LANCASHIRE LASSES WIN PING FOUR-BALL BETTER-BALL
NEWS RELEASE BY ENGLAND GOLF
Lancashire golfers Rita Towler and Dot Scholes made a fairytale debut in the England Golf PING Four-ball Better-ball Tournament when they became 2012 champions at the Grand Final at Gainsborough.
This is the first year their club, Harwood, has entered the tournament – and by chance, it was Dot who suggested they take part. “I’m the competition secretary and when I saw the flyer I told the committee I thought we should enter,” she said.
Their journey to the title ended today when they scored 41 points in cold and windy conditions on the challenging Karsten Lakes course. They had come through an initial entry of around 15,500 women from over 750 clubs who entered this year’s competition. The top 60 pairs contested the Grand Final while the next 72 qualified for the Plate Final.
“We are stunned, shell-shocked, amazed, anything we say is an understatement,” said Dot, who plays off 12.
Rita, an eight-handicapper, remarked: “It’s very special, overwhelming.”
They won by two points from Lisa Davies and Karen Griffiths of Leek, Staffordshire. The other prizewinners were: Pat Hales and Jane Betts of Edgbaston, Warwickshire; Kirstine Mayall and Stacey Buckley of Foxhills, Surrey; Jane Baldwin and Carol Smith of Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire; and Denise Page and Sarah Dawson of Willow Valley, Yorkshire.
In addition to the prizes for the top six pairs, all competitors received a PING golf bag, a pair of ECCO shoes and a PING Collection voucher.
The new champions are regular golfing partners and longstanding friends, with a special bond born out of sadness. Dot said: “When my husband, Charlie, died three years ago Rita was the best support I could have had. Golf also helped a lot. The support I had from the golf club was wonderful. It’s a bit like a surrogate family.”
The runners-up, Lisa Davies and Karen Griffiths, were also taking part in their first national final and, as well as competitive play, they enjoy what they describe as extra-curricular golf: girls' days’ out, mixed events and breaks.
Karen said: “We’ve never played in anything where they greet you on the first tee and check the number of clubs in your bag! My knees were shaking.”
Lisa, who has played for just three years, added: “It’s been excellent, absolutely fantastic.”
Gainsborough Golf Club is owned by PING and competitors were able to visit the PING fitting centre to try the clubs, including the new Serene range, and also take tours of the PING factory to see how the custom-fit clubs are made.
Putting and nearest the pin competitions were also held in the fitting centre. Helen Hewlett of Lincoln, who missed out on countback in the main event, had the consolation of winning the putting prize. Helen, who has a handicap of plus-four is a past Curtis Cup player, British champion and a winner on the LPGA Tour as Helen Dobson and will be representing Lincolnshire in next week’s County Finals.
The nearest the pin prize was won by Catherine Devereux of Fishwick Hall, Lancashire, who shot finished less than 2ft from the target. Her partner was her daughter, Rosie, who at 14 was one of the youngest competitors in the field.
Among the other youngsters were Hannah Holden, 16, who plays off three, and her sister, Georgia, 13, who has a handicap of 15.They are members of Lightcliffe in Yorkshire, and finished just out of the prizes with 36 points.
Prize winners
41 pts Rita Towler and Scholes (Harwood)
39 Lisa Davies and Karen Griffiths (Leek)
38 Pat Hale and Jane Betts (Edgbaston); Kirstine Mayall and Stacey Buckley (Foxhills)
37 Jane Baldwin and Carol Smith (Forest of Dean); Denise Page and Sarah Dawson (Willow Valley) on countback from two other pairs
Lyndsey Hewison
Press Officer
England Golf
pr@englandgolf.org
07825 752 193
Lancashire golfers Rita Towler and Dot Scholes made a fairytale debut in the England Golf PING Four-ball Better-ball Tournament when they became 2012 champions at the Grand Final at Gainsborough.
This is the first year their club, Harwood, has entered the tournament – and by chance, it was Dot who suggested they take part. “I’m the competition secretary and when I saw the flyer I told the committee I thought we should enter,” she said.
Their journey to the title ended today when they scored 41 points in cold and windy conditions on the challenging Karsten Lakes course. They had come through an initial entry of around 15,500 women from over 750 clubs who entered this year’s competition. The top 60 pairs contested the Grand Final while the next 72 qualified for the Plate Final.
“We are stunned, shell-shocked, amazed, anything we say is an understatement,” said Dot, who plays off 12.
Rita, an eight-handicapper, remarked: “It’s very special, overwhelming.”
They won by two points from Lisa Davies and Karen Griffiths of Leek, Staffordshire. The other prizewinners were: Pat Hales and Jane Betts of Edgbaston, Warwickshire; Kirstine Mayall and Stacey Buckley of Foxhills, Surrey; Jane Baldwin and Carol Smith of Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire; and Denise Page and Sarah Dawson of Willow Valley, Yorkshire.
In addition to the prizes for the top six pairs, all competitors received a PING golf bag, a pair of ECCO shoes and a PING Collection voucher.
The new champions are regular golfing partners and longstanding friends, with a special bond born out of sadness. Dot said: “When my husband, Charlie, died three years ago Rita was the best support I could have had. Golf also helped a lot. The support I had from the golf club was wonderful. It’s a bit like a surrogate family.”
The runners-up, Lisa Davies and Karen Griffiths, were also taking part in their first national final and, as well as competitive play, they enjoy what they describe as extra-curricular golf: girls' days’ out, mixed events and breaks.
Karen said: “We’ve never played in anything where they greet you on the first tee and check the number of clubs in your bag! My knees were shaking.”
Lisa, who has played for just three years, added: “It’s been excellent, absolutely fantastic.”
Gainsborough Golf Club is owned by PING and competitors were able to visit the PING fitting centre to try the clubs, including the new Serene range, and also take tours of the PING factory to see how the custom-fit clubs are made.
Putting and nearest the pin competitions were also held in the fitting centre. Helen Hewlett of Lincoln, who missed out on countback in the main event, had the consolation of winning the putting prize. Helen, who has a handicap of plus-four is a past Curtis Cup player, British champion and a winner on the LPGA Tour as Helen Dobson and will be representing Lincolnshire in next week’s County Finals.
The nearest the pin prize was won by Catherine Devereux of Fishwick Hall, Lancashire, who shot finished less than 2ft from the target. Her partner was her daughter, Rosie, who at 14 was one of the youngest competitors in the field.
Among the other youngsters were Hannah Holden, 16, who plays off three, and her sister, Georgia, 13, who has a handicap of 15.They are members of Lightcliffe in Yorkshire, and finished just out of the prizes with 36 points.
Prize winners
41 pts Rita Towler and Scholes (Harwood)
39 Lisa Davies and Karen Griffiths (Leek)
38 Pat Hale and Jane Betts (Edgbaston); Kirstine Mayall and Stacey Buckley (Foxhills)
37 Jane Baldwin and Carol Smith (Forest of Dean); Denise Page and Sarah Dawson (Willow Valley) on countback from two other pairs
Lyndsey Hewison
Press Officer
England Golf
pr@englandgolf.org
07825 752 193
Labels: Amateur Ladies
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