Chris Lloyd won his fifth title of the year when he came out on top in the English County Champions Tournament over the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa (picture © Tom Ward).

A birdie-four on the 18th in a closing 71 for 140 earned the Gloucestershire Champion a one shot winning margin over Matthew Southgate from Essex with former champions Justin Phelps from Middlesex third on 142.

“I’m relieved to have won,” said Lloyd. “I made it hard for myself because I should have had it won this morning when I got to three under through six holes. But I gave it away and had to fight back again. I didn’t play so well this afternoon and didn’t really score until the last six holes. But I said to myself if I could make three birdies I might have a chance.

“The key was the par-five 14th where I hit my second to ten feet and made birdie. Then I also birdied the 16th to get to five under and the one at the last sealed it.”

Lloyd, who was also a member of the winning Boys Home Internationals and Jacques Leglise teams, might have seen even more success but he lost a marathon playoff to Tom Lewis for the Carris Trophy. It’s been a busy year for the young Bristolian from The Kendleshire and he admitted he is looking forward to a rest. “It’s been a good year for me and this is a good way to end it,” he added. “My season is almost done and I’m looking forward to a couple of weeks off before I get back into the gym.”

If Southgate had won it would have completed a double for Essex after Jay Beisser had shared the Junior County Champions title. But it wasn’t to be.

The Southend lad who closed with 72, said: “I played well and don’t feel I lost it. Chris won it by finishing with two birdies in the last three holes. I’m delighted to have come to such a testing course as this and shot the scores I have. I had an idea of the situation but I tried not to concentrate on the scoreboards. “I’ve worked so hard on my game over the last few weeks and this is a nice way to finish the season but we in Essex have the county finals next week.”

Phelps, who won the title in 2004, also signed off with 71, while Mark Young and Andrew Sullivan stormed up the leaderboard with 72 and 71 respectively.

Full scores and more information on the County Champions event can be found on the Championships section of the EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org.

EGU Media Release