Scotland’s Ronnie Clark was left feeling lost for words after being crowned the 2023 English Senior Men’s Stroke Play champion after defeating Trevor Foster in a thrilling three-hole play-off.
Ronnie Clark proudly holds up the English Senior Men's Stroke Play Championship trophy at Alwoodley Golf Club
Scotland’s Ronnie Clark was left feeling lost for words after being crowned the 2023 English Senior Men’s Stroke Play champion after defeating Trevor Foster in a thrilling three-hole play-off.
The Erskine golfer closed out an emotional victory at Alwoodley Golf Club after enduring a rollercoaster ride in the final round of the championship which ended in an epic play-off win sealed by a short putt for a par on the third play-off hole.
The end result was a harsh one on Foster, who gave it his all in his attempted title defence but when all was said and done, the 63-year-old came off the course pleased with his efforts and congratulatory of his good friend Clark.
As for Clark, this was his first time playing in a senior’s event in England and was left speechless with his debut performance when comprehending the magnitude of his achievement.
Speaking after the presentation, Clark said:“I’m proud. I’ve done the Scottish twice and this is my first time playing in a senior’s event in England, so to come down here in a field of 288, you don’t think about coming to win, you just want to try and make the cut first and have a place.
“I then found myself out in the last game and I just tried to play my own game and kept plugging away. Others were making mistakes and it wasn’t pretty by me either, I think I shot 74 in the final round.
“I was thinking I shouldn’t be in a play-off and I think Trevor [Foster] was probably thinking the same thing!
“At the first extra hole, we were both on the green and had long putts for the chance to win.
“On the second hole, I had a wedge onto the green from the fairway and it was one of the worst wedge’s I’ve hit this year. All I had to do was hit it onto the green and two-putt for a four, but no, I had to take five instead.
“Trevor got a poor lie off his tee shot on the last which was unfortunate and then knocked it in the bunker which was way short.
“Then, I’m not really sure how my four-footer went in to be honest, but I just made sure to stick with the process. I didn’t look at the hole and just waited for the ball to drop and wow, I was quite emotional after that!
“It’s pretty special. I’ve not had a great start to the Scottish season, but this makes up for it.”
As had been the case all week, the final round took place in the beautiful Yorkshire sunshine, but course conditions still proved to be tricky as the deceptive wind whipped around the Alwoodley trees.
However, there was one man who quickly got to grips with the conditions and fancied his chances of a late charge up the leaderboard.
That man was Simon Kay, who’s superb final round of 69 suddenly catapulted him into contention. He was the man to beat, setting a clubhouse lead of one-over par.
With Foster, Clark and Terence Bray all playing out of the last group, they knew what they had to do.
Before the round began, Foster came into the day carrying a slender one-shot advantage over Clark, Bray and Chris Audin.
By the time the trio made the turn, Foster remained out in front but was now in a tie for the lead having been hauled in by Bray who had moved onto four-under par. Clark found himself still with a one-shot deficit despite an impressive eagle on the fourth.
As the group made their way down the back-nine, all three players found it tough, dropping shots at critical times and allowing one another to remain in the contest.
However, it was on the 15th where the pendulum began to swing in Clark’s favour thanks to a huge stroke of luck.
After what looked to be a horrific shot when his two-iron bounced on the fairway and was certain to be heading out of bounds, the ball smacked into the marker and stopped dead to keep it on the field of play. Clark was then able to calmly putt for a par and was on his way through the final three holes.
But, the drama was far from finished. Foster also had a mini disaster of his own on 17 when his tee-shot unlike Clark, went sailing straight out of bounds, before his reload then dived into the bunker and the England international was left having to settle for a double bogey.
That hiccup by Foster meant Clark now held the one-shot advantage going down the last and left Foster chasing a birdie to force a play-off. When the pressure was on, Foster delivered. An excellent tee-shot landed down the fairway before an exceptional up-and-down set him up nicely for a birdie putt to tie the scores at one under-par to head into a sudden death play-off.
After the first and second holes were halved, it came down to the third. Foster was the first off the tee and found himself in a horrible lie off the right, whilst Clark was able to stay out of trouble. Foster then knocked his second shot into the bunker whilst Clark chipped onto the green. From that point on, the Scotsman knew a two-putt would clinch the title.
Holing a four-footer was the icing on the cake for what has been a tremendous week for Clark as he took home the English Senior Men’s Stroke Play trophy.
Foster’s incredible effort saw him land runner-up spot, whilst Kay and Ian Ashenden rounded out the top three.
Photography credit: Leaderboard Photography
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