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Adgolf Pro Series Final - Mijas Golf Club Spain

                                        

The only time I was at the top of the leader board was after I had doctored this photograph.

1st December - 4th December 2003

Highlights will be screened on Sky Sports in early 2004.

Day 1 - Practice round

The course was in magnificent condition considering the poor weather leading up to the competition.   The Australian pro Glen Haynes and Helen Philpott, the ladies world champion, took on Mike Philpott(19) and me in a 4 ball better ball on the practice day.  We lost the first nine but came back to finish all square after a decent back nine.

My game was not that good but I was looking forward to the 36 hole better ball competition for the amateurs.   The course was 6500 yards long with six par 4's over 400 yards and five par 3's totalling 920 yards, the longest of which was 230 yards.   My game is not based on hitting it long and I feared the worst, hopefully my normal accuracy would help and if I could sink a few putts I reckoned I should be OK.

Days 2 + 3 - Competition

I shall firstly report the positive aspect of my performance.   My long irons and playing of the par three's was generally good.   In fact I was in with a chance of winning the nearest the pin competition when I hit my 4 iron to within 10 feet at the 179 yard par three 14th on day 2.   Alas it was not to be and the nearest I came to a prize was at the gala dinner as we were sitting adjacent to the table with the trophies.

My driving was indifferent, but even when I drove it well I was always struggling to hit greens in regulation.   When I did, my putting was somewhere between unlucky and poor.

I was not the only one of the three of us to under perform and we finished nearer the rear of the field than we did the front.  

Day 4 - Pro-Am

Unfortunately the weather had taken a turn for the worse from the end of day 3 and it 'lamped' it down overnight and play was delayed by 3 hours.   It was eventually decided we would play the Pro-Am over nine holes only, as it would not be possible for the whole field to complete 18.  We did manage to get to to the seventh before it started raining again and were able to complete 9 holes.   It was as we were coming off the course that it began thunder and lightning and eventually the organisers had no alternative but to abandon the competition.

I would like to say that but for the weather 'Team Transplant' would have won.   However that would be about as believable as Father Christmas being real or Tony Blair having socialist tendencies.

Photographs can be very deceptive, but the sun really did shine on day 3.   From left to right, Glen Haynes, Helen Philpott and Graham Marsh.       Glen finished below halfway in a very good field of professionals.   He shot rounds of 76 +72 to finish 8 over par.   The winner of the pro event was Mark Plummer who finished at 5 under.   He beat Paul Wesselingh into second place by a single shot.

They may not be household names yet, but who knows.   I was just happy to be there.
 

As you can see below we did come quite close to the trophies and prizes - at the gala dinner!

'Team Transplant' = Glen (are you awake?) Haynes, Helen Philpott, me and Mike Philpott

Saturday 6th December - I arrived home last night at 11pm.   I should have been in the house at 6pm but the scheduled flight out of Malaga airport was cancelled.   The aeroplane was hit by lightning on the way into Malaga and all efforts to repair the damage were in vain.

After much messing about I managed to book a flight out to Leeds/Bradford with another airline and on arrival at Leeds four other lads and me (who I knew) hired 2 cars to get us up the road and safely tucked into bed before midnight.

The BA alternative(s) were -

1. Bus to Gibraltar and fly to Heathrow arriving at 10.30pm with no connecting flight to Newcastle.   Overnight stay - complete journey following morning.   No thanks.

2. Flight to Manchester arriving at 10.30pm and then board a minibus for a 3 hour road journey to Newcastle airport arriving at about 2am.   Arrange travel to house by taxi at a minimum cost of £20.   No thanks.

If you will therefore be patient I will give an account of my week's golf soon, as my bush is pretty well whacked just now.

I hope my prose will prove to be better than the weather and my golf.

Pre tournament -
Helen has just Emailed me to say we will be kitted out in shirts with a  'Team Transplant' logo, which Glen (the pro) has organised.   She also tells me that The Costa Del Sol local paper is aware that we (Helen and I) have had transplants and are going to publicise the fact.

The 'gift of life' we  have been given is something that should, and never will be, forgotten, but it is also extremely important to make other people aware of the transplant programme.   Something which I am proud to do.   Helen works as the Community Fundraising Manager for The National Kidney Research Fund in England.   She is also organising a National golf challenge in the UK next year and I would like to think some of the lads I play with at Tynemouth Golf Club will support the event (details later).   Might Tynemouth consider hosting a regional qualifier?

I have also found out that the prize giving and some coverage of the play will be televised and no doubt will make the golf channel.   The pro's are playing for a total prize fund of £29,500, which is a lot of money at this level.

Venue - Los Olivos Course - Mijas Golf Club