Callum Tarren survives the wobbles to take county title

May 26 2009 by Tim Taylor, The Journal

CALLUM Tarren, who has been attracting attention with his sublime shot-making, is continuing to make rapid progress.

Picked for Durham County at 16, he won the matchplay title at 17 and now, at 18, has become the county champion, edging out Michael Curry, the winner in 2005 and 2006.

There seems likely to be keen rivalry between the two this season. A month ago, Curry won the first Green Jacket tournament for 10 years and leads the ZFL Golf Order of Merit, with Tarren in second place. Tarren, from the Dinsdale Spa club in Darlington, where he is a student at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, came out on top this time, compiling a 297 total at Seaton Carew, shooting 72 73 76 76.

At the 15th hole in the last round, Tarren successfully negotiated the bunkers protecting the green with a low punched tee-shot at the 205-yard par three, which meant he had hit the same green using the same shot four times out of four in the tournament. Despite some wonky putting, he went to the 16th three under for his round, seven shots clear of Brancepeth Castle greenkeeper Curry and heading for the same final three holes Saltburn’s Jason Jones had birdied the week before to win the second Green Jacket tournament of the season.

Tarren, however, did not soar home majestically on the wings of three birdies. He went triple bogey, double bogey, bogey to limp across the line to take the title by one shot from Curry. At the 16th, Tarren called a two-shot penalty on himself when, having addressed the ball on the apron of the green, he moved it during his practice putting stroke. Tarren is adamant nerves played no part in the three-hole wobble. “Not at all,” he said. “In no way did I let that penalty get to me, I just made a lot of careless mistakes over those last three holes and they added up.

“Because I had the big lead, I could afford to make the errors and still win, I never felt under any pressure.

“In fact, I had to laugh after the two-shot penalty. It was funny and I was not fazed at all.”

County captain James Handy said: “All credit to Callum. He didn’t let it get to him and he played some good shots during that three-hole spell.”