CLOSE but not close enough. That old adage certainly rang true for Christopher Mounter and Mike Fenwick in the Lombard Trophy North-East regional final yesterday.

Having opened the competition, held at a sun-drenched Seaton Carew for the second consecutive year, the Wynyard pair returned an impressive 64, ten under par, to the clubhouse.

And, despite having to wait hours for the rest of the field to come in, professional Mounter and his amateur partner knew their score would be difficult to beat.

In fact they could have been forgiven for casting a stray eye towards an appearance in the Grand Final at the Algarve's San Lorenzo course in September.

However, just as Ramside Hall duo Robert Lister and Steven Dance achieved 12 months earlier, the Ganton team of Gary Brown and Michael Adamson went one better by shooting 63 at the challenging seaside course.

It will now be Brown and his 18-year-old partner who will make the all-expenses-paid trip to Portugal for five days and the opportunity for the professional to pocket the £10,000 top prize.

For so long, though, it had looked as if it was going to be the Wynyard golfers' day.

Mounter, director of golf at his club, made seven birdies throughout his round but he was firmly backed up by Fenwick, a self-employed butcher, who claimed four net birdies himself during the four-ball better-ball event.

And Mounter, who finished with a glorious 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th green at the same Seaton Carew course where he nurtured his skills as a youngster, said: "This was my first tournament of the year and I'm really pleased with the way we both played.

"I was delighted with my putt at the last and I think it showed by the way I celebrated it. I think we deserved it because we had played well all the way around.

"As we were first home there was always a long way to go but it's frustrating because we did have a couple of chances in other places to do even better."

Fenwick, a 20 handicapper, is only enjoying his second summer on the fairways after taking up golf at the age of 39.

"I had a great day and, although I have been coached by Chris at Wynyard, it's actually the first time I've played 18 holes with him," said Fenwick, a former batsman for Sedgefield Cricket Club.

"To shoot a score like I have is my biggest achievement since I started playing and I was delighted with my seven iron shot from 160 yards that landed 15 feet from the pin."

But, in the end, all Mounter and Fenwick's endeavours proved to be in vain as the Ganton duo, in the ninth fourball, clinched the exclusive place in the Grand Final.

Both Brown, the pro, and his student partner played their parts in the success as the former starred on the back nine while Adamson shone on the front half.

In all, the more experienced golfer had five birdies and missed eagle putts from eight and ten feet in the closing stages. "I thought young Michael played a blinder," said Brown, who captained the PGA North Region two years ago. "He became a bit wayward coming home and only after he'd holed a tricky downhiller at 17 for a net birdie did I say to him 'I'd began to think your bottle was going.'"

The winning duo will now battle it out with the 15 other finalists between September 3-7 in the 36 hole Grand Final.

Wearside's Doug Brolls, the last pro from the North-East to lift the Lombard Trophy in 1998, and his partner Peter Dewar finished ten shots adrift of the leaders, while Seaton Carew pro Mark Rogers and contracts manager Eddie I'Anson faired one shot better by carding a 72, two under par.

Published: 27/05/2004