Top of the tree; Sam Bevis claimed an excellent victory in the Fraser Mercer Cup
YOUNGSTER Sam Bevis triumphed in Bridport & West
Dorset Golf Club's 36-hole Fraser Mercer Cup with rounds of 85 and 84.
The competition is the scratch' cup for golfers whose handicaps are 14 and over, and the aggregate score from both rounds determines the winner.
Fifteen-year-old Bevis carded a second round 84 to complement his first round 85, which was
enough to claim the title by four shots with a total of 169.
Second place went to Steve Cleal, whose two-round total came to 173, as did Dave Howat's, who came third on countback.
Teenager Bevis started slowly with three double bogeys in his first 13 holes, however, a level
par finish for the final five holes - including a birdie on the par four 17th - enabled him to complete his first round with an 85 and a share of the lead at that stage.
Ian Thacker matched that score in the morning but could not maintain his form in the afternoon and his challenge evaporated.
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Bevis' second round started in similar fashion to his first with triple bogeys at the 2nd and 12th threatening to derail his march to victory.
But he was not to be denied and fine birdies at the 7th and 11th holes settled his nerves, and he went on to record six pars including two at the 16th and 17th holes when the pressure was on.
Bevis stood on the final tee with shots in hand over his nearest rivals and despite carding a bogey on the last hole it was enough to secure one of the most prestigious trophies in the
club's golfing calendar.
Second place Cleal's morning round of 92, in spite of his birdie on the 14th, was easily forgettable.
With nothing to lose he obviously relaxed and proceeded to card 81 in the afternoon, which
was comfortably the best round of the day to finish four shots behind the champion.
Three pars and then two excellent birdies on the 6th and 7th saw him reach the turn just
four-over-par, and a further five pars on his back nine completed a fine round.
Third was secured by Howat with consistent rounds of 86 and 87, which included a total of 13 pars and two birdies on the 12th and 17th holes.
Nevertheless, he will regret a disastrous 10 on the par five 3rd and a triple bogey on the 5th,
which cost him any chance of victory.
Meanwhile, Tom Craddock and James Legg won the Tony Palmer Salver, which is played under the greensomes stableford format.
The duo carded 44 points to win on countback from the pairing of Les Herbert and James Legg, while Charles Grover and Rob Bryan were third, one point further back.
And in the fourball better-ball stableford, Mark Richards and Rod Condliffe with 44 points won on countback over two other pairs - Ken Stead and
Malcolm Young, and Kevin Jones and Dave Boggis.
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