National Tour 8: St. Andrews Open 2008
9/10 August 2008, St. Andrews University, Fife, Scotland    TD Angus Buce  BDGA #235  PDGA#8843
  First name Surname Nat. Div. BDGA PDGA Rd1 Rd2 Total Rd3   Total Final Total
1 John Bruce ENG Open 236 8845 61 49 110 65 175 29 204
2 Ross Poole ENG Open 265 8861 61 57 118 59 177 30 207
3 Angus Bruce SCO Open 235 8843 58 59 117 60 177 35 212
4 Graeme Anderson SCO Open 22 8875 59 56 115 67 182 33 215
       
1 Ben Heywood SCO Am   61 60 121 57 178 31 209
2 Jesse Denny USA Am 282 8878 62 60 122 61 183 29 212
3 Sophie Southgate ENG Am (W) 23 8886 60 67 127 60 187 31 218
4 Chris O'Brien ENG Am 305 34659 64 63 127 60 187 32 219
5 Paul Stoddart ENG Am   64 64 128 61 189 31 220
6= Chis Rowland ENG Am 299 8887 74 63 137 59 196
6= Simon Fox ENG Am 310 34763 64 71 135 61 196
8 Alastair Findlay ENG Am 309 34665 66 65 131 66 197
9 Duncan Hartshorne ENG Am 313 35072 66 65 131 71 202
10= Ben Bruce SCO Am (JJ) 237 8844 65 71 136 71 207
10= Lawrence Williams ENG Am   71 71 142 65 207
12 Charlie O'Brien ENG Am (JJJ)   98 91 189 100 289
13 Louise Denny ENG Am (W)   96 97 193 999 999
999 = Did not play in this round
Note: 12th place Chrlie O'Brien played from advanced tees. 2 shots per hole have been added to his score for reporting purposes.
A Junior Junior Junior (Under 8) section was introduced for this event!
Comments to the BDGA Director of Competitions competitions@bdga.org.uk

St Andrews Open Report
Floods in Fife failed to dampen the spirits of the competitors at the 3rd St Andrews Open on the weekend of 9/10 August 2008. 2006 British Amateur champ John Bruce secured his first Open title, closely pursued by Ross Poole, and with Angus Bruce third. Local ace Ben Heywood retained the Am Division title for the second year, Jesse Denny was runner-up and Sophie Southgate (with a break-through performance) took the final Am podium place.

Scotland's Central Belt had experienced heavy rain throughout the week leading up to the St. Andrews Open, which limited the scope for course design. In previous years, the permanent University 9-hole course had been combined with another 5 set around a lake and 4 in a neighbouring arboretum. Not only had much of the lake area flooded, but the University had also decided not to cut the grass in the arboretum all year as "our contribution to providing a sustainable bio-diversity site". (It seems that any excuse can be a good one, provided that it is couched in "green" language!). In consequence, we ended up with four very challenging holes around the lake (two long par 4s, a classic 70m risk/reward lake lob, and a short narrow tunnel drive), which were played twice, and an additional filler hole between the two courses. The par for the 18 was set at 58.
After R1 (played in persistent rain), Ullapool's Angus Bruce surprisingly held the lead with an even-par 58, just ahead of Graeme Anderson on 59. A tournament-best from Essex Blade Sophie Southgate placed her in the lead group on 60, and at the head of the Amateur Division, one shot clear of Ben Heywood's 61.

Ross Poole in action
The afternoon round proved decisive for the Open Division. While his contenders returned scores in the high 50s, John Bruce produced an exceptional round of 49 (a 12 shot improvement) to hold an overnight lead of 5 over Graeme, with Angus two shots further back. In the Amateurs, Ben Heywood held a single shot advantage over Jesse Denny, with Sophie maintaining her challenge in third place, equal with Chris O'Brien.
An inch and a quarter of rain fell on St. Andrews overnight, rendering the lake holes unplayable on Sunday morning, so it was twice round the Uni 9 for R3. The westerly wind was significantly stronger, and this (or perhaps the early tee-off) didn't suit John whose 65 was a 16 shot collapse from the heights achieved in R2. Nevertheless, he maintained a two shot margin for the Finals over Angus (60) and Ross (59), with Graeme 5 shots further back after a disappointing 67. The weather certainly played into Ben Heywood's hands, as he regularly plays the Uni course in all conditions and was particularly effective putting into the delicate single chained (sometimes half-chained) baskets. His 57 was the best score for R3, and extended his lead over Jesse to 5. Sophie continued her form with a 60, matched by Chris O'B.
Thankfully, the windy, sunny conditions on Sunday morning allowed the lake holes to dry sufficiently for the 9-hole Finals to be held down there. John reproduced some of his R2 form to card a 29, to finish on 204 (-1). Angus' challenge disappeared with two splashes (the burn and the lake), enabling Ross to ease into second on 207. Angus finished 3rd on 212. In the Ams, Jesse matched John's performance with a superb 29, but his total of 212 wasn't quite enough to dislodge Ben, who won by 3. Sophie secured the final Am podium place on 218, one ahead of Chris.
Spot prizes were won by: John (Long Drive), Ben H (Long Putt) and Graeme (CTP). Ben Bruce won the Junior Juniors (U12), while 7 year-old Charlie O'Brien completed all three rounds of his first Tour event to win the Junior Junior Juniors (U8). Spirit of the Game was awarded to Louise Denny, who played her first full day on Tour with an exemplary attitude, right down to her defaced score-card (happy bunnies).
A lot of hard work was required to setup the course in difficult conditions, and particular thanks go to Sophie and Chris Rowland in this respect.

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