A poor season quickly got a whole lot better for Bolton Old Links’ Jack Bryan at Wilpshire on Sunday as the teenager won his first Northern Order of Merit competition by the narrowest of margins.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play
The 19-year-old did not think his one-over-par total (68, 71) was going to be enough especially with overall Northern Order of Merit champion Jack Brooks (The Mere) having opened with a 66.
However the cards fell Bryan’s way. His playing partner Seb Cave (Coxmoor), the winner at The Mere last month, also shot a first-round 66 but, with the wind stiffening, he dropped back to third after a closing 74.
Meanwhile Brooks was one of the later starters and he could only manage a 73 but that runner-up spot – and the 20 Northern Order of Merit points that came with it – meant he went back to the top of the overall standings with Penwortham’s Chris Parkinson just finishing outside the top 12.
The other good news for Brooks was his efforts ensured he won the 72-hole East Lancs Scratch title, which combines the Wilpshire Trophy and Pleasington Antlers, which was played at nearby Pleasington in June.
Ormskirk’s Andrew Haswell also stayed in overall contention for the overall prize thanks to a fifth place finish. His 12-point haul means he is just 12 points behind Brooks going into this weekend’s final two fixtures at Bolton Old Links (September 17th) and Bury (18th).
For Bryan being able to put two decent scores together provided just the confidence boost he has been looking for.
“After a difficult season it was great to contend,” he said.
“It is the biggest event I have won and hopefully will kickstart a strong end-of-season finish.”
Some short game heroics on the back nine of his opening round provided the platform for victory.
Having got to the turn one over par, Bryan sunk a 35-footer on the 11th and that sparked a run of brilliant shots with the short sticks.
At the next he got up and down from 100 yards for par having nearly driven out of bounds and at the short par four 13th, he short-sided himself with his drive but managed to get up and down for birdie.
His run of one putts continued at 14th – he would take just 26 putts for the round having hit just nine greens in regulation – where he sunk one from 18 feet to get to two under and stayed on that mark until the 18th where a three-putt bogey meant he registered a one-under score Before that he got up and down at 15 and 17 and holed a nine-footer for par at 16.
Unfortunately for Bryan the putter cooled considerably after lunch although, tee to green, he was massively improved. Second-time around he had 35 putts but managed 14 greens in regulation. Overall it added up to 16 pars and two bogeys.
His playing partner Cave also struggled as conditions worsened and that was reflected in the scores by most of the field although Clitheroe’s George Young managed a second-round 68 to move into fourth, a figure matched by seventh-placed Neil Hargreaves (Penwortham).