England Golf Logan Trophy Tournament Played At Long Ashton Golf Club
Long Ashton Golf Club hosted the English Men’s Open Mid-Amateur Stroke Play tournament from the 5th to 8th July over 4 scorching and Chris Wood sent a message to all the golfers prior to their visit wishing them luck and offering a few tips on how to play the course in the very dry conditions, recommending leaving the ‘Big Dog’ in the bag wherever possible!
The greens staff worked so hard to ensure the course was at it’s very best which meant huge amounts of watering overnight to try and fight the weather during the day, not to mention all the other coursework required and the competitors recognised their hard work in such extreme weather conditions and the club received many compliments from the players on the course but also the club as a whole especially the amazing and friendly service offered by all the staff. England Golf could not praise the staff highly enough on how they went above and beyond to ensure the competitors had an enjoyable visit trying to do whatever they could to help playing in the heat with plenty of iced bottles of water on hand.
The club would also like to thank the huge amount of member volunteers, without them this event would not have been possible and could not have ran so smoothly and a special thanks must go to Andrew White and Steve Tanner who found all of them and set up the rotas, they should be proud of their efforts and hopefully all the volunteers enjoyed watching the event unfold.
In the end there was a stand out winner -Day scores 9-shot runaway win in Logan Trophy
Gloucestershire’s Nick Day claimed his first national title in grand style, with a 9-shot runaway victory in the Logan Trophy.
The 38-year-old tamed the fiery fairways at Long Ashton Golf Club – in his home county – and finished the 54-hole English men’s open mid-amateur championship on nine-under par. “I’m dead chuffed to win something like this,” said Day, a member at nearby Henbury Golf Club.
He was six off the pace after his first round of two-over 73, when he played in the wind and his putts refused to drop. But he was far from discouraged and charged to the top of the leaderboard on day two, when he carded six-under 65. His score, which included two eagles, put him three clear with a round to play.
Today he forged further ahead with four birdies in the first six holes and went on to shoot 66. As the gap widened he opted for the “safe and sensible” approach. The driver mostly stayed in the bag, as it did yesterday, and he teed off with rescue clubs which gave plenty of length as well as more control on the ball.
Those in the know in Gloucestershire will not be surprised by Day’s win. He’s an extremely competitive golfer who plays off plus-three, has won four county championships and topped the county’s order of merit for the last six or seven years.
But he’s also the operations manager of a working dock and the father of a little boy who will be two in August – and that doesn’t leave time for playing the national golf circuit. “I play a lot of weekend golf, but not much in between, I’m not a massive practiser,” he said.
However, when he discovered the Logan Trophy was to be played at Long Ashton he put it in the diary, knowing the course suited his game. He won one of his county championships there and holds the course record of 64. “I knew I could shoot low round here,” said Day. “I’ve probably played it two or three times a year for the last 12 or 15 years.”
Day also had praise for the course, which stood up well to the dry conditions. “Everywhere is really burned up but the course was still really good,” he said.
The runner-up was Lancashire’s Geoff Harris (Formby), who was level par, while Justin Phelps (Northwood) took third place on three-over.
Long Ashton members Gordon Barr and Jonathan O’Neill both made with cut, finishing tied 9th and 31st respectively.
If you would like to come and see how Chris Wood and fellow European Tour players handle the course please see our website to buy a ticket to watch their Charity Exhibition Match here on Monday 23rd July from 10am including a display by Paul Barrington Trick Show!
