGA Professional Roger Tuddenham (Hedge End) and PGA Trainee Chris Croucher (East Sussex National) both shot three-under-par scores of 69 to win the Waterlooville Pro-Am.

The pair, who picked up cheques for £1,025, saw off a large following pack who all finished on two-under-par, including Ben Clayton (Hindhead), Michael Lowe (Leatherhead), Sun Mountain PGA in Surrey Masters champion David Callaway (Foxhills), Kevin Tilbury (Hazelmere) and Longball ambassador Guy Woodman.

Tuddenham, who is celebrating being a PGA Professional for 25 years and this year embarked on his first season as a senior, was delighted with the result.

“I took my 10 year old son Thomas with me on his first outing as my caddy, and that meant getting him up on a summer holiday weekday at 6am for an 8am start time, just to pull my trolley around a cold and blustery Waterlooville for several hours. After all that, playing golf was a breeze!”

Tuddenham’s budding senior career has seen him come second at Foxhills in May in the Senior PGA Professional Championship to qualify for and then make the cut at the ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship.

At Waterlooville, he started badly with two bogeys on the trot, saying: “I started from the 10th and was beginning to wonder what I was doing there – and I couldn’t blame the caddy either!”

Like the weather, things brightened up for Tuddenham with a birdie at the 14th, and despite another bogey at the 16th, a birdie at the 18th turned into a charge that went on for another four holes for five birdies on the run to be three-under-par.

Two more putts from four foot on the eighth and 14 feet on his final hole saw Tuddenham come home with 69 and a long wait to see who else from a talented field would challenge him.

Starting midday off the 10th, Croucher also bogeyed his first hole but then slipped into the right gear with a string of pars, before a birdie on the 17th to go out in level par.

Turning for home, he really got into his winning form firing off four birdies to lead on four-under-par, but a calamitous six on the par five final hole saw him drop back into a share of the lead.

Tuddenham junior’s first outing was an immediate hit.

“Thomas reckons it was all down to him as he gave me the clubs and at least two of the lines of the putts that dropped, and he’s now got his first 10 per cent as well, so he now sees caddying as a brilliant way to make some extra pocket money,” added Tuddenham.

“I have a few more bob to go on holiday with next week, but somehow I don’t think Thomas will be buying his old man anything with his first pay packet!”