NATHAN SQUASHES OPPOSITION

Kidderminster pro’ Pat Smith had good reason to enthuse about his amateur partner Nathan Bailey on Monday (May 23) at Little Aston after the pair had won a luxury trip to Portugal.

Playing in the Midland final of Europe’s biggest pro-am championship, the Lombard Trophy, the Worcerster pair posted a late 65, seven under par, to dislodge long-time leaders on 66, Redditch, represented by professional David Down and 15-handicapper, Mick O’Donnell.

Nathan (31), a former county squash champion who gave up playing the game full time "because there was no money in it and we had two young daughters to bring up," made a superb contribution on the inward nine.

Playing off what seemed like a generous handicap of 17, Nathan, sales manager with a photo-copier firm, made a firm imprint on the game by firing three straight birdies from the 12th, the first becoming a net eagle on handicap. It was only then that Pat, 10 years an assistant at Kidderminster before becoming head pro’ last September, began to think the trip to the Algarve this September might become reality.

He underlined their worth at the final hole with a tracer-like five-iron 160 yards into the wind that rolled to within two feet of the flag for his third birdie of the round.

The winners now join 15 other finalists from all over Britain and Ireland for the 36-hole Grand Final over the Ocean course at Vale do Lobo in the Algarve, from September 14-18. Sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland, the championship will provide a prize fund of almost £80,000, of which the professional winner banks £10,000.

Redditch pro’ David Down missed his regular martial arts class last night because of the prize presentation at Little Aston, where they were just pipped by Kidderminster.
Some brilliant dove-tailing, mixed with what they agreed were some absolute shockers, hoisted the Redditch pro’ and club amateur Mick O’Donnell to second place from an entry of 75 pro-am pairings.

The Worcestershire duo posted a six-under 66, matched by Worfield, Longcliffe, and Clays (Wrexham), but Redditch’s inward 33 (four under) gave them a clear second place.

Fifteen-handicapper Mick, a retired detective sergeant with West Mercia police, had already put a convincing case by the fifth hole, recording a super birdie two at the short fifth by holing from 20 feet, and net birdie, as well as providing a net par at the second.

But Down caught fire on the inward nine, bagging four birdies in six holes from the 12th, their only slip-up a bogey at the innocuous-looking par-four 14th.

For a while it looked as if former Glenmuir Club Professional champion, Simon Edwards, would be the pro’ making the trip with his six-handicap amateur, Paul Fell. After lining up a 12-footer on the final green that would have ensured victory, Simon ran it 30 inches past – and missed the return

65 – Kidderminster (P Smith, N Bailey 17)
66 – Redditch (D Down, M O’Donnell 15), Longcliffe (D Mee, I Watson 10),
Worfield (S Russell, D Joss 8), Clays GC (S Edwards, P Fell 6)
67 – Little Aston (B Rimmer, J Evers 5), Cannock Park (J Craddock, D Dubberley
22), Aberdovey (J Simkiss, J Roach 6), Forest Pines (D Greenwood, A Longden
6).