Two Hole in Ones, a €50,000 prize and One Winner
The last round has been completed and the final ball has been put, marking the end of another successful 2018 Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship. In what was once again an incredibly thrilling week of golf at Nailcote Hall in Warwickshire the venue played host to the four-day event that saw Challenge Tour star, Steven Tiley crowned 2018 champion.
The event is regarded as one of the most inclusive golf events in the world, with men, women, professionals, amateurs, juniors and people of all ability playing alongside one another on the tricky Cromwell Course.
This year was extra special as it saw the first ever junior qualifier event take place. As the lucky winner, Nick Matthews, aged just 14-years-old, bagged himself a place in the Pro-Am and was the youngest player to have competed in the pro event.
Tuesday 7 August – Liverpool legend Steve Staunton wins first Celeb-Am
Jenni Falconer
The week kicked off with a Celeb-Am that saw a whole host of famous faces take to the course. The likes of former Strictly Come Dancing judge, Len Goodman, England rugby legend, Mike Tindall MBE, radio and TV presenter, Jenni Falconer, Irish boyband star, Brian McFadden and Harry Potter actors, James and Oliver Phelps were all in action, but it was former Liverpool and Ireland defender, Steve Staunton, who came out on top.
He clinched victory with a score of +1, fighting off competition from ex-Manchester United star, Clayton Blackmore, and strictly legend, Len Goodman. There was also a team aspect of the day, with The Social Golfer team topping the leaderboard with a score of -12. The winning team included the likes of Ian Halliwell, Roger Hurcombe, Steven Skitt and darts legend, Colin Lloyd.
Wednesday 8 August – Steven Tiley takes early lead in the Pro-Am
Steven Tiley
Competition really heated up on the Wednesday, as the Pro-Am got underway. With a €50,000 prize fund up for grabs, it was a fiercely contested affair. Some of the sport’s biggest names in golf took part, including 1991 Masters winner, Ian Woosnam OBE, Open Championship star, Sam Locke, 2005 U.S. Open winner, Michael Campbell, the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour Charley Hull, European Tour rookie Aaron Rai, one of the most successful Italian players of all-time Costantino Rocca, and the event’s first ever Chilean player, Matias Calderon.
It was Challenge Tour player Steven Tiley who had the best of the play. His score of -3 was enough to make him the overnight leader, ahead of European Tour player, Andrew Marshall and the 2013 Norma C Herd Silver Salver winner, Craig Lawrie.
Thursday 9 August – Steven Tiley is crowned Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship winner for 2018
The final day of the professional event saw numerous players in with a chance of scooping the €50,000 prize, but in the end, it went down to a straight shootout between Steven Tiley and Andrew Marshall. With just one stroke in it, Tiley was crowned victorious with a par on the final hole in front of a packed out grandstand, meaning his score of -6 was enough to take home the title.
This left Marshall ruing the double bogey he scored on the 3rd hole. Earlier in the day, Aaron Rai and Craig Lawrie, put themselves into contention, and at one stage, along with Tiley they found themselves on the same score. However, Lawrie fell away after bogeying on the 13th eventually finishing on -4 and when it looked like Rai could go on to triumph after scoring a magnificent hole-in-one, his round ended with a double bogey on the final hole in front of the grandstand.
Mark McNulty won the Super Senior Title, the Norma C Herd Silver Salver awarded for best scoring amateur went to David Nelson, and there was also a team aspect of the day with Marshall and Jeff Sverdlow winning this.
The day also saw the event’s first hole-in-one take place courtesy of Staysure Tour star Gary Wolstenholme MBE, with Rai following suit later in the day.
Friday 10 August – Former Wolves striker, Don Goodman, brings the week to an end with Celeb-Am win
William Roache MBE
The curtain came down on another wonderful week with a final Celeb-Am, on the Friday. Even a brief rain shower couldn’t dampen spirits as Geordie Shore star Gaz Beadle, Coronation Street legend, William Roache MBE, BBC Sport and news host, Dan Walker, ex-Scotland manager, Gordon Strachan OBE and Love Island’s Chris Hughes, hit the course.
It was Wolves legend, Don Goodman, who won the event with a score of +3. His closest competitors came in the form of ex- Aston Villa midfielder, Lee Hendrie and BBC Sport and news presenter, Dan Walker, who shot rounds of +8 and +5 respectively, but Goodman’s round saw him bag four birdies helping him to clinch victory.
When talking about the success of the week, two-time Major winner, and event host, Tony Jacklin CBE, explained why the week has been so special. He said:
“Each year the Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship gets bigger and better, and this year has been no different.
We’ve welcomed a whole host of stars of the game to Nailcote Hall this week but one of the standout moments for me was seeing our Junior Qualifier winner, Nick Matthews, in action.
His second round paired him with 1991 Masters winner and former world number one, Ian Woosnam OBE, and this is what our event is all about. It is something I hope we can carry on doing long into the future, uncovering more and more future stars of the game.”
Plans are already underway for next year’s event, and for more information on the Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship, visit their website, or get in touch with event organisers Champions (UK) plc by calling 08453 31 30 31.