A PAIR of Redditch Golf Club aces emerged victorious in the prestigious women’s Daily Mail Foursomes grand finals at Slaley Hall, where they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Janice Kerr, who plays off a 12 handicap, and 15-handicapper Vivienne Cranton snatched the title in an epic final after finding themselves one down with one hole to play against Kirriemuir’s Irene Park (20) and Audrey Aiken (28).
The Worcestershire pair won the last and then wrapped up the match at the first extra hole on the championship Hunting course, when Cranton sunk a pressurised seven-foot putt for a par, as the duo became winners of the world’s biggest amateur golf competition.
It is 31 years since Kerr last made it to the grand finals and she dedicated the win to her late mum, Margaret, with whom she competed in 1988, and her late father, Bill, who also reached the quarter-finals in 1987 for the same club.
Kerr told the Daily Mail: “Mum was with me. She would have been thrilled. It was meant to be.
“I thought we had blown it on those last few holes. There was never more than one in it. In the play-off Vivienne hit the best six iron you’ve ever seen in your life to the back of the green.
“We had to give 11 shots and they (the Scottish pair) were so steady. It’s amazing. I can’t wait to see that trophy in our clubhouse. It is going to be absolutely fantastic.”
Cranton added: “I knew I just had to go for it. It’s just unbelievable. We’re so proud to have done this. Our caddies and supporters have been amazing. It is very special for amateur golfers to have this kind of experience.”
More than 119,000 golfers tried to qualify for the competition and more than 3,100 pairs took part, battling through a marathon 11 knockout rounds.
Managed by Almarose, one of the UK’s leading independent hotel management companies, Slaley Hall was voted ‘best golf hotel/resort in the north of England’ for the fifth successive year in the 2019 Today’s Golfer Travel Awards. The Hexham venue is set in 1,000 acres of Northumberland moorland and forest.
Deadline for entry into the 2020 Daily Mail Foursomes is January 31. For further information, contact the tournament office at [email protected].
