Golfers placed third in matchplay team competition in Spain

THE men’s team of Culcheth-based Leigh Golf Club has achieved a remarkable third-place finish in what is reported to be the world’s largest non-professional golf matchplay team competition.
The team, comprising Scott White, Ian Westwell, Allan Wain, John Taylor, Peter Bean and Dave Barrett successfully survived seven rounds of matchplay golf, outlasting over 400 other 5-man teams from across the UK to be one of the last four clubs standing.
Their reward was to play in the final held at the Montecastillo resort in Jerez, Spain alongside three other clubs from Durham in the North, and from Hampshire and Norfolk in the South. Leigh were beaten in the semi-final by Hampshire club Romsey, who subsequently went on to lose to deserved winners Kings Lynn from Norfolk.
However, in the third/fourth place play off Leigh were pitted against Durham club Consett in a tough but friendly match, in which Leigh prevailed to claim the prize of “Kings of the North”.
Team captain John Taylor expressed his pride in the team’s achievement, saying, “We are thrilled to have been placed third in such a prestigious competition. Our team worked incredibly hard to get to this point, and we are grateful for the support of our families, fellow club members and our professional Sean Blinkhorn throughout the tournament. We were particularly pleased that four of our wives could make the trip and to have our club captain Mark Riley and club general manager Derek Vaughan there to cheer us on”
The men’s golf team success came on the back of the club’s ladies team reaching the finals of the women’s version of the same event last year. The team were keen to extend their gratitude to all the match organizers, fellow competitors and competition sponsors Annodata for making the whole event such a great experience.