Another stunning year at the Langley Open which saw Ross claim his second title after holding off Lacey's gallant defence of his crown.
Again controversy was never far away, with allegations ranging from players playing with too many clubs or playing the wrong balls to allegations of a certain player having a bag full of balls with ''DEANO'S BALL' printed on it which greatly assisted situations where such a ball was deemed to be be lost or out of bounds only to be miraculously found!.
However the golf on display was top notch on the first day considering the extreme windy conditions. Woods were being used on 160 yard par three's such was the velocity of the wind, but it appeared to only force the players to focus on their swings as they battled bravely through it. Ross had a storming start but tailed off allowing Lacey and Harris to catch him up whilst Marsden after having a torrid start pulled himself together with a great back 9 resulting in the end of days scores being extremely close with Ross shading it thanks to a birdie par finish. However he was taking nothing for granted and when asked if he felt he was in a strong position he explained 'I remember being in the lead this time last year and I ended up last, so I know there is a long way to go. I still do not believe my game is strong enough at the moment to hold off the other three, I played out of my skin today and yet I still only have a small lead.'
Day two saw calmer conditions which appeared to faze the players as they all failed to take the initiative, Ross could not get a grip with the greens whilst Marsden had concentration lapses which cost him dear. The frustration for the two players was clear to see as Harris and Lacey started to play some settled golf resulting in the end of play scores showing Lacey in the lead by 2 shots over Ross and Harris with Marsden only a few shots back. Day 3 was all to play for.
Day three arrived and the atmosphere was tense as it usualy is on the last day of this great tournament. Putts were met with huge sighs of releif, conversations were down to the minimum. Lacey faltered early allowing Ross to take the lead and Marsden to creep back enough to build his excitement, whilst Harris continued to impress with his incredible consistent drives resulting in the other players saying the phrase of the weekend in unison 'Good shot Neil!'.
Ross continued to play well and clawed a 4 point lead which grew to 6 after 10 holes, he looked like Champion elect until Lacey hit one of the shots of the weekend at the par 3 11th. The cheers as the ball landed next to the pin turned to silence as they waited for the ball to drop only for it to finish an agonising inch from being the Langley Open's first ever hole in one.
By now Marsden was out of it and Harris was struggling with the handicap system bearing in mind how well Ross was scoring. But Vern would not give up and despite some way ward driving scored 2 points on every hole after his near hole in one experience meaning it was a real tight tense finish. However with Vern needing a birdie on the 18th and Ross to blob his effort to hit the green in two resulted in his ball being united in the water where his chip had ended two years ago.
Ross was now the Champion and the first to congratulate him was Lacey who stated 'I am made up for him, he played superbly. Although I did ask him to look after the trophy for when I win it back next year.'
Marsden played well and could have challenged if it was not for a couple of poor periods during each round and Harris desreves huge credit with his 30 points earned on each day with such a low hanicap.
Next year there will be a new handicap system in an effort to make things even more competetive however nothing can be taken away from the 38 points by Ross in his final round. 'I'm just over the moon, I really did not give myself any chance this weekend, that was without doubt the best round of my life bearing in mind the pressue Vern kept on me over the last 8 holes, it was a lovely gesture the way he congratulated me at the end, he will be the one to beat again next year for sure'.
Bring on 2010, should be another classic!
