Heads in course record triumph

May 6 2008 by Tim Taylor, The Journal

SEAN Heads from the Hexham club captured an amateur course record held by Journal Champion of Champions Sandy Twynholm on the way to winning the North and South Trophy at Burgham Park.

Heads, winner of last year’s Westerhope Open, finished eight shots clear of the field on 135 after shooting 65, 70.

His first round ended with an up-and-down from the greenside bunker at the 18th, enabling him to beat Twynholm’s old record of 66 by one shot.

Heads, a 22-year-old Newcastle United fan who is studying estate management at Northumbria University, landed four birdies in a row to go five under at the turn and took 27 putts for the first round.

“I knew it was my day after I topped my approach shot into the wind at the par five 16th,” he said. “I was well short of where I wanted to be but then I hit a 100-yard wedge and sunk a 30ft putt.

“It’s a special moment following in the footsteps of a golfer like Sandy Twynholm. But I played more solidly in the second round. It’s just that during the first round, a lot more of the putts I would expect to go in actually went in.”

COUNTY Durham’s team to play Cheshire in the Northern Counties League match at South Moor on Saturday is:

David Patterson (Seaham), Richard Aisbitt (Brancepeth Castle), Michael Curry (Brancepeth Castle), Graeme Marchbank (Durham City), Jamie Birkbeck (Bishop Auckland), Stuart Brown (Castle Eden), Chris Hewitt (Beamish Park), Bryan Ross (Heworth), Steven Dance (Ramside Hall), Ian McEntee (South Moor), Julian Wynn (Eaglescliffe,) Neil Harker-Bell (South Moor). Reserves: Robert Moon (Billingham), Adam Bates (Blackwell Grange), Graeme Willis (Seaham), Gareth Cooper (Brancepeth Castle).