Round Norfolk Summer Golf Tour. Round 8 The USPGA at Ely

US PGA

Round Norfolk Summer Golf Tour round 8 took place at Ely on Wednesday. The RNSG had decided to move the USPGA early in the year putting it into May. This forced the US PGA to move their tournament forward as well and they were not happy.

It was the first time the tour had been to Ely after Greg suggested it at course voting time. He was therefore asked to be tournament host for the day, a role he took very seriously as he greeted all the players on arrival before going off to deal with the media.

It was almost perfect conditions with clear blue skies and little wind, however Tim had heard a rumour of a possible cloud mid afternoon so had decided not to risk it.

Perfect conditions at Ely for USPGA

The groups were drawn and Andrew, making a welcome return to the regular tour, got things underway. He was hitting it nice and straight but did have some tree issues on the 4th for the first of two front 9 blobs. However with the help of a few pars he was still in the running with 15 after 9.

Andrew opens up with a disappointing 6 for 1

After starting the 2018 season strongly then Robert has had a slow start to 2019 but like Brooks Koepka (without the distance, short game or putting skills, so nothing like him really) he always targets the majors so it was no surprise when he tore the front 9 to pieces with an excellent 21 points and the halfway lead.

Robert starts with a par setting the tone for the front 9

Bob has been in top form in recent weeks so was the bookies favourite to lift the trophy. It was therefore a surprise when he only managed 5 points over the last 6 back 9 holes as the course echoed to the sound of ball on tree. With only 12 points it looked like he was out of the running but like his team Spurs Bob is up for a 2nd half comeback.

A poor teeshot on a poor front 9 for bandit Bob

The other form player was Greg who was looking for his first major title. He hot footed it back from the media tent to start proceedings in group 2 but was obviously distracted by his hosting duties as his normal solid game fell apart on the front 9. In his previous 5 rounds he had recorded only 2 blobs but had double that day in the first 10 holes. After giving himself a talking two he began to recover his form but his 25 points total left him in last place.

Greg thins his bunker shot needing another go which summed up Greg's first
bad round on the tour this year

Chris just couldn’t get her round going as good holes were followed by blobs. Her round highlight was finding the first bunker on the par 3 15th (nearest the pin hole), before catching the second bunker and then holing out from there for a par. Not surprisingly this was followed by a blob and total of 27 pts.

Chris playing to the par 3 13th where she scrambled a good point

Vince had won the first major of the year, The Masters at Hunstanton, so was looking to be the first player to complete the Grand Slam. By half way and with only 14 points this looked unlikely, and as more wooded areas were explored it was clearly not going to be his day as he also finished with 27 points.

It wasn't only the willow weeping as Vince struggled to find his A game,
 or any game at all really

On the long par 3 6th both Greg and Vince had already launched their balls into farmer Browns field so the pressure was off Kevin, or so he thought, as he too put his shinny red ball over the hedge. However with Vince’s next effort going through rather than over the hedge, Kevin was the only one to get a point with his second ball and thanks to some other good scrambles he was still in the running with 17 points after the front 9.

Kevin surprised everyone (including himself) by getting up and down from
 the edge of the 5th green fo a 5 for 2.

Bob started the back 9 with a blob but then went on a Bob charge scoring 19 more points over the next 8 holes but would 31 be enough for the prizes?

Bob playing round the tree on the 5th

Robert did the opposite from Bob as he parred the 10th before his game started to fade and he could only muster 12 more points for a 36 point total. Still a very good score on such a tight course.

Although not scoring as well Robert Kept it together on back 9

Andrew had a 6 point gap to make up on robert but rolled up his sleeves (even if he was wearing a T-shirt) and got down to business. With a fine display of straight hitting he was just one point behind Robert as they stood on the 18th tee. However with all the experience of being a previous major winner then Robert knew how to handle the pressure and his par to Andrews bogey sealed the deal.

First of two trees and no points on the 4th for Andrew

This just left Kevin to see if he could creep into the prizes. However first there was the matter of the nearest the pin rollover jackpot to take care of. Although a long long way from the flag his shot was the only one of 16 attempts in the last two rounds to find the green and the £5.50 rollover jackpot was his. In the today's round 4 1 pointers on the back 9 left him just off the pace in 3rd place on 33 points. For such a tight course you would have got long odds on Kevin having the only blob free round of the day.

Although he made this putt Kevin never got to grips with the fast greens

With none of the top 3 getting in the prizes today then the money list has really tightened up so all to play for at Thorpeness next week where a large field is expected.

Well done to Robert on his second career major and setting a challenging course record for when the tour is sure to return next year.