STUART Crane and Perry Spicer are gearing up for the International Fourball-Better-Ball National Qualifier after pulling off an incredible triumph at the Regional Championship in Reading.
The Weymouth Golf Club duo began their assault on the competition by winning a qualifier on their home course with a score of 45 points, but it was their performance in Berkshire that really caught the eye.
Playing at Wokefield Park, Crane and Spicer knew they had to finish in the top four to progress and they got off to a fabulous start despite the blustery conditions.
Posting 21 points on a great front nine, the amateur pair looked well placed at the halfway stage but with the strengthening wind beginning to cause problems all over the course, the back nine was always going to prove a test of nerve as much as anything else.
Spicer holed two very long putts on the 15th and 17th to keep them in with a chance before Crane sent a fabulous eight-iron approach on the par-five 18th to within three feet of the hole to set up a crucial birdie.
That feat handed the Weymouth members the overall victory with a tally of 42 points and they are fully aware that a similar performance will be required tomorrow at Wychwood Golf Club in Crewe if they are to qualify for the grand final.
Crane said: “The Regional Championship in Reading was a great day for us and we really gelled as a team.
“It seemed like all the elements were against us with a ridiculous amount of rain coming down at one point and the wind gusting stronger than I had ever played in before.
“But we just kept making pars and to get that birdie on the last to grab the overall win by just one point was fantastic.
“I think Perry may have been a bit nervous at the start but he really came into his own on the back nine and saved us on more than one occasion.
“Now, we are both just looking forward to the National Qualifier at Crewe where we would love to win and gain the opportunity to represent the UK at the grand final at Loch Lomond in Scot-land later in the year.
“Not only would it be a great achievement for us personally but it would also be a very proud moment for Weymouth Golf Club.
“Perry is a member of the committee at Weymouth and my father Pat is the current captain there, so I know we have the support of everyone at the club to win and hopefully we can do them all proud.”
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