University Golfers perform in Individual finals

Tough conditions blighted the Craigshead links course in Crail, Scotland as the best University golfer’s in the country competed for the title of Individual Champion.

A strong start for the club saw sports scholars Laurie Potter and Katie Bradbury take commanding second positions after the first three rounds. However, increasingly difficult conditions on the final day saw all of the competitors struggle. Katie finished a fantastic third place overall, a mere five shots off winner Rebecca Gibbs (Kingston), with Potter slipping back to 11^th after a hard final round of 80.

Fellow scholars Danny Vallis (15^th), Nick Wildman (18^th), Ben Leigh (20^th), Jack Irwin (31^st) and Chris Fleming (33^rd) also performed well ensuring that the team finished third overall in the event and secured Exeter’s position at the top of the overall BUCS golf national rankings.

The busy spring is still not over for the team who travel to Formby Golf Club in Lancashire to face the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) in the BUCS team championship finals on 1 May – the first time since 2005 that the side have challenged for the top spot.

First team captain Laurie considered Exeter’s strong individual performances to be a good omen for the team event. He said: “The conditions this week were brutal with winds strong enough at times to make standing difficult let alone play golf. But despite this the squad did a great job and to have five players finishing in the top 20 in Great Britain gives us a huge amount of confidence moving into next week and the biggest game the club have faced for seven years.

We’re all really excited about the opportunity in front of us and believe we’ve got a squad more than capable of coming home with BUCS gold. Whatever happens it’s going to be a great few days and with a supporters coach coming up from Exeter, and other fans travelling in from around the country I’m sure it will be a game that we all remember for a long time.”

Golf is one of the University of Exeter’s 10 focus sports, benefitting from a dedicated High Performance Golf manager, Craig Townsend, to support the team. Craig, a former British Universities player himself, is excited about the upcoming fixture.

He said: “It has been a brilliant year for golf at the University and the team have thoroughly deserved the success they have achieved. The team match play finals are an important event and will be a big challenge for the team. UCLAN are a strong opposition but I am confident that Exeter have the talent to bring home a good result.”

Scorecard from BUCS Individual Strokeplay finals:

11^th Laurie Potter: 305
15^th Danny Vallis: 310
18^th Nick Wildman: 311
20 Ben Leigh: 314
31 Jack Irwin: 320
33 Chris Fleming: 321