FORMAT: 6-man team 36-hole stroke play
It was business as usual for English champions Gloucestershire in the England Golf South West Men’s County qualifier which turned into a birdie fest at Minchinhampton today.
Led by county champion Nick Day (Henbury), the six-man Gloucestershire squad finished top on 26 under par but not before Wiltshire’s Joe Retford stole the show.
The 20-year-old Cumberwell Park player, who attends Virigina Commonwealth University, broke the course record with an astonishing 61 (-9), his lowest ever round in competitive golf
Having opened with a bogey he was only one under starting the back but he came home in 27 shots thanks to an eagle and six birdes.
Retford followed it up with a 68 but his 36-hole total of 129 (-11) was matched by Devon’s former England Boys squad player Craig Passmore (64, 65) and county champion Day, who shot 66 and 63 and then won the individual title after a three-hole play-off.
The Gloucestershire stalwart’s superb afternoon effort was matched by his team-mate Thomas Workman (Stinchcombe Hill), who went bogey-free to help his team finish 15 shots clear of runners-up Devon.
It means the national champions will get the chance to defend the title they claimed at Remedy Oak last year – it was the first time in 42 years that Gloucestershire had won it. This year Royal Norwich hosts the three-day event, starting on September 23rd.