J Ford Championships 2018 Gross

J Ford Championships 2018 Gross 15/16 September 2018 

Glen Rothwell (73/78/151) had the security of a  4 shot lead going into the final round and ( given the demise of second placed Norman Crowther ) knew that he had a 6 shot cushion over the defending champion Stewart Royle and 8 shots from 1 handicapper Mark Marshall ... the result was never seriously in doubt and he cruised to a 3 shot victory with the highlight a birdie 3 on the difficult 14th. 

Mark Marshall (81/73/154) made a great attempt to make up the 8 shot deficit on the winner but had to settle for second place in his first J Ford campaign. A stunning 4 birdies today gave him the platform to put leader Glen Rothwell under pressure but 3 crucial dropped shots on 13/14 effectively ended his challenge . Nevertheless an excellent effort to produce a great score in the inclement weather .

Mark Snape (79/78/157) showed great consistency to finish in third place and he will doubtless look back at his average starts to both days as perhaps a missed opportunity to take closer order . That said , +15 over 2 rounds in challenging ever-changing conditions was a great effort with his birdie on 8 in round 2 his highlight .

Defending champion Stewart Royle (79/83/162) will perhaps be disappointed at his lack of consistency ( by his own high standards ) at this most important tournament but he can at least remember his highlights with birdies on 4 and 8 during Round 1 and a fourth placed finish 11 shots from the winner . 

Norman Crowther (77/85/162) must have dared to think of an improbable victory given his second placed finish after round 1 but sadly he never made ground on the leader and tumbled gently down the leaderboard but still finishing in a very creditable 5th. place .

Finally Brian Southworth can be congratulated as the one double-figured handicap golfer to make a decent challenge . A 21 over return over 36 holes was a fine effort and he will surely look back at his excellent back 9 performances which took him up to a superb 6th. placing in this important competition with the further compensation of the unheralded net J Ford title !