Midland Golf Union
Nick Marsh sweeps to victory
Nick Marsh (Huddersfield Golf Club) swept to a 5 shot victory in the 2014 Midland Open Amateur Championship.
Nick Marsh started his assault on the 2014 Midland Open Amateur Championship with an opening round of 70 at Olton Golf Club in the morning to stand at one over par, and improved his position with a 71 at Shirley Golf Club to finish the day on level par. Saturday morning saw an improvement in round 3 at Olton with a 65, with birdies at 3 and 4 being cancelled out by bogies at 1 and 5, but a birdie to finish the front nine was followed by more birdies at 11, 12, 16 and 18. This was only spoilt by a dropped shot at 17 to leave Nick at 4 under par with a 4 shot lead going into the final round. A birdie and 3 bogies in the front nine gave the chasing pack some hope, but 3 more birdies at 10, 13 and 18, and no dropped shots, helped Nick to increase his lead to finish on 274 (5 under par).
Leading the chasing pack was 2011 Midland Open Amateur Champion Nick Watson (Stoke Rochford Golf Club) who had struggled around Olton on Friday morning but recovered his composure with a two under total of 70 around Shirley in the afternoon. With a round of 67 in round 3, left Nick Watson on level par, 4 shots behind the current leader and at one point looked to be within sight of forcing a playoff by standing at 2 under par at the turn in the final round, but mixed fortunes on the back nine left him with too much to do, and with 4 dropped shots and only 2 birdies on the back nine he was left trailing the eventual winner.
Henry Tomlinson (Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club) finished third at one over par with consistent rounds of 69, 71, 71 and a 69 to finish. Although he was 4 under par through 12 on his final round, bogies at 14 and 17 added to a double bogie at 15 eliminated any chance of challenging for the title.
2104 Midland Youths Champion Oliver Farrell (Evesham Golf Club) put in another solid performance to finish fourth having opened up with a 67 at Olton followed by 74 at Shirley, leaving Oliver on level par. With three birdies and one bogie on the front nine followed by 8 straight pars coming home, only spoilt by the double bogie on the short Par four 16th to finish the morning on level par. A rush of birdies was required, and although that was achieved on the 1st and 3rd holes there were no more to be found and with 4 bogies in total to finish the championship on two over par, he had to settle for fourth place.
Nick Marsh said he was pleased with his victory and an improvement on his 3rd place finish in 2013. Past Champion Nick Watson was obviously disappointed to finish 2nd but pleased to have improved from 8th place last year.
The Championship saw two players secure a hole in one on the first day. Home player Liam Phipps (Olton Golf Club) hit his ace on the Par three 13th at Olton and Ben Robinson (The Vale Golf Club) matched this with an ace at the 8th hole at Shirley.
Best score of the championship was James Reeson (Brampton Park) with an impressive 7 under par 65 at Shirley in round 1. Unfortunately this was followed up with an 80 around Olton which left James too far behind the leaders to be able to make a serious challenge for the title.
Pictured - Nick Marsh (2014 Midland Open Amateur Champion) and Alan Benson (MGU President)
Created by intelligentgolf version 10.1.2.
