Martin Edge Golf
Hi,
Sorry for not using my website for a while. I have had some issues transferring it to another provider.
i have recently returned from Spain, where I was competing in the Alps Tour Qualifying School.
The Alps Tour Q School took place over two stages, a first stage and a final stage.
As you may already know I managed to qualify in the Stage 1 section of qualifying with scores of 76 (+4) & 71 (-1) for a total of 145 (+3). Good enough to qualify with 5 shots in hand. This stage took place in the second of my 3 weeks away and saw me progress to the final qualifying stage.
The Final Qualifying stage consisted of 144 players who qualified for the event in a number of ways :
- Ex European Tour Players
- Ex Challenge Tour Players
- Players finishing 50th to 80th in the Final 2012 Alps Tour Order of Merit
- Qualifiers from the Stage 1 qualification tournament (My route into the final)
With the Final Stage consisting of a high quality field I was aware the cut mark would be relatively low. Having got off to a poor start in my first round I managed to hang on and shoot a credible 76 (+4) which left me still in with a chance of making the cut.
The second round started badly with a triple bogey on my 4th hole of the day which left me at (+7), quite a few shots outside the cut mark. Having played extremely well for the rest of the round I managed to get back to (+3) for the tournament and within 1 shot of making the cut with one hole left to play, A reachable par 5. Requiring a birdie or an eagle I needed to play the hole aggressively and hit my tee shot into the tight landing area down by the out of bounds. Unfortunately I hit a poor drive which saw the ball go left and out of bounds by 5 yards. This effectively meant that I would not make the cut, and could only manage a bogey 6 on the hole and finish on (+4) for the event and miss the (+2) cut by 2 shots.
The standard of play at the Qualifying School was extremely high, but at no point did I feel out of place, or lacking in ability. I have come away from the event high in confidence in my own ability as I know my game was game was not at its best.
Although I missed the cut at the Final Qualifying school, based on entries to last years tournaments from players who missed cut, I should still be able to play between 6 & 10 events out of a total of 18.
As I receive more information about the 2013 season Alps Tour schedule I will be sure to pass it on..
Thank you once again for all your support, and I hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Kind Regards
Martin
The past week has consisted of a number of events. The first of the run of events was at Caldy on the 1836 tour. A solid round of 69 (-3) saw me finish in solo 4th picking up valuable order of merit points and also a nice cheque for £400.
The second event was the following day at Hesketh GC. Having played well the previous day I was looking for another good performance but unfortunately got off to a poor start and eventually signed for a 77 (+5).
A weekend of practice followed, I then moved onto Dunscar GC in Bolton on Monday for the first Lancashire PGA event of the season, which saw me shoot 67 (-4) which was good enough for my first win of the season!
This performance led me into the biggest event of the week high on confidence, the PGA North Region Championship at De Vere Herons Reach in Blackpool.
A solid opening round of 68 (-4). Saw me one behind the leaders heading into the final day. Having battled the wind and rain on the opening holes of the second round, I managed to record a second round 69 (-3) for a tournament total of 137 (-7).
Unfortunately the winning score was -11 so I was 4 behind. Although I didn’t win, I secured a 4th place finish which added valuable points to the North Region Order of Merit and another good cheque.
Having had a solid 10 days I am hopeful of carrying my form into my next event at Clitheroe on Monday for the first stage of Open Qualifying..
I will post a report on Tuesday, but for more upto date scoring on Monday feel free to check out www.opengolf.com.
Today was the Crosby Beacon at West Lancs GC. The event is a team competition with a number of golf clubs, including Hesketh, entering a team of 4 consisting of 1 Professional and 3 amateur players.
We were represented by myself, Luke Rimmer (2), Andrew Witherup (4) and Michael Mayor (3).
Myself, Luke and Michael recorded our best 3 counting scores with 74, 80 and 78 respectively.
Having got off to a good start (-2 thru 6) I felt a twinge in my neck on the 7th, which caused discomfort for the rest of the round, subsequently hampering my swing. Having struggled round I eventually managed to sign for a 74 (+2), which I was happy with.
I am hopeful my neck should recover before my next event, which is Caldy GC on the 1836 Tour this Thursday.
Following Caldy on Thursday, I am scheduled to compete on Friday at my home club Hesketh GC in the 1836 Tour event.
My game feels in great shape and I am looking forward to next week!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to my golf day which took place on Sunday. It is a great pleasure to represent Hesketh GC at professional events, and this day helps relieve some of the pressure.
I would like to congratulate Julian McInerney and Cameron Deary on winning the event with a fantastic score of 46 points. Congratulations also to Bob Ditchfield who was the winner of the Taylormade Rocketballz Driver in the raffle.
Once again, many thanks.
Hi, welcome to the 1st edition of my newsletter for 2012. My season is now under way, and I have already competed in two events so far.
The first of these two events was a pro am at the famous San Roque Golf Club in Andalucia, Spain. It was a real pleasure to open my season at such a prestigious venue in the Valenti Overseas Pro Am. Although I only finished tenth in the three round event, I feel I learned a lot and saw a lot of my winter work starting to pay off. I played solidly enough and recorded scores of 74, 73, 75 for a total of 222 (+6)
Prior to the pro am in Spain, I spent 9 days warm weather training in Portugal at the Amendoira Golf Resort (20 minutes north of Vilamoura). These 9 days were a great chance to practice and prepare for the season in temperatures of 20degrees. The practice facilities and courses were immaculate, and this made practice extremely enjoyable.
Overall, the two weeks I spent abroad were a great way to start the season, and have put me in a great starting position for 2012.
My first event on home soil was an 18 hole event at West Lancs GC on the 1836 Tour. A solid start saw me -3 thru 9 holes, but a combination of an increase in wind, tricky pin positions and a couple of loose iron shots saw me complete the round in level par 72. This was good enough for a 12th place finish.
From the first two events I have seen and felt real progress over the winter, and I am extremely excited about the 2012 season, and what I could achieve.
My season continues this week with another 18 hole event on the 1836 Tour at my home venue of Hesketh GC. I am looking forward to testing my skills against again at a course I have played for as long as I can remember.
Next week sees the start of the Europro season with the first stage of qualifying at Mottram Hall in Cheshire. The event is a 36 hole event played over two days, with a proportion of players advancing to Final Qualifying the week after at Frilford Heath in Oxford.
I feel I am playing solid golf, and am looking forward to the first stage of qualifying as I have had a number of good finishes at Mottram Hall.
I will releasing newsletters throughout the season, and I hope you enjoy the information provided.
For more up to date information on my scores and schedule, feel free to follow me on Twitter @MartinEdgePGA.
