Hillside’s Joe Sawbridge has been fortunate enough to play Royal Birkdale “many times” but enjoyed his best day ever at the Open venue as he won the Lancashire Union Collinge Trophy for the second time.
FORMAT: 18-hole stableford
The five handicapper shot an impressive 75 to win by five points from Hurlston Hall’s Nicholas Gardner ten years after he won the always-popular competition at Hesketh.
Sawbridge, who joined Hillside six years ago having been a founder member of Hurlston Hall on 1993, overcame a bogey at the first to amass an excellent 40 points.
“It wasn’t the best of starts but I was level par after nine, which you always take at somewhere like Birkdale,” he said.
“I made a bit of a mess of 15 but it was really nice to get that birdie at the last, although it did lip out for eagle.
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“I’ve played the course probably 12-15 times and that’s probably the best I have played there.”
Sawbridge made it into the nine-man final – the event is open to Lancashire county members – by finishing third at Huyton & Prescot in May. The other two qualifiers took place at Nelson and Lytham Green Drive.
He bogeyed the first but then collected three-point pars at the next two before a bogey at the fourth left him on eight points.
However he holed out from 20 feet at the fifth to get a shot back and then knocked one in from 30 feet at the eighth to help him to 22 points at halfway.
It proved tougher coming home although a good up and down on the tenth kept him level par before a bogey at 11 and double at 15 sent him over par.
There would be another dropped shot at the 17th before he found the putting surface in two at the par five last and just missed out on the eagle but the tap-in birdie meant he finished with 18 points on the back nine.