Minehead and West Somerset Golf Club were once again privileged to host South Western Counties Golf Association Seniors Championship, an event that was last held at the club in 2023.

Played over two days, all six South West counties were represented in addition to members representing their individual clubs.

Round one was played on Wednesday where the participants had to contend with a strong wind particularly affecting the back nine. Scores reflected the conditions, although these improved somewhat the following day when the second round was played.

At the end of the two days the winning county was Cornwall with an aggregate score of 744 (+24) who now qualify for the English National Senior Finals, having put in a magnificent performance as they progress.

The individual winner was Matthew Stanford (Gloucestershire) with rounds of 73/68 = 141 (-3), an excellent performance.

This championship follows on the heels of the Somerset Mens’ County Championship held in May. The club say that it is gratifying that Minehead is recognised to host these prestigious events and also to receive many compliments from the Associations as to the successful organisation and hospitality shown to all visitors.

They also send out thanks to Rob Barrett (head greenkeeper) and his team for presenting such an excellent championship test and to the club manager, Glenn Ross and his team for the organisation and hard work invested into making such a success of this event.

Minehead Seniors started the week with a 4BBB competition. The fairways were like concrete with balls frequently taking an unpredictable bounce. Scoring was nevertheless excellent with the top three pairings all carding 44 points.

In first place were Roger Read and Paul Thompson, ahead of Mark Ruttley and Graham Hammond, while third place went to Frazer Lawrence and John Burrow.