Nick Day’s remarkable domination of men’s golf in Gloucestershire shows no sign of stopping as the 41-year-old claimed his seventh county title at Lilley Brook on Sunday.
FORMAT: 72-hole stroke play
The Henbury player finished five clear of his county team-mate Jake Phillips to retain the title he won so remarkably last year. In the final round At The Players Club he shot a nine-under 63, hitting every green in regulation before edging out Jack Cope in a play-off. Almost more incredibly he missed a two-foot putt to get to ten-under-par for the first time.
This time it was much more a grind but the 12-time Gloucestershire Order of Merit champion – he has won 11 of the last 12 – is feeling the positive effects of a new fitness regime instigated by the county.
He said: “For the last 3/4 months I have been following the programme, going to the gym three times a week and I am really starting to feel the benefits.
“I’m already hitting it further and although you can’t really tell, I am feeling a lot stronger so everyone better watch out!”
Day took control of the event in the third round as the conditions worsened on Sunday. His level-par 69 left him four clear of Ed Butler, who was another member of the Gloucestershire side that won the Men’s County Championship at Remedy Oak in September.
It meant a par round on the final afternoon would leave the chasing pack needing to do something special on a course not giving up low scores.
“The event was totally different from last year, which was a bit of a birdie fest. I kept getting under par and then giving it back but in the final round I played it as safe as I could and just tried to stay out of trouble.
“I thought if I shoot level par to finish someone is going to have to shoot five or six under and it wasn’t really out there.”
At the second he holed a bunker shot for a birdie to give himself the perfect shot in the arm and followed it up by firing a mid iron to four feet at the long par three third before bagging the two.
However he dropped back to level par for the round at five where a three-put double bogey kept the rest interested.
The Gloucestershire stalwart then reeled off eight pars in a row, breaking the run with a birdie at the 14th after wedging it to 12 feet and sinking the putt.
He bogeyed the next and then birdied 16 to keep himself under par for the round but would have to be content with a level-par 69, his third of the weekend, after dropping a shot at the par three 17th.
Day was also part of the victorious Henbury team. The first two rounds on Saturday counted towards that competition with Day, his brother Michael and Calum Mortimore combining to win it by seven shots from Cotswold Hills I. They will now represent the county and the national finals latr this year.