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ROMFORD TROPHY
Played at Romford Golf Club
17th September 2018
A capacity field of 72 players arrived on a bright and fresh September morning at Romford Golf Club to compete for the penultimate Order of Merit event of the calendar, all hoping to Win the Romford Trophy, a competition Romford Golf Club have hosted since 1975.
The course looked to be in great shape considering the tough climate this season has dealt courses across the county. The weather started brisk but bright, with little cloud cover it was hopeful that the day warmed up. By 10:30am temperatures reached near to the 20s which made playing conditions almost perfect, all be it that there was a stiff breeze that built as the day went on.
The morning’s play saw several good scores returned, including 7 players braking par. These included Defending Champion Arron Edwards-Hill (Chelmsford) with a 68, Back to back County Champion Curtis Knipes (Abridge) with a 69 and Order of Merit leader Jordan Slater (Colchester) with a leader board topping 67 going into lunch. Other names included Will Percival (Orsett) with a 68, Sam Kinnane (The Warren) & Harry Wood (Boyce Hill) both had 69s and Brandon Meads (Chelmsford) with a one under par 70.
After lunch, the excitement grew as news got back to the clubhouse that a number of the leaders were matching their mornings play with much of the same. William Percival fell off the pace a bit with an afternoon return of 73 (+2) which left him on -1 for the tournament. A respectable total to be sat on, in the clubhouse waiting to see what unfolds. The performance of the day came from 13-year-old Harley Smith (The Rayleigh Club) whose level par 71 in the morning was improved on in the afternoon by one shot. Harley, playing off of a 4-handicap managed to negotiate Romford in just 141 shots over the day, finishing his tournament on 1 under par and a deserved 5thplace overall.
Brandon Meads managed to equal his 70 from the morning round finishing on a -2 total of 140, giving him fourth place on his own. County Champion Curtis Knipes managed to equal his 69 from the morning round which meant he finished on 4 under par for the tournament securing a respectable third position. Our defending champion Arron Edwards-Hill was an early starter which meant whatever score he posted, the wait would be a long one. He set a total of 136, two more than that of his winning score last year but still sat on 6 under par with a pair of 68s, 2 clear of Curtis, he asked the question of Jordan Slater. Jordan now needed to deliver a championship winning round. Jordan’s start included back to back birdies which got him to -6 after 20 holes. He then managed to make a further three birdies on his outward nine for a total of 31 and now sat on -9 for the championship. It was then that Jordan struggled to maintain his lead by dropping three in the next four holes he fell back to -6 with just 5 holes remaining. His birdie 2 on his 15thhole saw him take the lead once more, but his bogey on his very next hole followed by a couple of pars saw Jordan finish on -6, equalling Arron’s 136.
The unfortunate fact for Jordan is that there is no playoff at The Romford Trophy therefor Arron defended his title by decision of countback, a cruel way for Jordan to lose but a valiant effort and 2ndplace still ensured him the Order of Merit title 2018.
Congratulations to Arron on defending his title and being crowned 2018 champion of The Romford Trophy. Also, a huge congratulations to Jordan on a splendid year showing the consistency necessary to win an order of merit, with one counting event left to play at Upminster on the 15thSeptember, where the Upminster Trophies will be competed for.
Harley Smith’s total was more than enough to win the nett prize on the day, beating Jordan Slater & Harry Wood by 3 shots with a nett 133 (-9). Patrick Arundel was presented with a special prize also following his wedge from 144 yards on the 6thhole which required no more shots before walking to the 7th, a hole in one is always welcome on anyone’s scorecard.
Congratulations to all the winners and our thanks, as always to Romford Golf Club for hosting the event and their exceptional hospitality. We would also like to thank all of the staff at Romford Golf Club, as well as their members for making the day possible, as well as Romford Golf Club Captain John Fuller for his kind words and helping present the prizes.
2019 Entry Form
Winner 2018
Arron Edward-Hill
(Chelmsford)
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