Quality Streeter wins at The Player's Club

A misty, murky morning greeted the early starters on the first day at The Players Club near Bristol but with very little or no breeze to speak off and a very receptive golf course after the recent heavy rains a low score was on the cards for the early starters.

However the very strict par of 70 was proving hard to break and as the day wore on it was becoming more and more obvious that it would take a player who was very much on his game to get into red figures.

As the morning met the afternoon and the breeze strengthened it became clear that not many of the players would indeed breach the courses defences.

A rash of one over par 71's appeared on the scoreboard but no one seemed able to even equal par until, at last, Michael Lowe presented a one under par 69 to set the clubhouse target.

Shortly afterwards Marc Etherington joined Lowe as joint leader on 69 and though it was possible that a lower score could appear these two would certainly be in the mix on the second day.

Sure enough a couple of groups later Steve Surry beat it with a solid 2 under par 68 but playing in the same group as Surry, former P.G.A Champion Scott Drummond scored one better and posted a 3 under par 67 to assume the lead.

Drummond held on to the lead right up until the last group appeared and that group included the very much in form Paul Streeter who has already won three times this year on the Jamega Tour and true to form Streeter took the lead into the second day with an excellent 4 under par 66.

With storms predicted towards the end of the second day we decided to start earlier at 7-30am in order to beat the weather and as the day wore on some nice stories caught the eye.

One was that Sam Watts, who has plugged away, playing steady golf without much success this year, finally found his form and carded a 2 under par 68 to eventually finish fifth.

The towering figure of Welshman Craig Smith also found his scoring boots and assumed the clubhouse lead on one under par after adding a very fine 3 under par 67 to his first round 72.

Michael Lowe then stole Smith's thunder adding another one under par 69 to his first round and it was nice to see Lowe showing the sort of form he is more than capable of producing.

Of the leaders Steve Surry was falling off the pace to become very much a spectator watching Streeter and Drummond fight it out for the title.

Streeter got off to a blistering start birdying 3 of the first 6 holes but the very experienced Drummond clung onto Streeter's coat tails and was just 2 behind after the first nine holes.

Drummond did not help his cause by falling further behind with a bogey on the tenth but he then dug deep and birdied 2 of the next 3 holes to close the gap on Streeter.

With Streeter eventually holding just a one shot lead playing the last it was do or die for Drummond to try and force a play-off and he duly put his second shot to within a couple of feet of the hole for a certain birdie.

Streeter dug deep and produced a shot of equal quality with his ball finishing some 5 feet away. With unerring accuracy the ball found the bottom of the cup and Streeter could not now be caught.

Drummond duly tapped in for his birdie to finish a gallant second and win a cheque for £1,500 but it was a delighted Paul Streeter who collected his fourth Winners Flag and a nice payday of £3,000.

As if it had been programmed celebration of Streeter's win the predicted storm suddenly appeared and we were treated to the most spectacular show of heavenly pyrotechnics followed by rains of biblical proportions but we had finished the tournament, thankfully!

The rains were not however welcomed by the greens staff, who had worked there socks off over the last few weeks to get the course in such excellent condition.

The Players Club offer two golf courses that can be enjoyed by players of all standards, the Championship Codrington Course and the slightly easier 18 hole Stranahan. The complex also boasts the delightful 9 hole par 3 Watergarden course to be enjoyed.

Nothing is too much trouble for the friendly staff who provide the food and beverage in the welcoming clubhouse which houses a vast collection of Open Championship memorabilia to enjoy.

We return to Cumberwell Park next week on Monday and Tuesday and as it's always a busy venue you are advised to enter sooner rather than later.

Your entry must be in and paid for before 5pm on Friday this week as the draw and tee times will be published soon afterwards, not on Saturday as is usual.