2022 Results

East Riding Union of Golf Clubs
Amateur Championship

Beverley & East Riding Golf Club
Sunday 19th June 2022

A dry day with a fresh wind from the west ensured a tough start to the first round of the 2022 ERUGC Amateur Championship.

The course was beautifully presented and the greens in pristine condition. The rough was very fair but punishing if you strayed too far from the fairways. It provided a stern test for the Amateur Championship, as it should, and keeping it straight was the order of the day.

Of the early starters Jamie Gill (Beverley & ER) with a 4 over 73 led a group of 12 players all within 3 shots. It looked as though it was to be a close contest until Jake Sowden (Ganton) came in with a level par 69 and Steve Uzzell  (Hornsea) in the last group of the morning with a fine 66 with 1 dropped shot and 4 birdies.

As the field teed off for the afternoon round the wind had switched through 180 degrees and presented a totally different challenge.

Scores were generally lower for the second round with Mike Robson (Beverley & ER) shooting 70 and Rob Draper (Burstwick) a level par 69 to take 3rd and 4th place respectively.

Luke Thornton (Hessle) added a 74 to his morning 73 to win the Rob McCleish Trophy for the best gross score for an U18 player.

Neil Gordon (Beverley & ER) shot gross 74 & 71 for a net total of 137 to win the best net prize.

In the afternoon no one could catch the leading pair and a tense finish saw Jake post a 1 under par 68. Having heard Steve had dropped a few shots either side of the turn the title was “on the line”. Uzzell has reached the top in the amateur game and unsurprisingly he managed to regroup and finish with a 71 to tie Sowden on 137

In accordance with Union rules the title is decided by playoff. Both players headed off across the Westwood followed by a small group of supporters which included Steve ‘Radar’ Lynch’s live video feed for a 3 - hole play-off on the first, seventeenth and last holes.

The 1st was halved in 4’s but Jake pushed his tee shot right into the trees on the 17th and had to chip out. Steve’s approach ran through the green but he managed to get up and down for a par 4 while Jake could not recover and made bogey.

On the 18th Jake hit the green and made par. Steve, who had gone long, had a chip over the back bunker which left him with a 5ft curling, downhill putt to win – it never looked like missing and Uzzell won his first ERUGC Amateur Championship. Congratulations Steve.

A great finish to a good day and well done to runner up Jake Sowden, who showed great maturity for his 19 years. He will have many other chances in the future.

Many thanks go to Beverley & East Riding GC members for giving up their course for the day; Club Professional Paul Gibson who was always on hand from 07.00 and throughout the day; to several Beverley Members who acted as marshals at busy parts of the Westwood; to referees Steve Whiting and (ERUGC Past President) Cameron Thomson; Chrissie and her catering staff in the clubhouse; and finally to Neil Burnley and his small team of green keepers who presented the course in such an outstanding manner.

Beverley & ER Club Secretary, Andrew Webster liaised closely with Union Officials in the weeks before the event, this unseen preparation ensuring a smooth running event – thank you Andrew.

Thanks also to our starter Andy Pittaway and Union President John Illingworth who manned the desk all day again…

Entry is now also open for East Riding Open Championship on the 17th July at Burstwick GC.

Enter here

Full results are always on the East Riding Howdidido page. A full list of prize winners is below and vouchers will be distributed in due course.

President’s footnote: Major thanks from me to the ever modest Dave Greenwood who did the vast majority of the preparation work for this event on behalf of the Union.

* Won after three hole play-off