Devon PGA Order of Merit Event - Saunton Golf Club -West Course

Second Place finish- 72 (1 over par)

Report taken from the Devon PGA Website

The fifth Devon County Medal saw the Professionals travel to the North Coast and the highly rated links at Saunton Golf Club. The Pros were to test their skills over the challenge set by the West Course where a strong wind and tough pin positions would mean only a player on top form would prevail.

The Professional who enjoyed the challenge the most was the ever consistent Ashley Moon of Okehampton. Ashley, who ‘loves days where you need to visualise and create shots’ fired a level par 71 which not only gave him victory but moved him to the top of the Devon Order of Merit. As always he struck the ball beautifully from tee to green and an early bogey and a double bogey on the 12th were cancelled out by birdies on 10, 15 and 17. Ashley commented ‘it’s always nice to win at such a premier venue’.

Coming home second and moving to 3rd in the Order of Merit was Holsworthy’s Professional Dan Wood. Dan who continually challenges himself to find improvement in his already sound game hit ‘lots of fairways and greens’ leading to a front nine holes in level par. At the long 10th though he made a double bogey but keeping his focus he rallied and after an eagle at the par five 17th it was only a 3 putt bogey that meant joint victory slipped away scoring a one over par 72.

Coming home third a shot further behind was ‘links specialist’ Neil Holman from Torbay Driving Range with a gaggle of Pros tied for fourth on 74 that included home pro Albert Mackenzie.

Devon PGA Order of Merit Medal Event- Torquay Golf Club

Second place finish- 65 (4 under par)

Report taken from the Devon PGA Website.

The second Devon County Medal of the season saw the local Professionals travel to the beautiful Torquay Golf Club. As always the course was in tremendous condition meaning there was to be some great scoring.

Once again it was the ‘in form’ Dan Hendriksen from Churston who took victory, this time blowing the rest of the field away with a sparkling 7-under-par 62, making it a hat-trick of wins in Devon County events in the last two weeks.

Hendriksen, who now feels he is reaping the benefit of the hard work put in on his swing over last winter, made 9 birdies including two at the first and second and two more on the tough closing holes. The most satisfying though came at the difficult par 3 11th, when, after bogeying the tough 10th, he bounced back with an arrowed 7 iron to 5 feet in a tricky cross wind.

These back-to-back victories mean Hendriksen already has a tidy 15½ point lead in the County Order of Merit.

Coming home in second place and also jumping up to second in the Order of Merit was Holsworthy’s Dan Wood. Wood, who felt his 4-under-par 65 may have been good enough to win on most other days, was pleased with his score which consisted of 6 birdies and 2 bogies and feels it was due in no small part to the fitness training he has been doing in recent weeks giving him more energy and focus over the back 9.

A further 3 shots back on 68 and tied for third were Ben Martin (Hele Park) and Kevin Harper (Sidmouth).

At the presentation, Devon PGA Captain Rob Selley thanked Torquay Golf Club for their hospitality and Head Greenkeeper Tim Martin and his staff, for the wonderful order of the golf course.

Devon Professional Under 30's Championship 2011

On Monday 8th August 2011 Dan Wood PGA Professional at Holsworthy Golf Club won the Devon Under 30's Professional Championship around Saunton East Course and Royal North Devon Golf Club on a very windy day with scores of 78 and 76. Both courses measured around 7000 yards and on a day when many of Wood's fellow competitors failed to break 80 wood triumphed due to some good solid course strategy.

Wood commented 'this is an excellent win for me around two of my favourite courses in Devon and I'm really pleased to win'

Victorious for Devon PGA vs Cornwall PGA

Report taken from the North Devon Journal

FOR the ninth year running, Devon triumphed in their Ryder Cup-style clash with Cornwall — with the help of a singles win from Holsworthy rookie Dan Wood.

Strong winds lashed the Royal North Devon course and had it been a normal competition, play would probably have been called off.

Cornwall had assembled their strongest line-up for some years in a bid to end Devon's winning streak.

And their hopes would have been raised by the hosts missing some of their more experienced professionals.

In the end, the Devon team captained by RND's Iain Parker and featuring debutant Wood triumphed 9-6.

The five foursome matches in the morning were played in the worst of the weather.

Nick Cook (Elfordleigh) and Peter Mitchell (Thurlstone) were Devon's only winners.

Parker and Ashley Moon (Okehampton) looked in control but some unforced errors in the closing holes meant they were happy to hang on for one of Devon's two halves.

Cornwall captain Richard O'Hanlon and Mark Rowe edged out rookie Wood and James Langmead (Stover) to give their side a 3-2 lead going into the afternoon's singles. Parker lost three and two to Nick Rodgers, leaving the match well balanced — but Devon's rookies and less heralded players made all the difference.

Cook beat Malcolm Edmunds two and one; Peter Mitchell had four birdies in a row to beat Nick Williams three and two; Wood won two and one against Rowe with some steady golf; and in the final match Langmead enjoyed a three and two victory over O'Hanlon.

The final singles score of 7-3 to Devon made the final result look far more comfortable than it was.

Winner of the 2008 West Region Fourball Championship at Launceston Golf Club with partner Mark Taylor

Score: -11- 62 67      129

Report taken from the Devon PGA Website

Breakthrough Win for Dan Wood and Mark Taylor

Dan Wood, Assistant Professional at Royal North Devon Golf Club and Mark Taylor Exeter achieved their first big win last week at Launceston Golf Club when they won the annual White Hart Fourball Championship. The championship which attracts over one hundred of the leading West Region Professionals is viewed as a major event on the golfing calendar.

In the better ball pairs competition they scored a magnificent total of 11 under par helped by an 8 under par 62 on the first day and a battling 67 in the second round in tough conditions with wind and rain for most of the day which meant they just managed to hold off seasoned professionals Martyn Thompson (Parkstone) and Michael Watson (Weymouth). Also chasing the pair was three time European Tour winner Andrew Sherbourne.

Dan and Mark played solidly both days striking the ball superbly from tee to green and putting well.They both have been working on their games exceptionally hard this season, often starting practice sessions as early as six am and continuing long into the evenings. Dan has been working with Head Professional at RND Iain Parker on his technique and now all this hard work is finally starting to pay off, and Mark has been helped enormously by joining Gary Milne at Exeter.

Dan started the opening day with a birdie on the par five first hole then incredibly he holed a 150 yard seven iron for a spectacular eagle two at the par four second before making two more birdies at the third and sixth. This blistering start would have been worthy of Tiger Woods and set the pair off on their victorious march. On the back nine on day one Mark Taylor also started to hit top form and the pair added further birdies on holes 11, 13 and 18. Their opening 62 placed them two shots clear of their nearest challengers. Everybody in the field expected them to drop away as the pressure of leading would surely get to the inexperienced pair but nothing could be further from the truth.

Although nervous playing in the final group they managed to get off to a solid start with Wood snatching birdies on holes 2, 6 and 9 to be out in 3 under par. As the conditions got tougher and the pressure mounted they knew that the chasing pack was hot on their heels but they kept their nerve and after a dropped shot on the tough par three 17th they knew they needed a birdie on the par five 18th to snatch the title.

Two powerful drives opened the possibility of a birdie. Wood pulled his second shot pin high left of the green and failed to get up and down but Taylor who had found the green with a powerful 4 iron was left with a twenty foot putt for eagle. He showed his first signs of nerves all day and left his approach putt five feet short of the hole. But with the 18th green surrounded by spectators, members and fellow professionals he bravely holed out to secure a groundbreaking victory for the pair.

Hopefully this victory will give the pair the confidence to move up to the next level in their professional careers and they were congratulated by all of their vastly more experienced fellow competitors. Wood said "This is a huge achievement and a real honour to win such a prestigious event with so many experienced professionals in the field."