Highcliffe Castle Golf Club pair Jason Hayman and Kevin Saunders narrowly miss PGA Professional/Captain regional qualifier win

HIGHCLIFFE Castle Golf Club’s Kevin Saunders and Jason Hayman performed superbly but narrowly missed out on a first-place finish at the PGA Professional/Captain regional qualifier at Cardiff Golf Club.

The duo returned a score of 42 points (-6) to finish level with the top spot place over the 18-hole qualifying event in Wales.

However, they eventually lost out on card countback to the eventual winners, who returned 23 points compared with Saunders and Hayman’s 22.

The Highcliffe Castle team played steadily throughout the SkyCaddie-sponsored day, looking to earn a place in the grand final in Italy.

Highcliffe Castle GC golf professional Kevin Saunders said: “We had a great run of birdies from the eighth hole through to 14th where I racked up five birdies of my own, coupled with club captain Jason Hayman sinking a downhill tricky 30-footer for a nett eagle on the tough 12th hole.”

After 14 holes, they were sitting on seven-under-par and looked to be well on their way to winning.

But a dropped shot on the tricky par-three 16th hole proved costly after finishing their round with two more solid pars, tying with three other teams on 42 points.

Saunders added: “We gave it our best shot and came so close to victory but to lose on a card countback was very harsh in such a big event.

"But that’s how it goes sometimes.”