Twynholm lifts strokeplay title number seven

May 25 2009 by Tim Taylor, The Journal

SANDY Twynholm, a Glasgow Rangers fan, was just about the only player in the Northumberland strokeplay championship who did not look glumly down at his feet after glancing at the Newcastle United score on television as he entered the Newbiggin clubhouse to hand in his scorecard yesterday.

As it happens, having recently joined the Pegswood Social club, near Morpeth, which has both the main satellite TV stations available, the former Scotland international golfer will be able to watch the new SPL champions play all their big matches next season. On the county golf scene, the 43-year-old Twynholm is Champions League standard himself. His seventh strokeplay title – he had already set the record at six – contained a third round 67 yesterday which was five under par and only one short of the course record.

He rated it as his best round since he set the amateur course record at Muirfield with another 67 four years ago and his performance only adds to the sense of frustration many of us feel at the Northumberland executive’s odd tradition of rating their matchplay winner as the official county champion.

Twynholm, who also holds his club record, a 63 at Morpeth, captured The Journal Champion of Champions title when it returned to the fixture list in 2007 after a gap of eight years.

Why he should have to doff his cap to anybody who wins the comparative lottery of a knock-out competition seems beyond rational explanation.

The four-iron Twynholm stiffed into the wind for his sixth birdie at the 18th in his third round – from 175 yards to two feet – and speaks more eloquently about the true traditions of the sport than anything those misguided blazer boys can come up with.

Twynholm, who has reined back on his golf commitments now that his wife, Susi, has presented him with two children within the past three years, Cameron and Tara, went into the tournament with “no great expectations”. He came out of it four shots clear of the field with a total of 283 following rounds of 70 75 67 71. “I took a day off work last Wednesday,” he said, “and I had a session with my coach, Colin Murray, who used to be the club pro at Catterick.” Twynholm likes experience to draw on. His father Jim, who caddied for him yesterday, is 75 and coach Murray is only two years younger.

Twynholm’s job with Newcastle City Council involves geographical information systems and a sound knowledge of various forms of new technology. When it comes of to being coached for his golf, information overload never gets anywhere near making it on to the agenda.