The Open Championship is, with the US Masters, the prime event on the professional golfing calendar, and keen followers of the game sacrifice sleep for this annual spectacle.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
This year, Moss Vale Golf Club created its own version of The Open, played this past weekend over two rounds of nett strokeplay.
With the field cut to 28 for the final round on Sunday, it was a fiercely contested Saturday round with a field of 115 vying to be first on the newest trophy in the club's cabinet.
READ ALSO:
As Andy Thomson, in his ancestral tartan piped the last group through the 18th green, the clubhouse leader was Peter Nelson on 67, with Marcus Webb and Matt Hutton on 68.
The stage was set for a thrilling final round with several other players within only a few strokes off the pace.
Sunday's weather provided a superb Highlands winter's day, with the mercury hitting a warm 12 degrees with hardly a breeze to be felt.
At 10am, Andy Thomson piped his way to the first tee as Club Captain Howard McMillan called in the first group of the day to hit off.
The 28 players who had made the cut moved through the course at a brisk pace, with the lead changing hands throughout the round.
Early starter Charlie Camphin, one of the tournament favourites, took an eight on the fifth to ruin his chances, as did Jon Ford, who, one over through 14, piled on five strokes in the final four holes to wither away.
A Grader, John Aughton, was making a strong move through the field, reaching the top of the leaderboard during the middle stages, but the challengers were coming thick and fast.
Webb, Nelson and Aidan Gandar were all pushing to within a stroke of Aughton, with Peter Wheeler, sitting just behind the leading pack and making a move.
Soon after, Wheeler had built an almost unassailable lead, but a quad on 14 and doubles on 15, 16 and 17 saw the pack finishing on top of him.
Webb, playing well over the two days needed a par on the last to take the honours, but couldn't deliver and in the end it was Wheeler by a stroke.
Did you know the Southern Highland News is now offering breaking news alerts and a weekly email newsletter? Keep up-to-date with all the local news: sign up below.
