AN amateur golfer from Newton Aycliffe just missed out on a prestigious national title when he competed in the singles final of the 2016 Morocco Matchplay, powered by HowDidiDo, in Marrakech.

Coachbuilder Neil Stein, 43, a 12-handicapper, who plays at Ramside Hall, won two of his matches at the Robert Trent Jones-designed PalmGolf Marrakech Palmeraie to finish third.

But he still enjoyed the experience in Morocco, where he received return flights from Gatwick, courtesy of the event's partner British Airways; bed-and-breakfast accommodation and four rounds of championship golf.

He said: "It's been an absolutely fantastic week. Everybody's been spot on, especially the four of us in the singles. We've had such a laugh. We've taken our golf seriously, but we've enjoyed excellent camaraderie. I can't recommend it highly enough for people to enter it, because it's been superb.

"It cost me £25 to be here. My club paid for the two matches at home and the guy paid for me when I went away, so I've had a superb week in the sun for £25. The organisation's been brilliant too; the hotel is fantastic, top drawer: the rooms, the golf course, the facilities are all outstanding. And I'm going back to the UK with a sun-tan.

"I've really enjoyed socialising with everybody on the trip, they're such nice people, from all over the country. All the lads who we've played with have said we're going to keep in touch because we've had such a good time.

"I let myself down on the first two days by losing my two matches, but pulled it back in the last two to finish third. I'm disappointed to not have won it, but third out of the many hundreds of people around the country who entered feels superb. You want to win the golf when you're here, but we all won, because we got a free holiday."

NORTH Yorkshire’s Jodi-Ewart Shadoff has got the year off to a decent start with a tied 24th finish at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

The Catterick girl would have been right in amongst the leaders but for the disappointing third round 78 that ruined her chances.

Ewart-Shadoff was in the top ten at the end of day two when she followed up a 70 with a 71 before recovering the Saturday 78 with a 72 to finish the tournament on one under.

That was nine shots shy of eventual winner, the South Korean Ha Na Jang in Adelaide, South Australia. Ewart-Shadoff still pulled in more than $12,000.

THE R&A and the USGA have published their annual review of driving distance, a research document that reports important findings on driving distance in golf.

Introduced last year, the review examines driving distance data from seven of the major professional golf tours, based on approximately 285,000 drives per year. Data from studies of male and female amateur golfers has also been included for the first time.

Between 2003 and the end of the 2016 season, average driving distance on five of the seven tours has increased by approximately 1.2 per cent, around 0.2 yards per year.

For the same time period, average driving distance on the other two tours studied decreased by approximately 1.5 per cent.

The average launch conditions on the PGA TOUR – clubhead speed, launch angle, ball speed and ball backspin – have been relatively stable since 2007.

Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A, said: “In the interests of good governance and transparency it is important that we continue to provide reliable data and facts about driving distance in golf. Driving distance remains a topic of discussion within the game and the review provides accurate data to help inform the debate.”