Wydmuch keeps it steady for one-stroke victory
Early starters had the best of the day – the westerly wind grew in strength as the day wore on, making for difficult scoring conditions.
Willie Wydmuch (23) has been playing well in recent weeks and continued this good run to win the competition with a superb nett 66. Wydmuch started well with three pars in the first four holes, going out in 45, and played steady golf to come back in 44 to win the competition by a single stroke.
Second with a nett 67 was retired greenkeeper Robert Klimas (6). Klimas was the model of consistency, going out in two-over-par 37 and back in two-over-par 36 which included a birdie at the 17th hole.
Veteran Tony Wilson (11) was third by virtue of a better inward half over Sanders Harper (20). Wilson played steady golf, having nine pars, eight bogeys and a double bogey at the third, going out in 41 and back in 38.
Harper is in a rich vein of form and continued this fine run to take fourth spot, going out in 42, which included a birdie at the seventh, and back in 46, finishing with two double bogeys.
Pat Miller (14) has been in poor form this winter but showed signs of getting back to his best with a nett 69 to come fifth, beating Gibby Banks (13) on a better inward half. Miller went out in 41 and back in 42 but will be disappointed at running up double bogeys at the 16th and 18th holes.
Banks is another who has been in good form of late and was level par after four holes, going out in 38, but struggled on the way in and took 44 strokes with double bogeys at the 10th, 15th and 18th.
Other scores worthy of note came from Peter Taylor (11) with a nett 70 and Roy Place (28), Forbes Sinclair (9), Keith Gowens (10), Richard Thain (14), Ian Thomson (5), Alistair Boyd (7) and Ken Boyd (16), all with nett 71s.
Sanders Harper’s nett 68 was sufficient to make him the overall winner of the Winter Medal competitions with a best four-round total of 277, beating Keith Gowens and Ian Thomson by one shot.
The final competition of the winter season is the eighth Winter Stableford which is being played on Sunday.
Rob Sutherland is the odds-on favourite to take the overall prize, having a four-round total of 153 points, with Mike Morrice on 147 points and Sanders Harper and David Walker on 146 points appearing to be only players with a chance of beating him.