Ali Balcombe completed his hat-trick of Gloucester and Somerset PGA wins this weekend as he was uncatchable on the windy Weston course.
The G&S PGA were grateful to Weston-super-Mare Golf Club this weekend for allowing them to use the course on short notice after rain stopped play at the original venue of The Players Club.
With Club Professional Ben Lock managing to squeeze the Pro’s into a busy start sheet at the Weston club, 19 Pro’s enjoyed another day on the links and none more so than Home Assistant Balcombe.
He completed the hat trick of G&S PGA wins on his home course with a superb 5 under par return over the 16 holes in play to win by one from Luke Derrick, Clevedon, and Brickhampton Court’s Ross Langdon.
The event also served as the second leg in the Old Sports Auction Mini Order of Merit series and with the end of the season looming the battle to collect points in both this and the Total Triumph Order of Merit was fierce.
Balcombe started steadily with a string of pars before an eagle at the short, par 5 8th hole ignited his round.
Birdies followed regularly at the 10th, 13th, 15th, and 17th and were only offset by a single bogey at the 16th to carry Balcombe to victory.
His return toppled the early clubhouse lead of the in-form Luke Derrick.
An uncharacteristic start from Derrick saw him drop strokes at both the 3rd and 4th holes but 6 birdies in his last 11 holes including a back nine of just 30 elevated him into a tie for second with Langdon.
Langdon collected three birdies in his opening 7 holes but could only add one more gain on the back nine to return a bogey free 4 under score.
Sharing the final bit of prize money on the day was Alex Nicholson, Fore The Planet, and Laurence Vargas, The Bristol, each finishing one under the card and sharing 4th.
Langdon’s charge towards retaining the Total Triumph Order of Merit shows no sign of slowing as his tie for second further extended his lead over Singleton.
The rest of the top five remains unchanged with the only change being 5th placed Derrick narrowing the gap on Ed Goodwin and Andrew March who lie ahead of him in the top four.
Not only does Langdon lead the Total Triumph points he also holds pole position in the Old Sports Auction version.
After two of the proposed four events have been completed he enjoys a six point cushion over Balcombe, with Jamie Clare, Long Sutton, in third.
Next week, weather allowing, the third Old Sports Auction event takes place at Filton Golf Club.
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