Everything “clicked” for Cheshire player Luke Yardley in the Caldy Quart on Thursday as he claimed his maiden Apeiron Northern Order of Merit victory.
FORMAT: 18-hole stroke play
The Stockport player admitted it had been “a long time coming” as he finished one ahead of new overall Northern Order of Merit leader Jack McPhail (Southport & Ainsdale).
Rounds of 70 (-2) and 71 did the job for the 22-year-old, who also paid tribute to caddy Josh Crumplin for helping achieve his breakthrough win.
“The game has been firing but not all at once and at Caldy everything clicked,” said Yardley.
“It is the first time I had played the course in about six years and I have got to say thanks to Josh. He knows Caldy like the back of his hand.
“My strength is my driving and he was so helpful in giving me the lines off the tee.”
Crumplin also proved very helpful on the par five seventh in particular.
Yardley added: “He told me to aim 30 yards left of the flag and let the ball feed down to the hole. Anything right of the pin and you were dead.”
In both rounds he gave himself excellent eagle opportunities at the hole but had to settle for birdies, one of four he had in each round.
Beforehand he had set himself the target of shooting 70 both times and managed it in the morning. After a steady start he followed up his birdie on seven with another one on nine and holed out from 15 feet on 16 before taking advantage of the relatively short par five 18th to finish on two under.
At halfway, that left him one ahead of McPhail, playing in the final group, as well as Southport & Ainsdale’s Charles Holland and Chris Murthi (Bramall Park).
Yardley made a brilliant start in the afternoon, hitting every green in regulation on the front nine while he got to three under after seven, the highlight coming at six where he sunk one from 20 feet.
The back nine did not go quite so well but he managed to once again birdie 18, knocking in a 10-footer to get to three under for the tournament.
He then faced a lengthy wait and was able to see McPhail just miss from 18 feet at the last. Had the Lancashire county player holed out he would have taken the title on countback.
As it was, the Southport & Ainsdale moved above Chris Parkinson to the top of the overall standings. A second in the opening event at West Lancashire plus a victory at Hesketh earlier this month means the 21-year-old has a 16-point lead at the top.
Royal Lytham’s Noah Cambridge, the 2022 Lancashire Boys champion, finished with a 69 to grab third on countback from the experienced duo of Steven Capper (Royal Liverpool) and Bolton’s Daniel Belch.