Matty Dodd-Berry maintained his remarkable record in recent Apeiron Northern Order of Merit contests, winning the Bromborough Bowl on Wednesday.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play
The Bromborough player, who is also a member of Royal Liverpool, has entered five Northern Order of Merit tournaments this year and last, coming out on top in four of them.
He showed his class with rounds of 68 and 67 to finish three clear of Lancashire champion James Nash, retaining the trophy he won for the first time last year. In 2022 the 19-year-old also claimed the Frank Stableford Scratch Open and Wilmslow Crow and he was pleased with the way he stuck in there after an indifferent start. He was was two over for his opening three holes.
“In the first round I didn’t play great at all. In the afternoon I was a lot more consistent off the tee. In the morning I was here, there and everywhere.”
Dodd-Berry has just completed his first year at East Tennessee State and admitted his 12 months across the Atlantic has sharpened up his game, particularly around the green.
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“You are up against the best players in the States and you learn very quickly how good you need to be.
“My game has improved a lot and especially my short game. That’s what separates the good from the elite in college.”
The teenager needed all his short-game skills to stay recover after his early struggles and the putter worked well, helping him establish a three-shot lead at halfway over Nash (Ormskirk) and Astbury’s Sam Johnson.
The wind got up after lunch and a short spell of rain also did not help either but the leader’s improved play off the tee laid the foundations for an excellent closing five-under par effort. On all the par fives – third, seventh, 11th and 17th – he found the green in two to set up four birdies.
In total he had seven in his second round, knocking a wedge to two feet a tthe second, firing it in close at the fifth and then at 14 he hit a glorious approach to 18 inches. The only down-side for the 2022 Cheshire stroke-play champion was he three-putted the last for a closing bogey.
Nash also managed a closing 67 while Johnson hung on to claim third thanks to a one-over 73.