Lee Irvine shot 73 points across 36 holes to win the 2026 England Captains title, sponsored by Ambassador Cruise Line, at The National Golf Centre at Woodhall Spa.
Despite only shooting 29 points on day one on the tricky Bracken Course, the Sand Martins golfer had an incredible round on Thursday on the Hotchkin Course.
Playing off a 23 handicap, he enjoyed eight pars to catapult him to 44 points and the top of the leaderboard, finishing four points ahead of nearest challenger Paul Blackham (Forest Pines, 69 points).
There were a further three players on 67 points, six back of the champion. Click here to see the final leaderboard.
Champion Irvine, who qualified for the event after winning Division 2 of a qualifying event at Blackmoor, said: “It feels very special, I wasn’t expecting it and I can’t believe I’ve done it, it’s a great achievement.
“The key on day one was staying dry as it was chucking it down! The greens were so hard to read and with 29 points I knew I had to come out straight away on day two. The Hotchkin is really hard with loads of bunkers, but I managed to plot my way around and drove the ball well.“I was six points back. As the round was going I knew I was doing quite well – I got nervy on the back when I reached 40 points and knowing I could be in contention. I wobbled a bit but managed to get a couple more points to get me the win.
“After a long drive home, I’ll celebrate with the family and they’ll be pretty shocked that I’ve won as the day one report was that success wasn’t on the horizon!”
Irvine also praised the England Captains programme, saying: “Captains work ever so hard for their golf clubs so it’s great that England Golf run this competition to recognise them. I’ve made so many friends on this and lifelong ones – it’s good fun, there’s a good community feel about it.
“You have to enter a Captains event if you can. You get to play fantastic venues across the country for good cost!”
Playing off a 23 handicap, he enjoyed eight pars to catapult him to 44 points and the top of the leaderboard, finishing four points ahead of nearest challenger Paul Blackham (Forest Pines, 69 points).
There were a further three players on 67 points, six back of the champion. Click here to see the final leaderboard.
Champion Irvine, who qualified for the event after winning Division 2 of a qualifying event at Blackmoor, said: “It feels very special, I wasn’t expecting it and I can’t believe I’ve done it, it’s a great achievement.
“The key on day one was staying dry as it was chucking it down! The greens were so hard to read and with 29 points I knew I had to come out straight away on day two. The Hotchkin is really hard with loads of bunkers, but I managed to plot my way around and drove the ball well.“I was six points back. As the round was going I knew I was doing quite well – I got nervy on the back when I reached 40 points and knowing I could be in contention. I wobbled a bit but managed to get a couple more points to get me the win.
“After a long drive home, I’ll celebrate with the family and they’ll be pretty shocked that I’ve won as the day one report was that success wasn’t on the horizon!”
Irvine also praised the England Captains programme, saying: “Captains work ever so hard for their golf clubs so it’s great that England Golf run this competition to recognise them. I’ve made so many friends on this and lifelong ones – it’s good fun, there’s a good community feel about it.
“You have to enter a Captains event if you can. You get to play fantastic venues across the country for good cost!”
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org