Hampshire’s Stuart Archibald secured his second Logan Trophy title after being the only player to shoot under-par to win at Rockliffe Hall.
The Test Valley golfer posted rounds of 73, 72 and a final-day 69 (-3) to win by five shots, making it his second Logan Trophy victory, after winning the title in 2022 at Liphook.
He said: “To play in any England Golf Championship is an honour and I’m delighted to win another trophy, it’s a great achievement. My iron play was really solid and my putting was probably as good as it ever has been, and that was always my Achilles heel before, but I putted lovely on the back-nine and that was enough to get it done.
“The wind was really tough on the first two days. One of the strengths of my game has always been my distance control and playing pin-high golf, and to get it to some of the plateaus where some of the pins were, was tough. I think everyone struggled, it created some challenges with putting and also keeping the ball in play.”
Asked about where he’ll be putting his trophy and if he’ll be looking to defend his title next year, Archibald added: “It depends where my other half will let me put it! She doesn’t like me bringing home trophies!
“I’d like to dedicate this win to my partner Ashley and daughter Sofia – we’re expecting another child in December – so whether I play next year will depend on whether I’m allowed to leave the house after that!
“I hope I can play at Hadley Wood, and the following year it’s at my old club Blackmoor, so I’ll definitely be looking to come back and win there too.
“I’m going to celebrate the win by driving up to Edinburgh for work at the Scottish Open, so no playing golf for a few days, and then I’ll be off to The Open in Ireland so hopefully I can enjoy a Guinness or two there!”
The first two days of the Logan Trophy saw 40mph winds make scoring tricky, before a calm final day, until heavy showers hit the leading groups on the course.
James Glenn’s 5-under back nine on day two meant the Bishop Auckland golfer joined Archibald in the final pairing on the last day, and both enjoyed good front nines with Archibald making three straight birdies on 5, 6 and 7 to stretch his lead at the top.
Bogeys on the back nine all but ended Glenn’s hopes, while Archibald held his nerve to birdie 12, 15 and 17 to seal victory.
Chester-le-Street’s Kevin Suggett had the round of the tournament on the final day as he produced a bogey-free 67 (-5) to finish 2nd, while John Sadler (Bromborough) Geoff Harris (Formby) and Mark Wharton (Newcastle United) shot rounds of 70 (-2) to force their way up the leaderboard, but it was Sadler, Martin McCririck (South Shields) and Glenn, who finished tied-3rd to secure prizes.
The par-4 8th proved to be the biggest test for the players during the week, with just seven birdies being made from the 312 times the hole was played, at an average of 4.97. The easiest hole proved to be the par-5 3rd which saw a scoring average of 5.04.
Click here to see the final leaderboard and to check out the hole-by-hole course statistics, click here.
ENDS
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org