A hole-out eagle at his penultimate hole proved crucial as Chorley junior Joel Berry secured his first Apeiron Northern Order of Merit victory of the year in the Accrington Acorn.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play
In a rain-interrupted event – in the afternoon the players had come off 40 minutes due to the inclement conditions – the 17-year-old had just one bogey after lunch in posting a superb 68 and an overall two-under-par total.
That was enought to edge out local favourite Chris Nuttall, who opened with a 68 and then had a rollercoaster second round, notching six birdies and seven bogeys on his way to a 71.
In contrast Berry racked up 15 pars in the afternoon, opening with eight of them as the bad weather closed in.
“I was absolutely grinding out there,” said the Lancashire Boys player.
“I was just trying to get something down there and get it up and down.”
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That he did time and again, most notably on the stroke index one sixth, which was playing into the teeth of the wind.
His first blemish came at the ninth, where he drove into the trees, but he bounced straight back having made the turn in 36, rolling in a 25-footer for his only birdie of the round on 10.
He then followed it up with six more pars before considerable relief arrived on 17, pitching in from 80 yards.
Berry added: “It was the first time I had played the course and in the morning I just hit two iron off every tee because I didn’t know where I was going.
“In the second round I was able to take driver off a few more holes and it was great to get my first Northern Order of Merit win.”
The champion started his second round three behind Royal Birkdale’s Greg Holmes, who birdied three of the last four to open with a 67. Nuttall and Clitheroe’s Shaun Field were just a shot further back.
Holmes endured a terrible start to his second round and would have to be content with seventh while Daniel Belch of Bolton came through into third thanks to a closing 69.