The TSG Masters at Warley Park, Essex
TheSocialGolfer.com, celebrated its 2nd annual TSG Masters Championship (in association with GolfGear247.co.uk) at Warley Park Golf Club on 3rd May 2015…..
Golfers from all over the South East of England and from as far away as Lancashire gathered at the Essex-based club, all hoping to be TSG Masters Champion golfer…
The members of the online social network had all qualified via a number of different means, some via the website’s monthly leaderboard, some via other TSG Major events with the remaining spaces snapped up via the ballot and/or by special invitation with no one wishing to miss out on the first TSG ‘Major’ of the year.
This made for an exciting competition and while some TSGers were familiar with the course layout, most were totally alien to it. The field ranging from 11 handicappers to 27, played the Childerditch and the Warley ’10 to 18′ loop, two very different layouts offering their own challenges, the latter including the superb 18th Par 3 signature hole.
TheSocialGolfer.com Masters
The event was won by well known disabled golfer Richard Saunders, who has been a great advocate of the site since its ‘official’ launch in 2010. After 18 holes, Saunders (based in Essex) scored a fantastic 44 Pts off his 20 handicap with Judy Lilley 2nd (Kent – 39 Pts) and 3rd Tuan Nguyen (Kent – 35 Pts).
There was also some fun to be had with 2 x Nearest Pins and a ‘Straightest Drive’ keeping the day alive for those that were not troubling the leaderboard and a Par 3 Competition to add to the drama on the day. Other winners on the day included popular ‘TSGers’, Lee Benson (Herts), Paul Thorne (Essex), Matt Sutton (Kent) with Richard Saunders adding the Par 3 trophy to his haul.
Richard Saunders – TSG Masters Champion 2015
“This is the second TSG Masters that I have attended and I thoroughly enjoyed the event… It’s a great opportunity for the members of the TSG to get together and enjoy the camaraderie that exists between them. I would like to thank Warley Park Golf Club and their members for allowing us to play in what is a very tight and demanding golf course – where straight drives and correct club selection is most important to small undulating greens. I had one of those days were everything went right. The Social Golfer continues to raise the profile for disabled golfers in conjunction with BALASA, the national disabled golfing charity and the funds they raise helps BALASA members to have buggies at their National Championships, their support is very much appreciated.”
Kevin Smith, Director of Golf at the venue said – “We were delighted to host the TSG Masters event for the second consecutive year. The TSG members are always very respectful to us and our members and they always compliment us on the condition and layout of the course. We are even more pleased a disabled golfer wins TSG Masters this year. We are equally delighted to be on the roster for their events and look forward to them returning to the club again 2016!”
By Ian Mullins
